SCARLET FEVER
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SCARLET FEVER
SCARLET FEVER affects mainly children. It starts with a sore throat and high temperature, then after one or two days a rash appears. The rash looks very red, like sunburn, and also feels rough like sandpaper. When you look closely there are little white spots. The rash starts on the face and after a day spread all over the body. It usually clears up in four or five days, and after this the skin often peels. Scarlet Fever is an infectious condition, which means it can be passed on through close contact with people who have symptoms or are carrying it.
Scarlet fever starts suddenly, with symptoms including a high fever, sore throat and headache, red-looking tonsils with small marks of pus, furred white tongue, large tender glands in the neck and sometimes vomiting (being sick) or stomach pain.
After one or two days a rash appears, starting on the face and spreading all over the body within 24 hours. The skin looks as if sunburned and feels like sandpaper. If you look closely it seems to be speckled. The rash is reddest in the groin, armpits and the creases of the elbow. The skin around the mouth often looks pale. After four or five days the tongue becomes smooth and red like a strawberry. After a week the rash usually clears up. Sometimes the skin peels once the rash has gone away, especially on the palms of the hands, the soles of the feet and the areas where the rash was at its worst.
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| Kristle Jones |
