What to do if your child has shingles

As we all know, children are a high-risk group for diseases due to their low body resistance. Among the diseases that are highly prevalent among children, there are not only common diseases such as colds, but also diseases such as shingles in children. In fact, for parents, it is inevitable for their children to get sick, but if they understand the relevant knowledge and respond in a formal way, their children can recover as soon as possible. Therefore, parents should understand what to do if their children have shingles.

In fact, shingles is caused by the varicella-zoster virus. The virus enters the human body through the respiratory mucosa, spreads through the blood, and causes chickenpox on the skin. However, most people do not develop chickenpox after infection. This is a latent infection and they become carriers of the virus.

The varicella-zoster virus is neurotropic. After invading the sensory nerve endings of the skin, it can move along the nerves to the ganglia of the posterior roots of the spinal cord and lurk there. When the baby's cellular immune function is low, such as when suffering from a cold or fever, the virus will be stimulated, causing inflammation and necrosis of the ganglia. At the same time, the reactivated virus can move along the peripheral nerve fibers to the skin to cause herpes.

In rare cases, the herpes virus can spread to the anterior horn cells of the spinal cord and visceral nerve fibers, causing motor nerve paralysis, such as eye and facial nerve paralysis, as well as gastrointestinal and urinary tract symptoms.

Principles of herpes zoster treatment: antiviral, pain reduction, prevention of secondary infection, and shortening of disease course.

1. Drug therapy:

(1) Neuralgia: Analgesics such as aspirin, acetaminophen, indomethacin, ibuprofen, and Xinhuang tablets can be given. Postherpetic neuralgia requires a combination of analgesics and sedatives.

(2) Local skin care treatment: apply phthalamide ointment or calamine lotion externally. For erosion, apply 2% gentian violet solution or neomycin furfural oil paste. Or ultraviolet irradiation, audio frequency electrotherapy, laser irradiation (helium-neon or carbon dioxide expanded beam irradiation), TDP spectrum irradiation, etc.

2. Traditional Chinese Medicine Treatment

For external use, Chinese medicine can be selected according to the condition of the disease, including decoction for external application of medicines that clear away heat, detoxify and reduce swelling or remove dampness and dryness. In addition, if the blisters have not broken, Jinhuang Powder can be used, and if the blisters have broken, Sihuang Paste can be applied externally.

It can be combined with heat-clearing and detoxifying Chinese medicine and acupuncture therapy. Recommended Chinese patent medicines include Longdan Xiegan Pills for those with excessive liver fire; Weiling Pills or Shenling Baizhu Pills for those with spleen deficiency and dampness; Xuefu Zhuyu Pills for those with qi and blood stasis.

In addition, traditional Chinese medicine acupuncture therapy has obvious anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects, and is also effective for postherpetic neuralgia.

Shingles in children is a common disease. If it is discovered and treated in time, the patient can be free from pain and recover early. Therefore, in addition to understanding how to deal with shingles in children, you also need to understand the symptoms of shingles in children so that you can detect it early and reduce the harm.