3 Types Of Fungal Infections In Children That You Should Be Aware Of
Do you often feel worried that your child might contract a fungal infection? And do you wonder how you can prevent that from happening? Fungal infections are common in children, and most of them are not very serious.
But still, they need to be treated, right? So how can you identify a fungal infection in your child? And what steps can you take to treat and prevent it from occurring again? This post answers all those questions. Read on.
How To Identify A Fungal Infection In Your Children?
1. Body Ringworms:
- They are generally itchy
- They are flaky patches that are oval and raised
- The inflamed area oozes with pus
2. Scalp Ringworm:
- Black spots or dots on your child’s scalp
- Your child’s scalp has itchy and flaky patches
- Your child has short and broken hair
- There is hair loss from one or more patches
- There are raised areas on the scalp
[ Read: Ringworm Treatments For Kids ]
3. Athlete’s Foot:
- Itchy feet
- Discoloured and thicker nails
- The skin between toes may become sore and cracked
- Similar symptoms on the sole
[ Read: Bacterial Infections In Children ]
Types Of Fungal Infections In Children:
There are various types of fungal infections:
- Body ringworm
- Scalp ringworm
- Athlete’s foot
What Causes Fungal Infection In Children?
Fungal infections in your children are caused when:
- Your children’s skin gets attacked by fungi.
- The outer layer of your child’s skin or scalp gets attacked.
- These infections grown on moist, dark, warm and unclean areas of your child’s skin.
- These infections are quite contagious, hence your child may pick up a fungal infection from other infected persons too.
- Since children love sharing and playing together, your child may pick up fungal infections from a friend, or anybody else for that matter.
- Wearing moist socks and shoes, bathing in public showers and pools can also cause fungal infections.
[ Read: Symptoms Of Blood Infection In Children ]
How Treat Fungal Infections In Children?
- If your child has got fungal infection, do not panic. If treated on time, fungal infections can readily be cured in children.
- Take your child to the doctor immediately.
- After examining your child, the doctor will prescribe treatment depending on the kind of infection.
- Your doctor may prescribe creams, shampoos or even lotions to topically treat your child’s fungal infection.
- Many a time, he may also prescribe few oral medicines to treat the infection at the earliest.
How To Prevent Fungal Infections In Children?
Prevention is surely better than cure. Here is how you can prevent your child from getting a fungal infection:
- Discourage your child from sharing his personal items, like hats and combs, with others.
- Make sure your pet is free from infection. If you suspect your pet to have an infection, have him examined by a Vet.
- Make sure your child always wears shoes to public places.
- If your child plays in the soil, ensure that he/she thoroughly washes hands or takes a bath afterwards.
- Ensure to wash your child’s feet every day.
- Make sure you pat dry your child’s feet with a towel after every shower.
- Take special care of your child’s personal hygiene. Inculcate the same habit in your child.
- Make your child wear dry and fresh pair of socks everyday.
- Ensure that your child wears slippers while walking around in public showers, pools and even locker rooms.
- Use a powder (medicated) to reduce the sweating on your child’s feet.
- If your child wears diapers, make sure you use the ones that are super-absorbent in nature.
- Make sure your child wears cotton undies.
- Dress your child in loose cotton clothing to facilitate ventilation.
These are some of the basic ways of preventing fungal infections in your child. Young children do not have very strong immunity. This makes them easily prone to infections. So, take special care of your child. Take special care of your child’s hygiene and teach your child the same.
Prevention has always been the best cure. But if your child still catches fungal infections, do not panic.Fungal infection in kids are pretty common and are not very serious among st children. We hope this post has helped you. Do give your feedback in the comments section below. We would love to hear from you!
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