How to Identify Scarlet Fever

Scarlet fever is a condition that afflicts mostly children between the ages of two and ten years old. It's an extremely contagious rash caused by a strep infection that creates the scarlet fever toxin. The condition is spread through respiratory avenues or simple skin contact. Parents should be relieved however, to find that scarlet fever is relatively rare, and is not spread by all strep infections.Risks for contracting scarlet fever increase with crowded environments such as school classrooms. Learn how to identify scarlet fever signs and symptoms to prevent complications such as more serious infections and discomfort from rash.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Assess symptoms as they occur. In most cases, scarlet fever displays a progression through roughly six days. The first signs to watch for are fever, or complaints of a sore throat. The throat will appear red. In some cases, parents may even feel enlarged lymph nodes in the neck at this time. These symptoms generally occur in one day.

2. Watch for a bright red rash that appears on the face. In most cases, this rash will not occur around the mouth, a distinct sign of this particular condition. This rash usually appears on the second day.

3. Check your child's tongue. At or around the third day, the tongue will also appear bright red, and is often called a "strawberry tongue." The rash will also spread to other body areas and especially bodily creases, creating an uncomfortable rash that affects the neck, chest and back, then the extremities.

4. Watch for signs that the rash appears to be drying out and shedding, or peeling. This sign may occur anywhere between three to six days, and will continue for as many as ten to fourteen days. Signs of redness and bumps will gradually decrease during this time frame as well.

Tips & Warnings

• Avoid giving children aspirin for symptoms. Instead, offer non-aspirin products like Tylenol. In some cases, a pediatrician will offer antibiotics for 24 hours, after which the child may return to school with a non-contagious rash.
• Test other family members for the strep bacteria to ensure than no one else has been exposed.

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