Enterovirus infection is one of the most complex and most dangerous childhood diseases. It is extremely important for parents to know the features of the clinic for enterovirus infection in children in order to notice the onset of the disease in a timely manner and to provide the child with adequate and timely assistance. In this article, we will look at the signs of enterovirus infection in children.
Enterovirus: initial symptoms in children
Depending on the main clinical manifestations, several forms of the disease are distinguished: herpetic angina, serous meningitis, Coxsackie and ECHO fever, epidemic myalgia, Coxsackie and ECHO exanthema, paralytic form, neonatal encephalomyocarditis, enterovirus uveitis, myocarditis, and others. Each of these species can be combined or develop in isolation.
All typical forms of the disease have common symptoms. The incubation period lasts on average from 2 to 5 days, but in rare cases it can reach 8-10 days. The onset of the disease is acute, the temperature with enterovirus infection rises sharply to 39-40 ° C. The patient shows signs of poisoning (general intoxication): headache, nausea until vomiting, dizziness, weakness, sleep disturbance. The skin on the face and neck (and generally on the entire upper part of the body) is strongly heated and reddens. Rash with enterovirus infection occurs precisely because of skin hyperthermia. Eruptions with enterovirus infection can be so strong that they turn into a patchy-papular rash that is located on the entire upper part of the trunk, including the neck and face in the form of spots of various shapes.
Lymph nodes on the neck can be slightly enlarged, but they remain painless.
Throat with enterovirus infection blushes, tongue appears plaque.
In some cases, enterovirus disease is accompanied by constipation.
Further development of the disease
The course of the disease, as well as its duration, and outcome, depend on the form and severity of the disease.
The most common form of enteroviral disease is ECHO- and Coxsackie-fever.
With these forms, the febrile period can last up to a week and a half, and in some cases, increases and falls in body temperature are peculiar waves. In addition to the general symptoms of enterovirus, all the lymph nodes are enlarged (they are painless), as well as an increase in the spleen and liver.
With herpetic angina, a sharp rise in temperature in the first days is replaced by a critical decline (about 2-5 days after the onset of the disease). A distinctive feature of herpetic sore throat is the appearance of the hotel red papules on the mucous membrane of the mouth and throat of the child. After a while, the papules turn into vesicles - vesicles, and then into small ulcers with a reddish fringing. The rash on the oral mucosa may be abundant enough, but never merges.
Serous meningitis also develops sharply, while the patient behaves excitedly, restlessly. Very often, the condition of the child is aggravated by pain in the muscles, abdomen, back, neck. The patient rushes in a fever, muscles can reduce convulsions. From the first days it is important to appear to the pediatrician, as the doctor will be able to immediately identify the typical signs of meningitis: the syndromes of Brudzinsky and Kernig, as well as the reduction of abdominal reflexes and stiff neck. Sometimes meningeal symptoms can be expressed implicitly, or not at all.
A distinctive feature of epidemic myalgia is severe pain in the muscles (most often in the chest or abdomen, slightly more rarely in the limbs or back). The pain intensifies paroxysmally and increases significantly when moving. The duration of the attack of pain ranges from 30 seconds to two or three minutes. At the same time the child pales, sweats, breathing becomes intermittent and superficial.
So, remember the main signs of enterovirus infection in children: temperature 39-40 ° C, rash and redness of the skin, weakness, nausea and vomiting, headache and dizziness, sleep disorders.
If you notice such symptoms in your child - immediately consult a pediatrician.