Dysentery is an acute intestinal bacterial infection that affects the large intestine. In children up to the year, dysentery is rarely diagnosed, more often this disease occurs in older children.
How does dysentery occur?
The causative agent of dysentery is shigella. This dysenteric rod is very viable, stored in the environment for a long time and multiplies in food. Shigella is resistant to some groups of antibiotics and to almost all types of sulfonamides.
The infection is transmitted by the fecal-oral route from the sick or bacteriostatic to the healthy. Often the spreaders of bacteria are flies. In addition, there are possible ways of transferring shigella through food and water. For example, various emergency situations in water supply routes often result in particularly large outbreaks of the epidemic. Dysentery in the people is called "sickness of dirty hands", and this name is fully justified.
The greatest number of cases of dysentery is observed in the summer months, especially in July and August. Breasts usually become infected in September.
Symptoms of dysentery in children
The duration of the incubation period for dysentery is 2-3 days, but sometimes it can take up to 7 days. Already during the incubation period, children may display such signs of dysentery as a decrease in appetite, headaches and abdominal pains, as well as a white plaque in the tongue.
In most cases, the disease immediately acquires an acute form with manifestations of general intoxication. The child is feverish, he is sluggish and constantly experiencing diffuse dull pain in the abdomen. Over time, the abdominal pain intensifies and becomes cramped, localizing in the lower parts. The greatest discomfort to the child delivers the process of defecation, as the pulling pain is given to the sacrum, continuing even 5-15 minutes after bowel movement. There are false desires, and after the act of defecation there is a feeling of its incompleteness. In the course of the large intestine, during palpation of the abdomen of the child, painful sensations are noted, and in the region of the sigmoid colon even intestinal spasm.
"In a big way" a sick kid walks up to 10 times a day. Initially, the stool has a mushy appearance, but soon it can detect impurities of mucus and blood. With severe dysentery, defecation occurs exclusively with mucus and blood.
The leading role in the diagnosis of dysentery belongs to the bacteriological study of feces. The disease lasts 1-2 days with its mild form and 8-9 with a successful course of severe dysentery.
Treatment of dysentery in children
A strict diet is the main component of treating dysentery in children. From the nutrition of the child, parents should exclude foods that contain large amounts of vegetable fiber and irritating the stomach. The food should be well cooked and ground to a homogeneous state. Milk porridge, soups, meat and fish are preferred. Infants who eat supplementary food and lure, are allowed only sour-milk mixtures, porridges based on vegetable broth and homogeneous cottage cheese. Eat small portions every 2-3 hours. To normal diet the baby should be very measured during the month after recovery.
With a mild form of dysentery, hospitalization of the child is not necessary, but with dysentery of medium and severe form it can not be avoided, as well as medical treatment. The choice of preparations is carried out by the attending physician on the basis of the received results of bacteriological research and features of the child. Babies up to a year are often prescribed ampicillin, and older children - furazolidone, nalidixic acid or bactrim. In severe disease, intramuscularly administered rifampicin or gentamicin at age dosages.
As with any intestinal infection, with dysentery it is important to prevent dehydration of the child's body.
After recovery, it is necessary to restore the intestinal microflora, which is helped by bacterial preparations bifikol and bifidumbacterin for 2-4 weeks. Successfully using and lactic acid products containing bifidobacteria.
Prophylaxis of dysentery
Dysentery, like all diseases, is better prevented than treated. Therefore, all parents should know about the methods of preventing dysentery in children. Do not neglect to wash the hands of the child at every meal, washing fruits and vegetables. Milk and water must be boiled, especially if you take water from open sources, and milk is bought in the market or in a shop. At the first signs of the disease, isolate your baby so that the disease does not spread from him to other family members.