Impetigo

Signs and Symptoms

1. Small area of red pus-filled blisters, typically on the face, arms or legs (but they can show up anywhere).

2. When blisters pop – brown colored sticky curst.

3. Itching.

 

What to do now

1. Apply an antibiotic ointment to help clear up a minor case.

2. Softly wash away the crusty discharge with warm water and soap.

3. To avoid infecting other people, warn them not to touch your child’s towel, and unwashed clothing. Wash them in hot water. Change linens daily; wash them in hot water and detergent, and add bleach.

4. To limit the spread of infection, encourage your child not to touch or scratch the blisters.

5. To discourage the bacteria from growing, expose the affected area to air rather than bandaging it.

6. Give your child lukewarm baths with an antibacterial soap.

7. Dress your child in long-sleeved shirts and long pants to go school until the crusts are gone and the skin clears, which generally takes seven to ten days. This will lower the chance of spreading the infection to others.

 

When to call a doctor

Call for an immediate appointment:

1. If your child’s urine is red or dark brown; this signals a related, rare kidney ailment that might be dangerous.

2. If the impetigo covers a large area or keeps spreading after three days. Use antibiotic cream or oral antibiotics to fight the infection if prescribed by a doctor.

3. If your child develops a fever of more than 100 degrees or has a blister larger than one inch wide; this could indicate a more serious skin infection.

 

How to prevent it

1. Make sure children wash their hands regularly with soap and keep their nails trimmed. Remind them not to scratch insect bites, scabs, or other skin irritations.

2. Wash all cuts, scrapes, and wounds with antibacterial soap and water to avoid infection. Keep them clean and dry while they heal.

3. Never have children share towels, or bedding.

4. Guard against diaper rash to protect your baby from the infection.

Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease

Signs and Symptoms

1. Small, tender, canker-like sores on the tongue and inside of the cheeks.

2. An itchy reddish rash or small blister on the hands and feet, between the fingers and toes, and sometimes appearing on the buttocks.

3. Low fever up to 102 degrees.

4. Tiredness.

 

What to do now

1. Be sure your child drinks plenty of fluids.

2. If the rash is itchy, apply an anti-itch cream.

3. Avoid citrus fruits, spicy foods, and other foods that might irritate your child’s sore mouth. Try serving nutritious liquids, such as chicken or vegetable soup, and soft foods, such as mashed banana, if solid foods are too painful to chew.

4. To help relieve pain or reduce your child’s fever, give acetaminophen. (Never give aspirin to a child under 12 who has hand, foot, and mouth disease, chicken pox, flu, or any other illness you suspect of being caused by a virus).

 

When to call a doctor

Call for an immediate appointment:

1. If your child have extreme difficulty swallowing.

2. Whenever your child gets a rash. Hand, foot, and mouth disease is not serious, but it can be confused with a rash.

 

How to prevent it

1. Make sure children don’t share glasses, silverware, or toys that have been in other children’s mouths.

2. Ensure that your children wash their hands after using the toilet.

German Measles

Signs and Symptoms

1. Swollen glands, usually in the neck.

2. Fever of 102 degrees or lower.

3. By the second or third day a rash appears, generally starting on the face and spreading to the chest and back, then the arms and legs.

4. Tiny red or pink spots or irregular marks or rashes, and usually lasts only a few days.

5. Painful, aching joints, especially in adolescents.

What to do now

1. Make sure your child feeling comfortable.

2. Provide him or her with lots of liquids.

3. Give your child acetaminophen for discomfort. (Never give aspirin to a child under 12 who has German measles, chicken pox, flu, or any other illness your suspect of being caused by a virus).

4. Keep your infected child away form other children, pregnant women and any adults who are vulnerable. A person with rubella is contagious from two days before and up to one week after the rash appears.

When to call a doctor

1. If you suspect that your child has rubella.

2. If your child has rubella or had it recently, and develops symptoms such as a stiff neck, sever headache or lethargy. Though happens rarely but this could signal meningitis.

3. If you are pregnant and have not been immunized against measles.

4. If you are pregnant, have been immunized in the past, and may have been exposed to rubella. You need to find out whether you are still immune.

How to prevent it

1. Make sure your children get the MMR (Measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccines.

2. If you’re a woman and you weren’t immunized in childhood, you’ve never had rubella, and you’re considering having children, get the rubella vaccine at least three months before you get pregnant. The vaccine should never be given during pregnancy.