What is Rheumatic fever?
Rheumatic fever is a disease that my develop after and infection with group A streptococcus bacteria (such as strep throat or scarlet fever). It can cause severe illness in the heart, joints, skin, and brain.
Causes
Rheumatic fever is still common in countries that have a lot of poverty and poor health systems. Rheumatic fever occurs after infections with a germ or bacteria called Streptococcus pyogenes or group A streptococcus. This germ appears to trick the immune system into attacking healthy tissues in the body. These tissues become swollen or inflamed.
This abnormal reaction seems to almost always occur with strep throat or scarlet fever. Strep infections that involve other parts of the body do not seem to trigger rheumatic fever.
Symptoms
Rheumatic fever mainly affects children ages 5 to 15 who have had strep throat or scarlet fever. If it occurs, it develops about 14 to 28 days after these illnesses.
- Fever
- Nosebleeds
- Pain in abdomen
- Heart problems, which may have no symptoms, or may lead to shortness of breath and chest pain
- Joint pain
- Ring-shaped or snake-like skin rash on the trunk and upper part of the arms or legs
- Skin lumps or nodules
How is it treated?
If you or your child is diagnosed with acute rheumatic fever, you or your child will be treated with antibiotics. The goal of this treatment is to remove all of the strep bacteria from the body.
After the first treatment is complete, more antibiotics are prescribed. The goal of theses medicines is to prevent rheumatic fever from recurring.
- All children will continue the antibiotics until age 21.
- Teenagers and young adults will need to take antibiotics for at least 5 years.
If you or your child had heart problems when the rheumatic fever occurred, antibiotics may be needed for even longer, perhaps for life.
To help manage swelling of inflamed tissues during acute rheumatic fever, medicines such as aspirin or corticosteroids may be needed. For problems with abnormal movements or abnormal behaviors, medicines often used to treat seizures may be prescribed.
Prevention
- Wash your hands often. If available, use soap and water, washing for at least 20 seconds. Or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that has at least 60% alcohol.
- The most important way to prevent rheumatic fever is by getting quick treatment for strep throat and scarlet fever.
- Avoid touching your face. Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth.
- Clean and disinfect surfaces. Regularly clean often-touched surfaces to prevent spread of infection from a surface with virus on it to your body.
- Avoid contact with the virus. Try to avoid people who are sick or have symptoms of flu. And if you have symptoms, stay home if you can. When flu is spreading, consider keeping distance between yourself and others while indoors, especially in areas with poor air flow. If you’re at high risk of complications form the flu consider avoiding swine barns at seasonal fairs and elsewhere.
- When infected, or in contact with infected persons, wear a mask.
Information courtesy of Medline Clinic
