What Is Scarlatina?
Many people better know scarlatina as scarlet fever. This is an illness that is usually the result of infection with certain strains of strep or streptococcus bacteria. Most often affecting kids up to the early teen years, the condition has very recognizable symptoms. It used to be the case that this illness could result in terrible complications and cause death, but now, in most cases when it is recognized early, it can be easily treated with antibiotics.
There are number of prominent scarlatina symptoms that tend to make this illness easy to differentiate from strep throat. First, in appearance children develop a rash that is bright red and has a rough feel to it. This is often described as similar in appearance to a sunburn, though it may not be flat in feel, and it is likely to spread over much of the body, possibly eventually causing skin peeling like a sunburn. The rash tends not to be on the face but the face can look like a child is blushing or has just exerted him or herself, and though there is redness on the face, the mouth or the area around the lips can look faded or white. Another hallmark of this illness is something called Pastia’s lines or strawberry red lines that are present in skin folds, such as under the arms.
Rash and Pastia’s lines typically develop after some other scarlatina symptoms first appear. Often the earliest disease symptoms are extremely sore throat and high fever that exceeds 101 degrees F (38.33 degrees C). Many kids also have swollen glands, and there may be other early or late symptoms too like stomach pain or nausea, throbbing head, dizziness, and a bright red tongue.
Early symptoms are often suggestive of strep throat, and appearance of a rash is even more indicative of scarlatina. Since fever typically stays up, parents are usually urged to bring their children to the doctor to confirm diagnosis and get treatment. Diagnosis may be confirmed by appearance only if all prominent rash signs are present, but many doctors also take a throat culture or perform a rapid strep test to make certain bacteria that causes scarlatina is in the throat. Once scarlet fever is diagnosed, the standard treatment is antibiotics of several different types that are effective against strep.
Some other things can be done at home to promote greater comfort for the person recovering from scarlet fever. Fever-lowering medications, except for aspirin for children, may be of use and may also have a pain relieving effect on the throat. Drinking lots of liquids can help and hot liquids or cold or frozen ones might partially relieve throat discomfort. Kids, or the rare adult that gets this illness, should also get plenty of rest until fever is gone.
While in present day it is easy to treat scarlet fever, it shouldn’t be considered a benign illness. It requires antibiotic treatment because it can morph into other more serious illnesses like rheumatic fever. Rheumatic fever can begin to affect organs in the body, even the heart, and may cause permanent damage if ignored. Thus, if people suspect scarlatina or strep throat, getting medical care is the sensible thing to do.
Written by Tricia Ellis-Christensen
