Many children still get measles because their parents are negligent and do not vaccinate them.

Severe measles case due to "forgetting" to get vaccinated

Since the beginning of the year, the National Children's Hospital has continuously received infectious diseases that can spread such as measles, influenza, hand, foot and mouth disease, dengue fever and some respiratory infections such as RSV, Adonevirus. Because the number of hospitalizations related to measles has increased rapidly, the hospital has separated the Tropical Center to treat these patients. Notably, among the measles cases, there are many elderly children who have not been vaccinated against measles.

The doctor is examining patient Tran Phu Hao (10 years old, Nghia Hung district, Nam Dinh province).

In room 212, Tropical Center, National Children's Hospital, a doctor is examining patient Tran Phu Hao (10 years old, Nghia Hung district, Nam Dinh province). Hao was admitted to the hospital on May 6 with a high fever. The doctor concluded that he had measles with complications of digestion and respiratory system.

Accompanying her child from the first days in the hospital, Ms. Lai Thi Diep (Hao's mother) said: "When he was at home, he had a fever and lay lethargic. Thinking it was a common fever, I took him to the nearest medical facility for examination. There, the doctor said he had low platelets, possibly due to measles, so we transferred him to the provincial level. At the provincial level, the doctor said he had high liver enzymes, low platelets, and measles, so he was transferred to the central level. Currently, he has not eaten anything, and his condition has not improved, so I am quite worried."

According to Ms. Diep, Hao had only received one measles shot before, but then his family saw signs of an allergic reaction to the vaccine, such as a rash for 10 consecutive days, so they did not let him get any more shots.

Or that is the case of patient NLA (16 years old, in Hanoi) who was also hospitalized related to measles. Through monitoring the vaccination history, the family said "we do not know if he has been vaccinated yet".

NLA had a high fever that did not respond to antipyretics, bronchitis, a rash from head to toe, fatigue, and a rapid heart rate, so the doctors hospitalized him for monitoring. At the National Children's Hospital, the patient was prescribed vitamin A, antipyretics, and oral antibiotics to treat bronchitis. After 4-5 days, NLA's health condition was more stable.

Pneumonia and diarrhea are two dangerous complications of measles.

According to Dr. Do Thien Hai, Deputy Director of the Center for Tropical Diseases, National Children's Hospital, up to 1/3 of measles-related hospitalizations at the unit have quite severe complications, patients have to use oxygen, some cases use special treatment interventions such as using serum to filter people. Or some cases have to filter blood, or use high-rise ventilators. These are quite special treatment measures that help solve many severe cases.

Dr. Do Thien Hai, Deputy Director of the Center for Tropical Diseases, National Children's Hospital.

Currently, “On average, the center has 3 to 7 cases requiring ventilators every day, and 30 to 40 patients requiring oxygen therapy. There are also some cases of measles infection with additional bacterial infections. Because under normal conditions, the child’s throat and respiratory tract still have bacteria living together but not causing disease. However, when infected with measles, it will cause damage to the respiratory tract mucosa. At that time, bacteria will invade and cause pneumonia. That is the condition of bacterial superinfection after measles,” Dr. Do Thien Hai explained.

In addition to pneumonia, diarrhea is also a common complication after measles. If not treated carefully, it will lead to prolonged diarrhea. In children, it will lead to malnutrition and reduced immune response. And when prolonged diarrhea is combined with pneumonia, it will make treatment difficult. Some severe cases can cause death.

Dr. Do Thien Hai emphasized that in fact, deaths from measles are very rare, but deaths from complications after contracting measles are really worrying.

When should children be cared for at home?

In cases where children with measles have complications or risk factors for severe conditions, such as children with underlying diseases that progress to severe conditions, they will be hospitalized for treatment. Therefore, in cases where the above factors are not present, children will be transferred to lower-level facilities for treatment, or cared for at home.

According to Dr. Do Thien Hai, Deputy Director of the Center for Tropical Diseases, National Children's Hospital, if there are no complications, parents can easily take care of their children at home.

Firstly, at home, the baby will be cared for in a cleaner environment than in the hospital. Because in the hospital, a room of only over 10m2 ^has 3-4 babies being treated at the same time. At home, the baby will have a separate room, with the door open for ventilation, the baby will be cared for more cleanly, reducing the risk of secondary infection.

Second, taking care of your baby at home is more convenient, from personal hygiene to adequate nutrition, helping your baby recover faster.

If there are no complications, parents can easily care for children with measles at home.

Third, when your baby is cared for at home, doctors will usually advise parents on how to monitor their baby for signs of a serious condition. Therefore, parents can take their baby to the doctor at any time if there are any signs that medical staff recommends.

“For example, if the child has a high fever that lasts more than 48 hours and does not respond to fever-reducing medication, parents should take the child to the hospital. Or if the child has a fever but does not eat, play, or is not alert, the child should be taken to the doctor immediately. Or the child is tired, has difficulty breathing, etc. All of these cases can be examined immediately at a medical facility of a district/county/city hospital,” Dr. Do Thien Hai gave an example.

How to care for children with measles at home

According to Dr. Do Thien Hai, to reduce fever in children, you should use a fever-reducing medicine with the single ingredient palacetamol, use it every 6 hours, 10 milligrams/kg each time, then monitor the baby's fever.

Just take the medicine for about half an hour, 1 hour the baby's temperature drops below 38.5 degrees, then there will be a response. Avoid using too much fever-reducing medicine, which can easily cause side effects such as hepatitis, palacetamol poisoning. Therefore, just reduce the fever to a moderate level, the viruses in the body will be eliminated faster than reducing the fever to 37 degrees.

For patients with measles in the early stages, conjunctivitis is often present. Use eye drops with 0.9% saline, 3-4 times a day to avoid secondary infection and corneal ulcers. Take vitamin A as prescribed by your doctor.

In addition, for babies with coughs due to laryngitis or dry coughs, parents only need to use nasal drops. Older babies can use mouthwash with recommended solutions such as commercially available mouthwash bottles or use saline to clean the respiratory tract.

From the 5th day, the measles rash will spread all over the body, the baby will start to feel itchy. At that time, the doctor will advise some medicine to reduce the baby's itching.

In addition, doctors note that you should not avoid bathing your baby when he has measles. Nowadays, living conditions are different from the past, each family has a private bathroom, a heating lamp, and hot water. Mothers only need to know how to bathe their baby quickly, ensuring that the baby is clean and less itchy and uncomfortable.

According to vov.vn

Source: https://baolaocai.vn/van-con-nhieu-tre-mac-soi-do-cha-me-chu-quan-khong-tiem-vaccine-post401658.html