Children with typhus fever, what to do?

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Typhus is a contagious disease and can be spread quickly by contact with secretions from the nose or throat of an infected person before symptoms appear. Typhus is very common in children under 3 years of age. You need to recognize early signs in children to take appropriate care and treatment measures to help them recover quickly.

1. Causes of typhus in children

Typhus in children is a very contagious disease, especially in collective settings such as kindergartens, schools, and kindergartens because the disease is mainly transmitted through respiratory droplets when an infected person coughs, sneezes or sneezes. splashing tiny droplets of water, healthy people who breathe in will be infected.
About 70 - 80% of the causes of typhus are viral infections, in which respiratory viruses always dominate, including measles virus, rubella virus, adeno virus, echo virus, group enterovirus... This is why young children can get typhus so many times.
After being infected with the virus, the baby will get sick after 1-2 weeks. If it is mild, the signs of typhus in a child may not be obvious. However, there are some signs and symptoms that parents should monitor their children for such as:
Fever: When having typhus, the child may have a high fever and the baby's body temperature may rise to 39.4oC. In addition, your baby may also have a sore throat, cough, and runny nose before and during the fever. Rash: This is a characteristic sign of the disease, usually the rash will appear after the child has a fever. The rash will be pink or mottled and may appear on the chest, abdomen, and back before spreading to the hands and neck. These rashes are usually not itchy and will last for several days. Other symptoms: In addition to the two typical symptoms of typhus, a child may also have a number of conditions such as fatigue, irritability, runny nose, mild diarrhea, swollen eyes, anorexia, and refusal to breastfeed.

2. Children with typhus should do?

When your child has typhus , you will often be worried and find out what to do with typhus . Accordingly, when a child has typhus, the principle of taking care of the child at home is the decisive factor in treating the baby, so parents should:
Properly reduce the child's fever: For infants from 0 - 6 months: If your child has a high fever, you need to see a doctor and take medicine as directed by the doctor. Do not arbitrarily give drugs to children. For children over 6 months of age: If there is no fatigue, no eating, there is no need to give the child medicine. If the fever is higher than 38 degrees, give the child medicine according to the doctor's prescription or paracetamol with a dose of 10mg / 1kg of the child's weight, 6 hours later if the child still has a fever, continue to give the same dose. But it is best to use oral medication for children under the guidance of a doctor. Wipe the child's body with warm water when needed, to avoid complications of high fever leading to convulsions in the child. Cough relief, sore throat for children: Give your child cough medicines as directed by the doctor when the child has a cough. Clear your baby's nose with dilute saline and a soft tissue to make it easier for him to eat and drink. Rehydration, electrolytes: Parents should give children plenty of water such as fruit juices, soups or rehydration with oresol to avoid dehydration and ensure adequate supply of vitamins for the body, improve children's resistance. After fully rehydrating electrolytes and reducing fever for children, parents need to continue to monitor. Nutrition and activities for children: Give children more food than usual and eat liquid, nutritious, easy-to-digest foods such as porridge, soup, milk... If children have difficulty eating, parents will Eat small meals to help children get enough nutrients needed for the body. In particular, children infected with measles should pay attention to vitamin A supplementation with age-appropriate doses to protect children's eyes. Keep the skin clean and dry: through bathing the child clean every day, do not abstain from wind, water, or food. The habit of abstaining from wind and water by covering the child, and not cleaning the body will make it difficult for the child to reduce fever and easily convulse due to high fever. Failing to clean the body will make children uncomfortable and prone to skin infections and pneumonia complications. However, children should not be cold. Re-examination by appointment every day or every 2 days as prescribed by the doctor, depending on the child's medical condition.
If in the process of taking care of a child with typhus at home, when seeing the following signs, parents need to take the child to the doctor immediately:
The child continues to have a high fever after the rash has developed. Changes in consciousness such as lethargy, lethargy, coma. The child has a convulsion. Children breathing tired, fast breathing, difficult to breathe. Breastfeeding babies.

3. Methods to prevent typhus for children

With the above home care methods, it has partly answered questions for parents about what to do with typhus babies. However, Prevention is still better than cure, so the best way to prevent typhus in children is to vaccinate:
Measles can be vaccinated when children are 9 months old under the Expanded Immunization Program. Rubella is given together with mumps and measles with a 3-in-1 vaccine when the baby is 12-15 months old. 2nd booster dose when the child is 4 - 6 years old. Limit contact with patients suspected of being sick. Typhus is contagious in settings such as kindergartens and schools, so you need to isolate your children well and leave them at home when sick. Instruct children and family members to wash their hands frequently. Add fruits rich in vitamin C to strengthen resistance. Always keep the house clean and cool..
Pediatrics Department, Vinmec International General Hospital has successfully examined and treated many children with typhus, especially at the time of the change of season. Vinmec's Pediatrics Department has a full team of specialists: respiratory, cardiovascular, neurological, dermatology... so when a baby has typhus fever with unusual symptoms, they are diagnosed quickly and accurately. Timely treatment, standard regimen.

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