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Children often get sick because their immune system learns to fight the viruses and bacteria it encounters. Properly developing preschoolers may experience up to ten infections a year.
Not all of them require medical intervention. However, there are symptoms that must not be ignored and it is necessary to consult them with a doctor.
Fever that does not go away with medications to lower the temperature
The body temperature above 39 degrees Celsius in a child must be absolutely lowered with appropriate drugs. The indication for antipyretic treatment is discomfort and malaise accompanying increased body temperature. Lack of improvement in the clinical condition and the disappearance of fever are alarm signals, requiring contact with a doctor. Fever may be associated with dehydration, convulsions and may indicate serious life-threatening diseases such as pneumococcal infections. You can protect yourself against diseases caused by these dangerous bacteria. The solution is immunization, which can be started from the second month of life of the child.
Persistent vomiting
Children vomit relatively often. This reaction of the body should be alarming when vomiting is chronic, has a splash character, occurs after a blow to the head, and is accompanied by dizziness and severe abdominal pain. We should also consult a doctor when our child refuses to eat or drink or when any signs of dehydration appear. Vomiting can accompany many serious diseases, injuries, poisoning, acute appendicitis and infections, including rotavirus infections. They also belong to the group of symptoms of meningitis and encephalitis, which cannot be ignored because they cause many serious and permanent complications, and their course can even be fatal.
Seizures
In children, convulsions may be a symptom of electrolyte and metabolic disturbances, e.g. low glucose levels, as well as intracranial bleeding. They also occur with fever, bacterial and viral infections. They also belong to the spectrum of symptoms of meningitis. Some specialists even recommend that a child under one year of age who develops seizures in the course of a fever should have a lumbar puncture to rule out this disease. In infants up to 12 months of age, it may proceed without typical symptoms and the only method of diagnosis is such an examination. Seizures can also be a symptom of epilepsy. In no case should you disregard those that last longer than 5 minutes, the patient has more than one seizure or during the seizures there are disturbances of consciousness or loss of consciousness.
Blood in the stool
It may be the result of pathological changes around the anus, e.g. damage to the rectal mucosa caused by constipation or withholding stools. However, if the appearance of blood in the stool is accompanied by diarrhea and abdominal pain, a doctor’s consultation is needed to rule out enteritis, birth defects or other gastrointestinal diseases. Blood can also result from a gastrointestinal infection, usually associated with severe diarrhea. A doctor’s help is also needed then, as these infections can lead to fatal dehydration.
Fontanelle collapsed
In newborns and infants, the sunken fontanelle may be a symptom of dehydration. It must be remembered that even 10-15 percent. fluid deficit in the body can be fatal. A dehydrated child rarely urinates, which may be darker in color, smell more intense, become weak, may experience impaired consciousness, or even fall into a coma. The skin becomes dry and saggy. If we grasp it with two fingers and release it, it does not return to its original appearance for a long time, but deforms like plasticine. Accompanying symptoms may be sunken eyeballs and crying without tears. Severe dehydration is a life-threatening condition. Of course, then immediate medical attention is needed.
Emphasis on the fontanel
An arched and pulsating fontanel, when a toddler is calm, always requires a visit to a doctor. It may be a symptom of intracranial bleeding, especially in the first months of life. It also indicates increased intracranial pressure in the case of hydrocephalus. It is a symptom of meningitis, a dangerous disease that may cause disability or even death. It is caused by both viruses and bacteria. Among bacteria, the most common etiological factor is pneumococcus, and infections with these pathogens can be prevented by applying protective vaccinations from the second month of life.
Wandering erythema
If a red ring lesion appears anywhere on the child’s skin, increasing its circumference, it is an indication for a doctor’s consultation. Characteristic for this pathology is the absence of pain and itching. It can be a symptom of Lyme disease, a disease transmitted by ticks. In the case of this condition, it is very important to start treatment as soon as possible, because it is easier in the early stages, and the complications of untreated Lyme disease on the nervous system spectrum can be very serious and interfere with the proper development of a child.
Meningococcal rash
The progressive infection with dangerous bacteria is manifested by a petechial rash. Red dots appear on the skin of the child’s entire body, which merge into large dark red spots that do not turn pale under pressure. Only a thorough examination of the entire skin of a disassembled patient can reveal a rash. It may indicate sepsis in the course of meningococcal meningitis. Therefore, the child should be admitted to the hospital as soon as possible. In accordance with the recommendations of the Chief Sanitary Inspector, we can vaccinate a child with the meningococcal vaccine after the age of two months.