SINUSITIS
The sinuses-the
air-filled cavities in the bones around the nose-are subject to infections,
less so in children than in adults. A tiny opening connects each sinus with the
inside of the nose. During a cold, infection may spread to the sinuses, which
will get clogged with pus. The pus drips out from the back of the nose into the
throat, causing a "drip" which may make the child cough when he lies
down. In more severe sinusitis, the child will have fever and headache. Redness
and swelling of the inner parts of the eyelids, the portions near the nose, may
be signs of a serious form of sinusitis (ethmoiditis).
The doctor can do many things, such as using nose packs,
suction, and medication, to relieve sinusitis. Scarlet Fever This is an
infection by a strep germ that happens to produce a special poison (scarlet
fever toxin) which causes a scarlet-colored rash. Not all strep germs cause
scarlet fever, and not everyone is susceptible to the rash-producing poison.
Thus, if such a strep infection occurs in a family of three children, one child
may get scarlet fever because he cannot resist the poison; a second may develop
only strep sore throat; and the third may carry the germ without being sickened
at all by it and may be able to pass it on to others.
As scarlet fever sets in, the child feels tired, restless,
and irritable. Then he develops fever and sore throat, and begins to vomit. His
skin feels hot and dry. After a day or so, bright red spots break out, starting
in the body creases such as the armpits. The rash spreads to the neck, the
chest, and the back. It may later cover the entire body and, from a distance,
it may look like a uniform coat of redness except for the skin around the mouth
which remains pale.
But the tongue will be inflamed, a blazing bright red. After
about two weeks, peeling of the skin occurs. Medicines such as penicillin may
shorten the course of the disease and are also tried in the hope of preventing
complications like ear infections, swollen neck glands, and nephritis. Not only
have antibiotics reduced the dangers of scarlet fever, but the disease itself
has become less severe in recent years for reasons still not understood. For
both these reasons, the complications that used to follow scarlet fever are
much less common now, although the disease is still not to be taken lightly.
Rheumatic Fever This serious disease (see also Heart Diseases, page 585) most
often afflicts children between 5 and 15 years of age.
