Scarlattinetta
The fourth disease is included among the exanthemic pathologies typical of the pediatric age; these are contagious skin infections, characterized by the appearance of reddish spots and rashes on the skin.
The fourth disease is also known by other names:
- "Scarlet fever", because the symptomatological picture is very similar to that of scarlet fever (although the symptoms appear much milder):
- "Dukes' disease", by the doctor who first described the disease around 1900.
TO
Causes
Despite the many studies on scarlet fever, the main cause has not yet been identified: from the most recent suppositions, it seems that the main cause of the fourth disease is a bacterium (not a virus, as for the fifth and sixth diseases), belonging to the group of beta-haemolytic type A streptococci. This hypothesis seems to be confirmed by the marked spread of the fourth disease in nursery schools, where promiscuity certainly facilitates the contagion and transmission of the disease among children.
Infection
The fourth disease is contracted by indirect contact with respiratory drops coughed by an infected patient, or by direct contact with saliva or mucus of the same.
The fourth disease is contagious starting from the incubation and the risk of transmission lasts until the exanthemic manifestations.
Symptoms and complications
The first symptoms of the fourth disease onset about a week or 10 days after the infection, the time necessary for the incubation of the beat: in general, the patient complains of headache, drowsiness, low-grade fever, apathy and inappetence. These first symptoms are subsequently replaced by fever, sore throat and inflammation / enlargement of the latero-cervical lymph nodes. In general, the exanthema proper - however always fleeting and modest - begins following these manifestations: the most subject anatomical sites are the buttocks, the groin and the face. The rash manifests itself with very close reddish spots, so much so as to form more or less extensive patches: the lesions tend to regress spontaneously in a few days (usually 4 or 5), leaving possible traces on the skin (desquamation).
It is not uncommon for the typical symptoms of the fourth disease to remain almost unnoticed by the patient: scarlet fever, therefore, is a mild disease, whose prognosis is always excellent and complications are unlikely. However, in sensitive individuals with kidney problems, the fourth disease could worsen the functioning of the kidneys: in this regard, a urinalysis is recommended.
Diagnosis and therapies
The diagnosis for scarlet fever is very simple, as it is based on the simple physical examination.
We have seen that urinalysis is indicated to monitor renal function; again, a throat swab may be needed among the diagnostic strategies in order to confirm the responsible bacterium.
Any therapy, however not always essential, is generally antibiotic and should be continued for 10 days. In the case of fever associated with the fourth disease, the most suitable therapy is antipyretic.
Insights
Fourth Disease - Drugs for the Treatment of Scarlet fever "
Fourth Disease in brief: summary of the fourth disease "
.jpg)
