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Infectious erythema, called the fifth disease, is a viral infection that affects children between 2 and 12 years of age. The greatest number of cases is recorded in spring. A red itchy rash first appears on the cheeks, affecting other parts of the body over time. Check what, apart from rash, are the symptoms of parvovirus B19 infection and how to treat infectious erythema.
Erythema infectious(Latinerythema infectiosum , fifth disease, fifth disease) is a disease caused by the B19 parvovirus that spreads the droplet path. It most often attacks children, but can also appear in an adult. The sick person does not always feel the symptoms of the disease, but he always infects others.
Remember that the sick person is most contagious before the onset of the rash. A large proportion of patients havecontagious erythemaasymptomatically.
A pregnant woman who has had contact with a person suffering fromcontagious erythemashould consult a gynecologist, even if she had no symptoms of infection. This is because parvovirus B19 infection can lead to intrauterine anemia in the baby and miscarriage.
It should also be remembered that parvovirus B19 infection in some patients leads to a temporary decrease in hemoglobin concentration. In rare cases, an aplastic crisis may occur. This is a complication of inhibiting the development of red blood cells.
Infectious erythema: symptoms
The first symptoms of infectious erythema resemble those of the flu.The matter becomes clear when there is a characteristic red-purple rash on the cheeks, spreading to the arms and legs, sometimes to the entirety body. The rash on the face, in the case ofcontagious erythema , takes the characteristic shape of a butterfly. The rash is accompanied by itching of the skin.
It is also characteristic that the rash usually goes around the trunk and mucous membranes - it spreads to the extremities. In addition, it lasts a relatively long time, up to two weeks, may disappear and reappear, e.g. due to temperature changes.
Adults go throughinfectious erythemausually harder than children, but they do not have rash - they include:
- joint swelling and pain
- fever
- feeling tired
The doctor makes a diagnosis based on the symptoms, and if in doubt, he or she can order itBlood tests. The only sure method of confirmingof infectious erythemais testing for the presence of antibodies against the virus of the IgM and IgG class.
Infectious erythema: treatment
Infectious erythema , like most viral diseases, does not require specific treatment. Usually, only drugs that alleviate the symptoms of the disease are used.
In the case ofinfectious erythemathere is no vaccine, but once takeninfectious erythemaimmunizes for life.
Infectious erythema in pregnancy
Infectious erythemais particularly dangerous for pregnant women: infection may occur and, as a result, miscarriage or fetal death. The risk of passing an infection to a child is approximately 5 percent.
When fetal infection causes severe anemia, blood transfusions can be performed in the womb. Due to the likelihood of infection of the fetus with erythema, women expecting a child should avoid places where they may become infected with the infection.
Read also:
- Sudden erythema
- Erythema migrating after a tick bite
- Erythema multiforme
- Erythema nodosum