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    Scarlet fever,caused by a form of streptococcus. The fever was given
    this name because of the yellowish red hue given to the cheeks of
    the face. The disease is more common in younger children and can
    spread from the cheeks to the entire body. The incubation is from 2
    to 3 days. Symptoms: sore throat, fever, headache, discolored
    tongue, chills and rash after entering the bloodstream. This disease
    can also contribute to rheumatic fever and pneumonia. The rash
    usually fades after 5 days to 3 weeks. After which the noninfectious
    upper layer of the skin sheds away. But the throat can continue to
    be red,swollen and boggy for days after the rash has vanished. Mild
    cases of scarlet fever can be treated with bed rest and something as
    simple as aspirin. Although,as an added update,aspirin may not be
    recommended  when treating children; consult a medical adviser.  
    The more serious cases (which can be fatal), may require the use of
    an antibiotic, such as penicillin,which has made the fever less
    common over the years. However, when it comes to separating a
    milder form of the disease from a more sever form, it would be wise
    to treat both cases as serious and consult a physician.

    The biggest mistake made when diagnosing the disease is by paying
    too much attention to the rash and not the throat. In many cases no
    rash appears at all; the throat is the thing to watch. Six days after a
    child is exposed to scarlet fever there will be a rise in fever and a
    sore throat. And In most cases,a day or so later a fine scarlet rash
    will appear and the patient should be quarantined;which usually
    lasts four to six weeks. Complete isolation is required in order to
    control scarlet fever. The recovering of a patient is judged by the
    scaling of the rash,but the throat is the thing to watch.
    The most important thing about this disease is that it is not a flying
    machine. It must be spread through bodily contact;usually mouth to
    mouth. Scarlet disease cannot survive for very long outside of the
    body. In fact,for ever hour that elapses from the time that the
    secretion leaves the mouth,ears or nose of the sick to the catcher
    gives sunlight,air and drying a chance to kill the contagion.

    The history of scarlet fever, or scarlatina. The first is the English
    version the second is the Latin name for the same disease. There is
    no other difference. Prior to the great depression of the thirties
    there was a lot know about the treatment of scarlatina disease,but
    there was little known as to it's cause. There was a great deal of
    money spent and a lot of brain power employed but the cause of
    scarlet refused to be found. There was no bacillus found which is the
    cause of diphtheria and no filterable virus as in measles. But what
    they did note was that the infection entered the nose and throat,
    then circulated in the blood to reach the skin and kidneys as well as
    other structures of the body. After a certain time the disease would
    cease to be active,after which the badly poisoned cells would shed
    away. From their observations they concluded that the disease
    belonged in the group of contagions of the type caused by
    microorganisms.
    Earlier studies of the disease also showed that atmospheric
    conditions played a large role in the severity of the outbreaks.
    Though not sure as to the reason they concluded that the outbreaks
    of scarlet fever was greater during winter than summer but enough
    lingered over to carry the seed from winter to winter. The study also
    showed that climates where the outside air was cold and the inside
    air hot, the scarlet fever rates were greater. The mothers in
    Kentucky,South Carolina,and Mississippi suffered very little
    compared to the mothers of Wisconsin and Minnesota. It was
    suggested that people of the gulf states had scarlet fever so mildly
    that it wasn't called scarlet fever.
Scarlet Fever
and History of
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