Should a baby with typhus take a bath?

This is an automatically translated article.

The article is professionally consulted with Master, Doctor Nguyen Minh Tuan - Pediatrician - Pediatrics - Neonatology Department - Vinmec Danang International General Hospital.
Typhus is a common illness in adults and children. Although the disease is not life-threatening, it can lead to many dangerous complications if not treated promptly.

1. What is typhus?

The condition in which a child has a fever, with small red spots on the skin's surface is called typhus. The main cause of the disease is viruses, especially respiratory viruses. After attacking the body for about 1 week, the virus will make the child sick with the following symptoms:
Fever: the child may have a fever between 38 and 39.4 degrees Celsius, depending on the condition of each child. Some cases are accompanied by a cough, runny nose, sore throat or swollen lymph nodes in the neck. Fever usually lasts for 3 to 5 days. Rash: The rash will appear from the chest, back, abdomen and then spread to the arms and neck after the fever stops. The rash is usually pink, does not itch, and lasts for several days. Some rashes may be surrounded by a white ring. In addition, children with typhus may appear some other signs such as swollen eyelids, fussiness, loss of appetite, mild diarrhea...
Most cases of typhus are not dangerous, however if High fever patients can lead to unpredictable complications.
In most cases, the rash can appear after the fever, the skin will appear small red spots scattered or concentrated. The rash in children will spread slowly, starting from the chest, back, abdomen to the neck and arms. The feet and hands may not have a rash. This usually goes away after a few hours or days without causing any discomfort to the child.
Accordingly, you need to take your baby to see a doctor if the child has the following signs:
The child has a fever higher than 39.5°C The child has a fever and rash for more than 7 days After 3 days, the rash does not improve well System The baby's immunity is weakened and the baby has been exposed to people with typhus.

2. Causes of typhus in children

According to experts, respiratory viruses are the main cause of typhus, including measles virus, rubella virus, adeno virus, echo virus, enterovirus group ...
This is the reason why children can had typhus many times. Children with typhus due to measles virus and rubella virus are 2 common causes.

3. Baby with typhus should bathe or not?

Children will sweat more than normal people when they have typhus fever. At the same time, children often feel itchy due to the heat in their body.
In fact, it will be extremely uncomfortable if the child has to abstain from water without bathing, plus scratching the itch when the skin is not cleaned, the child is very susceptible to dermatological diseases such as dermatitis, redness...
Actually In fact, many people believe that when a child has typhus, they should not bathe the child because this will make the child's illness worse and take longer to heal, so the child should not bathe. However, this is a misconception, the child's body will produce a lot of sweat when he has a fever, so if he abstains from water, abstains from bathing, he will feel itchy and uncomfortable.
Experts say that bathing children when they have typhus is a way to help children lower their body temperature, help their disease progress better because the body is eliminated from sweat and bacteria that remain on the skin. Children will feel comfortable, clean, the skin does not accumulate bacteria, sweat will reduce itching and discomfort. So, to answer the question, should a baby with typhus take a bath? then the answer is that parents should bathe the child, but parents should let the child bathe in a sheltered place, bathe with clean warm water mixed with a little salt or follow the instructions for caring for a child with typhus as recommended by the doctor. doctor.

4. Children with typhus should pay attention to what?

Here are some notes for parents to keep in mind when a child has typhus:
Do not leave your child in a damp, tight space. Do not allow your child to scratch the surface of the skin. Give the child a clean bath but do not soak them in water. for too long because it will make children more susceptible to colds or other complications. Stay away from crowded places such as schools, playgrounds... Do not wear tight clothes for children to avoid skin irritation. Instead, parents should dress the child in loose and airy clothes to help reduce itching and help the body feel comfortable. Do not let the child drink ice, eat ice cream or indigestible foods. children eat spicy, hot, greasy foods The nature of typhus is a benign disease. The disease will soon be cured without causing any complications if the correct diet is followed in combination with the examination and treatment of the disease under the guidance of the doctor. Therefore, parents should quickly send the child to see a specialist if the child has a typhus fever accompanied by the following symptoms: using medicine and applying cool compresses but the temperature does not drop, bloody stools, tired breathing , convulsions, coma, discharge of pus in the ear. The disease will last for a long time and it is easy to have complications such as: encephalitis, otitis media, pneumonia, ... dangerous to the health of children if not examined and treated promptly.
Vinmec International General Hospital is the address for receiving and examining respiratory diseases that infants and young children are susceptible to: viral fever, bacterial fever, respiratory infection, pneumonia in children, .... With modern equipment, sterile space, minimizing the impact as well as the risk of disease spread. Along with that is the dedication from the doctors with professional experience with pediatric patients, making the examination no longer a concern of the parents.
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