Common Skin Diseases - Common Skin Diseases In Children

Hand foot mouth disease is a very common disease. This childhood skin disease appears suddenly and is known to be a self-limiting viral disease. Hand-foot-mouth disease is very contagious and spreads from child to child to adult by direct contact with nasal or oral and even stool matter. The incubation period is generally 3-6 days. Symptoms could be fever, sore throat, and loss of appetite, sore mouth, headache, cough, fatigue, and rash.

The mouth, tongue, gums, or throat start out with the appearance of red areas. These red areas turn into blisters which can form lesions. The arms and legs would usually display red flat spots that also turn into big blisters and then into lesions. Lesions on the hands and feet commonly show up on the sides as well as backs of fingers and toes. They may also be present on the palms and even the soles. To keep this childhood skin disease under control and in preventive mode, wash hands as frequently as possible. Avoid any kind of contact with pregnant women.

Most cases of childhood hand-foot-mouth disease are known to rarely have complications, but when there are, this childhood skin disease can include inflammation of the heart and also the brain and pneumonia may set in. It is suspected of causing a miscarriage in pregnant women as well.

You may want to keep children in the house if they have the hand-foot-mouth disease. Acetaminophen or ibuprofen for fever/pain could be warranted. No aspirin is recommended for 12 years and under. And it is important to encourage the child with hand-foot-and mouth disease to drink plenty of fluids. Check with your doctor on hand-foot-mouth disease and all possible childhood skin diseases.

Scabies is basically an itchy skin which is caused by tiny parasites called mites. This childhood skin disease is a very uncomfortable one and it is extremely contagious as well. The mites that cause scabies in children are passed because of a person-to-person contact. The more crowded the area, such as pre-schools, the more there is an opportunity for the scabies disease to make contact with the child. The scabies rash generally appears on the child when mites burrow into the top layer of skin and lays eggs. Without treatment, this childhood skin disease usually will not at all improve.

The severe itching caused by Scabies can occur on the trunk, arms and legs, head and neck and palms and the soles as well. The intense itching can make the child scratch until a bacterial infection possibly takes hold. In this case, antibiotics may be needed in a large dosage. Check with the doctor on Scabies and all childhood skin diseases. If the itching lasts for more than 2-4 weeks or the rash spreads after the treatment, the child needs to be seen by the doctor again. Re-treatment may be required perhaps.

This childhood skin disease is called fifth disease and can have a long period of time between the child actually being exposed to this skin disease and the actual time the rash appears. In the beginning of fifth disease, the child may feel a bit under the weather. They may run a low-grade fever or have headaches or even muscle aches and experience fatigue. This may go on for quite a few days.

• John Palsson
• 19/06/2009, 3:59 AM
• 0 Comments