HOME HEALTH GUIDE

Wairarapa Times-Age, 17 November 1943, Page 5

HOME HEALTH GUIDE

SCARLET FEVER COMPLAINT MUST BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY . (By the Department of Health) An increase in the normal incidence of scarlet fever lately has caused some concern in certain parts of New Zealand. The disease in recent years has taken rather a mild form, but it is a complaint that must be taken seriously. Ability to recognise the disease will mean early treatment and the avoidance of complications. Call a doctor if you suspect it. Scarlet fever is caused by a germ. Infection is spread as a rule by personal contact, and more rarely through infected articles and fabrics.

The disease begins with a sore throat, accompanied by a high temperature and vomiting, a hot, dry skin and headache. On the second day a bright scarlet rash appears, mostly on the chest. It is less blotchy than measles, being more of. a uniform redness. It may spread all over the body, excepting the face.

The rash lasts from three to five days and then quickly fades, and jn the second week the skin begins to peel in large patches of fine scales, disappearing last from the palms of the hands and soles of the feet. ' The tongue becomes furred and rough, and looks something like a strawberry. It is after the rash and fever disappear, when the patient feels well and wants to get up, that a quiet convalescence is most needed, in order to avoid strain on heart and kidneys. The patient needs at least three weeks’ isolation and care, for his own sake and for the protection of others. Scarlet fever germs grow in milk, and there have been milk-borne epidemics in this country. Pasteurised milk is safe from this danger.