Infections and Other Problems
Other common childhood problems that you may get some experience with include ear infections, chickenpox, and other infections.
Ear Infections
Parents often suspect that their child has an ear infection when he starts pulling on his ears, but unless there are other symptoms, like a fever or irritability, the ears are usually normal.
Some of the risk factors that increase your child's chances of getting frequent ear infections include: having a parent who smokes, not breastfeeding, drinking a bottle while lying down, using a pacifier, having uncontrolled allergies or gastroesophageal reflux, and attending a large day care.
More typically, your child will develop an ear infection a few days or weeks after having a cold. A child will experience ear pain, irritability, fever, and a decreased appetite when he gets an ear infection. Although symptoms often go away without treatment, doctors still commonly prescribe antibiotics, especially for children under the age of six to twenty-four months.
An ear infection shouldn't be confused with simply having fluid in the middle ear, which commonly occurs after an ear infection. This fluid doesn't usually require treatment and will often go away in two to three months. If it isn't going away, a child may need treatment with ear tubes, especially if it is causing a hearing loss. Frequent or persistent infections can also be a sign that your child needs ear tubes.
Chickenpox
Chickenpox is much less common since children began getting routine immunizations that protect against it. However, because children don't get this immunization until their first birthday, your child can be at risk if he is exposed to someone with chickenpox during his first year.
Symptoms usually begin ten to twenty-one days after exposure to a person who has chickenpox, and include fever and a rash. The rash begins as small, itchy, red bumps that quickly become blisters. These blisters will crust over before fully healing in about seven to ten days. They can be treated with an anti-itch medication, like calamine lotion, or an Aveeno oatmeal bath.
Thrush
In addition to causing diaper rashes, yeast can also cause an infection in your child's mouth. Once infected, an infant develops white patches inside the mouth, typically on the tongue, the inside of the cheeks, and on the lips, gums, and the roof of the mouth. This common infection is typically treated with the oral anti-fungal medication Nystatin, although persistent infections are often treated with fluconazole, a stronger medication. Be sure to clean your baby's pacifiers and the nipples for bottles, which can sometimes be the source of the yeast that causes thrush. Breastfeeding mothers should also be sure that they don't have a yeast infection of their nipples, which would also require treatment.
Roseola
A common infection of younger children, roseola begins with a high fever and mild upper respiratory infection symptoms, like a runny nose. After a few days, the fever breaks, and the child develops a pink or red rash all over his body.
It is the characteristic pattern of the rash developing once the fever breaks that makes this infection easy to recognize. Unfortunately, that means that you usually can't make the diagnosis until the end of the illness, and so your child might have to go through testing to look for other more serious causes of fever, like blood and urine infections, while he has the high fever.
Fifth Disease
Although not very common in younger children, Fifth disease has such a characteristic presentation that it is important to be familiar with it. Like most other viral infections that cause rashes, Fifth disease typically results in mild cold symptoms, but in this case children's cheeks become red. This redness gives rise to the other name for this illness, “slapped-cheeks” disease. After a few days, the redness is replaced by a pink, lacelike rash on the child's arms and legs. And although the rash may come and go for several weeks, it requires no treatment and will go away without problems.
Adults who are exposed to someone with Fifth disease and who aren't immune can get a more serious infection that is accompanied by arthritis. Pregnant women are also at great risk if they get Fifth disease. If a pregnant woman is exposed to a child who is infected with this disease, she should call her obstetrician.
In addition to the better-known viral infections that cause rashes, such as chickenpox, roseola, and Fifth disease, it is important to understand that most other viral infections can also cause rashes. These types of rashes typically occur as small red bumps that blanch, or disappear briefly, when you press on them. They usually fade as the infection goes away.
Fever
Fever is a common symptom of most childhood infections. It is more worrisome when a child has a high fever and no other symptoms, because instead of having a simple cold or ear infection, he might have something more serious, like meningitis or a urinary tract infection.
Fever that lasts longer than the typical three to five days also can be a sign of a problem, including noninfectious causes of fever, like juvenile arthritis and Kawasaki's disease. Be sure to keep in close contact with your doctor if your child has an unexplained or persistent fever.
