How often do we attribute to allergies all the rashes that occur in children, especially the combination of bright red cheeks and rashes on the extremities. At the sight of such a child, many parents will say that this is an allergy, and they have been so. But if the rash does not go away after hypoallergenic diet and drug treatment, if a week or two rash was preceded by a runny nose, chills and other catarrhal phenomena, or just malaise, we should think about the real disease.
Of course you should see a doctor, though this “tricky” disease is difficult to diagnose and easy to confuse . Parvovirus infection is difficult for pediatricians to diagnose. And it needs to be done.
How to tell the difference between a parvovirus infection and an allergy
The danger lies in the fact that taking for rubella or measles, in the medical record make a record of the infection, but in fact there is no immunity to this disease. And taking parvovirus rash for an allergic sick child is not isolated from other people, among whom may be pregnant women, for them, this disease is dangerous and leads to intrauterine infection, which can lead to fetal death.
Parvovirus infection in its first phase is contagious to others, but it cannot be distinguished from other viral infections . When the rash appears, after about 17-18 days, it is practically not contagious. The characteristic appearance of the rash. At first it is bright red blotchy on the cheeks, as if after a slap.
Then it appears on the limbs and torso.
The rash is usually spotty, fast spreading and reticular. Sometimes it can be kore-like, hemorrhagic or accompanied by itching. It lasts for about a week and then it passes, but there may be a fresh rash for about 2-3 weeks after the baby is overexcited or after overheating, insolation.
The rash is called “infectious erythema,” and the disease itself is called the “fifth disease” of the six that accompany a rash in children.
For a healthy child who has contracted parvovirus infection, there is no particular danger. During this period, children should not be given exertion, it is necessary to treat symptomatically, isolate from others. Adults who come into contact with a sick child may feel discomfort, pain in the joints. Pain in the joints may last a long time, up to several months, and may pass without ruining the joint. Rash in adults is not typical.
How to distinguish a parvovirus infection from an allergy
Parvavirus affects the erythrocyte sprout in the bone marrow, from which erythrocytes, the red blood cells that carry oxygen, are formed. This happens at the beginning of the disease.
In healthy children, a temporary reduction in the number of red blood cells passes without a trace. But a child with anemia or immunodeficiency can have a crisis and require mandatory hospitalization, in some cases, even a transfusion of red blood cell mass.
So be vigilant, see your doctor on time, and don’t attribute allergies to everything, especially if your child is not prone to allergic diseases.
