Symptoms of Scarlet Fever

While you don’t hear of scarlet fever much anymore, the recent outbreak of a new strain of the disease in Hong Kong and mainland China has many parents doing their research on the contagious disease that affects mostly children.

Scarlet fever is carried in the nasal fluids and in the mouth and can easily spread by coughing or sneezing. It shows up as a rash of tiny red bumps, usually starting on the stomach or chest area. The rash may spread over the body and resemble sunburn, but will feel sandpaper rough.

The rash from scarlet fever will last from two to seven days and appear redder in skin creases of the groin area, elbows and arm pits. The skin on fingertips and toes will peel after the rash is gone.

Other symptoms that accompany the rash are pale areas around the lips while the face is flushed. Fevers of 101 degrees F or higher and a red, sore throat with possible patches of yellow or white. The tongue may also take on the look of a strawberry, with the normal bumps looking bigger than normal. The tongue often will have a whitish coating.

Body aches, headache and nausea are less common symptoms of scarlet fever.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, if a child is suspected of having scarlet fever, take them for medical attention immediately and keep the child away from gatherings of people that they could spread the disease to. The current outbreak in Hong Kong and China shows a resistance to the antibiotics that are usually used to treat the disease. The sore throat will make the child uncomfortable, so ask the doctor what you can give the child to sooth the pain.

Other things that you can do to comfort a child who has scarlet fever is feed them warm soups or cold foods like popsicles to ease the sore throat. Remember that plenty of liquids are needed to keep the child from becoming dehydrated and make sure that the little patient gets plenty of rest.