On the face of 8 mosquito-borne diseases that are dangerous for children

When bitten by mosquitoes, your baby is not only itchy but also at risk of contracting many dangerous diseases. Mosquito-borne diseases can be transmitted to humans through the bite such as dengue fever, malaria, yellow fever, zika disease, Japanese encephalitis, filariasis ...

Health experts have shown that having these diseases seriously affects a child's overall development, including physical, cognitive and emotional development. The good news is we can completely prevent these diseases by preventing mosquito bites.

In this article, aFamilyToday Health provides you with information about 8 diseases that children can be infected through mosquito bites.

Diseases are transmitted through mosquito bites

1. Malaria

This is one of the most common diseases caused by mosquitoes, the vector of which is the anophele. Most children with mild and moderate malaria can recover completely without any long-term effects. In the case of a child with severe malaria, he or she can suffer long-term effects on the immune system, cognitive ability, behavior and learning ability.

The reason is that the malaria parasite can also invade the child's immune system and impair the ability to trigger an immune response. As a result, people who have previously had malaria often do not respond to many vaccines and are susceptible to infection. In the first years of life, children are exposed to many new stimulating factors such as bacteria, bacteria, fungi ... If your child's immune system is not strong enough, your baby's risk of diseases will increase.

According to a research paper, the decline in perception of language, memory, attention ... is the potential burden of malaria.

♦ Symptoms to recognize 

When a child first gets sick, he or she may have initial symptoms such as fever, chills, sweating, body aches, frequent nausea, vomiting ...

♦ What parents need to do

If your child has malaria, be alert for symptoms such as seizures, lethargy, and low blood sugar. These symptoms represent a high risk of acute infection and must be treated immediately.

If your child has had malaria and is often sick, take him or her to the pediatrician and ask about a suppressed immune response.

In addition, you should give your child foods that strengthen the immune system such as citrus fruits, yogurt, almonds, green vegetables ...

2. Dengue fever

Children dengue can have effects on physical development even after the illness is gone. It is known to cause severe pain in muscles and joints - also known as polyarthritis and myalgia.

If a child with a vitamin or mineral deficiency has dengue fever, the severity of these attacks may be more severe than in other normal children.

♦ Symptoms to recognize 

When having dengue fever, children often have the manifestations: high fever, rash, headache, bleeding teeth, easy bruising ... more serious is abdominal pain, diarrhea or bleeding under the skin ...

♦ What parents need to do

If your child has dengue fever and has been cured of treatment but he still complains of joint pain, take him or her back to the doctor as soon as possible. The doctor will conduct an exam to assess the child's pain. From there, you will prescribe the right medicine for your child and guide you to change the child's diet to improve pain.

3. Gold sauce

Yellow fever is a form of dengue fever and there is currently no cure. After a period of infection, most patients will recover, about 15% of cases will suffer from complications such as intoxication, internal bleeding and disorders of the internal organs. The majority of patients with complications will die.

Yellow fever caused by a mosquito breed called aedes aegypti is the transmission agent. Today, the number of people infected with yellow fever tends to increase, the reason is that the human immunity decreases, the climate change makes the living environment of the mosquito to expand ...

♦ Symptoms to recognize 

While some people with yellow fever have no initial symptoms, other symptoms first appear 3 to 6 days after being bitten by a mosquito carrying the disease.
In the early stages, the patient may experience symptoms such as sudden high fever, headache, muscle pain (especially in the back and knees), sensitivity to light, loss of appetite, eyes, red face or tongue ...

Patients with yellow fever can jaundice, yellow eyes, hemorrhage, liver failure, kidney failure, brain dysfunction, even death.

♦ What parents need to do

Now that there is a vaccine for yellow fever , you can have your baby vaccinated as soon as they are 9 months old or older. The vaccine will be given every 10 years to people at high risk of illness.

4. Zika virus

In the last few years, the zika virus has caused panic in many countries after evidence has shown its association with microcephaly in infants. The disease is caused by Aedes aegypti mosquito, which is a vector for transmission and transmission from mother to fetus, causing damage to the child's brain.

Many children with zika have Guillan-Barre syndrome, a disorder caused by the immune system mistakenly attacking part of the peripheral nerve. This complication of zika can damage brain stem cells and lead to paralysis. According to one report, infection with the zika virus can put people at five times higher risk of developing Guillan-Barre syndrome.

♦ Symptoms to recognize 

If infected with zika virus, the patient usually has symptoms such as fever, rash, joint pain and red eyes. These symptoms are usually mild and last less than a week, so they are often easily ignored.

♦ What parents need to do 

If you get zika virus infection during pregnancy, don't worry too much because the risk that your baby will get microcephaly is not high. Please go to a doctor and strictly follow the advice of your doctor.

5. Japanese encephalitis

The Japanese encephalitis virus exists in hosts such as birds and pigs. Mosquitoes suck the blood of infected animals and transmit them to humans through the sting. Mosquitoes that transmit this disease usually reside in places with stagnant ponds, standing water, wetlands, rice fields ...

The causative virus can infect the brain and lead to serious brain damage. This not only interferes with the development of the child, but can also be fatal with a rate of about 25-30% of cases.

♦ Symptoms to recognize

People with Japanese encephalitis often onset with mild flu-like symptoms such as fever, headache, high fever, seizures, unconsciousness, severe headache ...

♦ What parents need to do

If your family lives in an area at high risk of this disease and your child has symptoms such as fever, headache, etc., please bring your child to a doctor early for an accurate diagnosis and prompt treatment.

Currently, there is no specific treatment for Japanese encephalitis in medicine. Therefore, it is best to have your child vaccinated against Japanese encephalitis and avoid mosquito bites.

6. Lymphatic filariasis or elephantiasis

Elephant foot edema occurs when the lymphatic system is blocked, leading to an accumulation of lymph fluid. At this point, the skin and the organs in the damaged area thicken and become inflamed.

The cause of the disease is infected by helminth larvae only when bitten by a mosquito carrying the disease. After entering the body, worm larvae only reside in the lymphatic system, develop into worms and cause obstruction of the lymphatic system and lead to swelling in the face, limbs ... This deformation can last forever. away, causing serious loss of aesthetics.

People with elephant leg edema can suffer from dangerous complications such as diabetes mellitus (lethargy), kidney damage ...

♦ Symptoms to recognize 

People infected with worms usually have typical symptoms such as swelling of the legs, stiff, not concave, painless. In addition, the skin in the affected area becomes stiff and thick. The genitals can also swell, causing an effusion of the testicle, scleroderma, and roughness ...

♦ What parents need to do

If your child has a filariasis infection, there are a few steps you need to take to help control the disease:

Keep the baby clean every day and wash the damaged skin with soap

Apply antibiotic or antibiotic cream to the damaged skin as directed by your doctor

Encourage your child to move the damaged arm and leg areas often to help the fluid in the lymph nodes circulate.

7. Chikungunya

Children who have had chikungunya disease may fall into a state of depression. The effects of depression can be noticed up to a year after a child is infected with the illness. This is what makes chikungunya one of the most worrying things in the list of diseases transmitted by mosquito bites.

♦ Symptoms to recognize 

Children with chikungunya fever often have symptoms such as fever, joint pain, muscle pain, headache, nausea, fatigue, rash ... Symptoms usually appear after being bitten by mosquitoes that are about 4 to 8. day.

Some of the symptoms of the disease resemble dengue and zika, leading to a misdiagnosis in areas where these two diseases are common.

♦ What parents need to do

If your child has been infected with chikungunya and often complains about mood swings or you notice your baby's mood swings frequently, take him to the doctor and discuss it with his or her doctor.

In addition, children who have had chikungunya may also experience joint pain, so mothers need to pay attention to this situation.

8. Rift Valley fever (RVF)

Rift valley fever is caused by a phlebovirus virus. This virus exists in the body of animals such as buffaloes, cows, sheep, goats ... and is transmitted to the human body through mosquito bites or touching the blood of infected animals, breathing the air around animals. infected by slaughtering, drinking fresh milk from infected animals ...

Various mosquitoes such as aedes, anopheles, eretmapodites, mansonia… can act as vectors for disease transmission. So the risk of disease appearing in areas where these mosquitoes live is entirely possible. People with Rift Valley fever can experience very dangerous complications such as blindness, brain related diseases, liver necrosis, swollen liver, hemorrhagic point on the liver, swollen lymph nodes, sometimes with an additional million. jaundice ... even death.

♦ Symptoms to recognize

People with Rift valley fever have an incubation period usually from 2 to 6 days. It starts with flu-like symptoms such as sudden fever, headache, muscle aches and back pain, and can be accompanied by signs of stiff neck, photophobia, and vomiting. These are symptoms that can be confused with meningitis. Symptoms will disappear after 4-7 days.

♦ What parents need to do 

If one of these mosquitoes is present in your area, be wary. If your baby has a fever, you should take your baby to the doctor to be diagnosed and treated promptly.

Tell mom how to prevent mosquito bites for children

To be able to limit mosquito attack, you should take the following precautions:

Clean the house, clean things neatly, don't let mosquitoes have a shelter

Sleep nets during the day

Children wear long pants, long sleeves, light colors

Apply mosquito repellent to your child early in the morning and late afternoon

Use essential oils to repel mosquitoes , electric mosquito rackets to kill mosquitoes, and mosquito repellents

Do not let your child play in a place with lots of trees, lots of furniture, especially in the early morning and late afternoon. Because these are the two most active mosquitoes.

In addition, you should clean pots, water-stagnant objects to eliminate mosquito breeding sources.