We often hear about an outbreak of chikungunya especially around rainy season due to viruses spread by mosquitoes. This disease can attack anyone and anywhere. The cause of dengue fever is a mosquito that nests around us unconsciously, in plant vases and stagnant water.
It turns out that in addition to dengue fever, mosquitoes can also transmit another disease that is chikungunya due to the bite of a particular mosquito – Aedes Albopictus.
Chikungunya In Children
Children are a greater risk to this disease because they often play in watery places and open places. Chikungunya in children will cause more rash or red spots on the skin. Although it does not cause death but gives lot of discomfort due to pain.
Symptoms of Chikungunya
Symptoms will begin to feel on 4 to the 8th day of bite. Symptoms of chikungunya in children resemble flu symptoms.
1. Fever
Fever that appears usually reaches 39 to 40 Degree Celcius which lasts for 3 days to 1 week. Fever may occur in two phases: the first phase of mild fever will appear and then disappear and followed by a fever in the second phase which is much higher than the previous fever. During this period the virus accumulates in the bloodstream and spreads to different parts of the body.
2. Joint Pain (Arthritis)
Usually, pain appears in small joints such as hands, wrists and larger joints such as knee joint pain and shoulder joint pain. This pain starts to feel from one joint to the other after it feels better. The pain will be felt in the morning but will feel better with light exercise. The joints will swell and feel supple with inflammation in the tendon. Pain will heal 1-3 weeks with improved pain after the first week.
3. Rash
Almost 50% of patients with chikungunya have a rash. Morbili rash is the most common type of rash which is characterized by small bumps that appear 3-5 days after the fever begins and will disappear within 3-4 days. The appearance of the rash starts from the arm to the shoulders followed by the face and torso. If there is a big red bump followed by itching. Usually also appears in the back area, behind the armpit neck.
4. Raynaud Phenomenon
This is a condition of decreasing blood flow to the hands and feet as a stress response in the body. This symptom appears with the marked fingertips that feel cold and dark and bluish. The acute phase of chikungunya occurs three months after the previous symptoms. In addition to Raynaud’s phenomenon, pain can also reappear.
5. Myalgia (muscle Pain / Back)
These symptoms appear in the chronic phase. Characterized by persistent joint pain. Some cases say that joint pain occurs more than a year after the initial infection. It feels some like fever, asthenia, inflammation of joint swelling and tendon inflammation.
6. Headache
Early symptoms of chikungunya are similar to flu symptoms. Patients will experience a missing headache coming. This headache is triggered by joint pain that continues to attack.
7. Sore Throat
The next symptom of chikungunya is a sore throat. Joints that connect the throat will also experience inflammation. This sore throat resembles a sore throat that is felt when the fever.
8. Bone Pain
In addition to pain in the joints, the bone will also experience the pain that occurs can be felt lost come. This bone pain is also referred to as bone or bone fever.
9. Convulsions
In some cases, it may cause seizures as the patient may be unable to withstand the pain that arises throughout his body or also because of the fever that is raised along with other symptoms.
10. Enlarged Lymph Nodes
Often seen as a symptom of convulsions in children. But in older children, the fever and convulsions will be accompanied by enlarged lymph nodes.
Conclusion
There is no vaccine that can prevent a person infected with chikungunya. Prevention of chikungunya done with a focus on avoiding mosquitoes or eradicate the breeding place.
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