Children
Disease can make a big impact on those who contract it. They can cause an impairment in the functioning of the body, and can even affect the mind. Auto-immune diseases can cause a body’s defense mechanism to fight against itself. Infectious diseases can be dangerous to the people around those afflicted with a disease, as many infectious diseases are highly contagious.
Keeping your child healthy can be the biggest responsibility of a new parent. It is not a simple task, however. Children have different bodies and significantly different immune systems than adults and, therefore, require different treatment. Pediatricians, or doctors who focus on children, must go through at least 3 additional years of schooling after graduating medical school to obtain a pediatric license. Hospitals do not have the right pediatric supplies to offer proper care for children, and so children’s hospitals exist. The specialized care that your child may need requires more effort on your part as a parent, as the child is also unable to take care of him or herself. It is important, then, that you educate yourself as a parent, in order to offer your child the best health care and ensure that he or she grows up to be the health adult that you are hoping for.
Certain diseases are more prone to affect children. In addition, some diseases affect children in different ways than they would in adults. Diseases in your child can be a very stressful thing, as their immune systems are often weaker, leaving them more susceptible to the symptoms that come with certain diseases.
The rest of this article will focus on a few common diseases in children. Each disease will be described in terms of symptoms, treatment, and incubation/infectious period.
1. Chicken Pox
Chicken pox may be the most infamous disease as a child. It is one of the most contagious diseases common in children, and causes symptoms of itchy red spots or blisters accompanied with a moderate fever. The disease of chicken pox gives the child a lifetime immunity, which is why each child can only have chicken pox once. For those who have experienced the disease already, there is no risk of contracting it again.
It is treated with a lotion to reduce itching, and occasionally antiviral medicine. The incubation period of the disease is usually 2-3 weeks after being exposed where children begin to show symptoms. Chicken pox is highly contagious beginning from the few days before the disease breaks out until up to 6 days after the itchy spots appear.
2. Whooping cough
Whooping cough disease is usually accompanied by long fits of coughing, wheezing, and vomiting. The best treatment available for whooping cough is fresh air. Control your child’s diet to avoid instigating additional vomiting. The disease’s incubation period begins 7 days after exposure and remains contagious for the firs week.
3. Scarlet fever
Symptoms of a scarlet fever include a slight to moderate fever, sore throat, and a rash. The child’s skin may peel and he or she may develop a coarse pink tongue. The child is severely uncomfortable during scarlet fever, and will require antibiotics to cure the disease. Scarlet fever’s symptoms show 3 to 8 days after being infected and is contagious for only the first few days following antibiotic treatment.