What is and what is dangerous for mononucleosis? Symptoms in children, causes and treatment

Mononucleosis is a viral infectious disease. For the first time on its infectious nature pointed out in 1887, Dr. Filatov. A little later, in 1889, about similar clinical manifestations wrote scientist Emil Pfeiffer. For a long time, specialists thoroughly studied mononucleosis. Symptoms in children were almost identical: all had fever, acute tonsillitis, enlarged lymph nodes, spleen and liver. As it later turned out, the most susceptible to this serious illness is children - between the ages of two and eighteen.

Etiology

The causative agent of the disease is the Epstein-Barra virus, it belongs to the family of herpesviruses. In the environment quickly dies under the influence of chemical and physical factors. There is a suggestion that it promotes the formation of malignant tumors.

How is a mononucleosis transmitted to a human?

Symptoms in children one week after infection expressed: there is pain when swallowing, white coating in the sky and tonsils, bleeding gums, loss of appetite, nausea, weakness. Noticeably increased cervical lymph nodes - with palpation the child complains of pain. The virus is transmitted by the aerogenic and parenteral route. Even after a successful cure, the pathogen can be released into the environment for a long time.

Susceptibility to the disease is low, mainly recorded in young people aged 14 to 18 years. Very rarely recorded cases of infection in adults, because a person of conscious age develops immunity. It should be noted that infectious mononucleosis is not very contagious . Symptoms in children can be noted for a long time. They are often similar to the symptoms of a common cold, which is why many parents are delayed with diagnosis and treatment, thinking that the disease will retreat independently.

Pathogenesis and clinical picture

In the body of the child the virus gets through the respiratory tract and oropharynx, already from there it is transferred through the lymphatic flow to all the lymph nodes (inguinal, cervical, etc.). Then it enters the bloodstream and penetrates into the lymphocytes, where it self-replicates. The incubation period can last from four to sixty days. Gradually mononucleosis develops in children.

Symptoms often appear at the end of the 5th-6th day of infection. The temperature rises to 39 C, migraine, sore throat, nasal, broken breathing. There is a defeat of the tonsils (signs are similar to fibrinous angina), rashes in the form of red dots on the surface of the skin. Simultaneously with these manifestations, lymphadenopathy develops (lymph nodes become sizes with walnuts).

This condition can last up to two months. There is also a significant increase in the spleen and liver. In the acute stage, mononucleosis is very dangerous. Symptoms in children are quite acute, and they are worried for a long time. In some patients, the temperature decreases on the second day, and then rises again. All these signs should alert the parents and make them consult a doctor.

Dangerous complications can cause this disease if it is not treated:

-menigita;

Hemolytic anemia;

-otitis, sinusitis, pneumonia;

-encephalitis;

- rupture of the spleen.

Patients are usually hospitalized, but mononucleosis in children is treated moderately and outpatiently. Symptoms (treatment begins after a thorough diagnosis) are eliminated with the help of detoxification, symptomatic, analgesic and antipyretic therapy. Children with severe illness and weakened immunity are prescribed antibiotics. Recommended immunomodulating drugs.

Showing throat rinsing with antiseptic and healthy food. The room in which the child lives should be clean and air-conditioned. It is recommended to regularly disinfect linen, personal hygiene products, toys and utensils of the baby.