Herpangina, a childhood epidemic that is making parents panic!
Get to know Herpangina, the plague of the rainy season
Herpangina or childhood oral thrush is a disease caused by a viral infection in the Coxsackie virus group A (Coxsackie viruses A sero types 1 – 10, 16 and 22) and enterovirus, which is the same type of virus as hand, foot and mouth disease (but herpangina usually causes sores only in the mouth). It usually spreads during the rainy season.
Having this disease once will give you immunity and you will not get sick from the same virus strain again for the rest of your life. However, you may get sick again from being infected with another virus strain.
How is it transmitted and at what age is it most common?
Herpangina is very easily transmitted through contact with nasal discharge, saliva, coughing and sneezing, putting hands in the mouth, ยูฟ่าเบท https://ufabet999.app and from the feces of an infected person through the respiratory or digestive tract. Places that should be especially careful of outbreaks are schools, daycare centers, etc., because there are many children gathered together.
Herpangina can occur at any age, but it is more common in children aged 5-10 years because children do not yet have immunity to this germ, especially kindergarten to primary school children who often play with toys and pick up things together, so they are more likely to get infected.
Infectious period
Patients will develop symptoms about 4-14 days after being infected (the incubation period of the disease). Infected patients can spread the virus from the first day of infection until they recover, which is about 1-2 weeks from the time of infection.
How to recognize symptoms of herpangina
Prominent symptoms
- After about 2 days of infection, children will develop red bumps or sores with red edges on the roof of their mouth and throat, measuring 2-4 millimeters. Most sores heal within 7 days.
- But this disease is not serious and can heal on its own within 7-10 days.
Other symptoms
- Have acute fever or a high fever of more than 38.5-40 degrees Celsius.
- Sore throat when swallowing food
- Headache, neck pain
- Swollen lymph nodes in the neck
- Drooling, vomiting (in infants)
- stomach ache
- Loss of appetite
- Small children will be lethargic and cranky.