School age diseases , as the name suggests, are diseases seen in school age children. Children start school life at the earliest at 3 years old and at the latest at 7 years old. In schools, many children study together at the same time. This situation accelerates the spread of infectious diseases among students. It is essential that parents regularly warn and raise awareness of children who cannot show sufficient care in terms of personal hygiene. Teachers and school administration also have a lot of work to do in this process . Preventing school age diseases is also important for the protection of public health.
What Causes School Age Diseases?
School age diseases occur more frequently, especially in the winter months. This is because classrooms are not ventilated enough in the winter months and the immune system becomes more vulnerable to diseases due to the cold weather. In the summer months, the increased consumption of cold drinks along with the increasing temperature triggers throat infections. At the same time, cold symptoms also occur due to sweating and cooling.
What are the Most Common School-Age Diseases?
The most common illnesses in school age include influenza, measles, mumps, intestinal parasites and meningitis. These illnesses do not have the same effect on everyone. Some children experience illnesses quite severely due to their weak constitutions. In some cases, the process is completed without any symptoms or with mild symptoms. The sick child should be taken to a doctor immediately and the most appropriate treatment should be applied under the supervision of a doctor. School should be suspended during the treatment process to prevent the disease from spreading to other students.
Flu: Among the Most Common School-Age Illnesses
Flu is a disease that seriously affects daily life and can be fatal for some people. This disease, which affects many parts of the body with symptoms such as runny nose, fatigue, joint pain, fever and sore throat, mutates every year and affects people in different ways. Since it starts to show its contagious effects before the symptoms appear , flu is among the most common school-age diseases . Antiviral drugs are used during the treatment process. Hospitalization is required in severe cases. The recovery process can be short, while there may be cases where the symptoms last for a long time.
Measles
Measles , a rash disease , occurs especially in childhood. Those who have had this disease once become immune. Measles, which is contagious before symptoms appear, spreads more quickly among people in the first days. Although contagiousness decreases over time, it can take up to 14 days for all symptoms to disappear. Symptoms of the disease include fever, cough, and eye inflammation. In severe cases of measles, problems such as pneumonia, brain inflammation, and hearing loss occur.
Mumps
Mumps, which is among the school-age diseases , manifests itself as swelling in the salivary glands. The swelling that occurs in the salivary glands called parotid also causes different problems such as difficulty swallowing. Inflammation can be observed in the testicles and ovaries during mumps. Inflammation can also be seen in the membrane surrounding the brain and spinal cord. Symptoms of the disease include fatigue, headache and nausea. It is possible to reduce the symptoms of the disease or overcome the disease without symptoms with the mumps vaccine administered in childhood.
Intestinal Parasites
Intestinal parasites are living things that settle in the body and look like worms. There are different types of these creatures such as tapeworms, hookworms, amoebas, and pinworms. Parasites reach the human body in different ways. The disease settles in the body through contact with unwashed fruits and vegetables, undercooked meat, and parasitic animal feces. The disease can also be transmitted from person to person. Parasite eggs reach other people from places touched by a person with parasites in their body and from objects they use. Parasites spread more easily, especially in the family and school environment. Various medications are used during the treatment process.
Meningitis
Perhaps the most dangerous of school-age illnesses is meningitis. Meningitis causes inflammation of the membranes around the brain or spinal cord. Meningitis is caused by different bacteria. The disease can occur due to pneumococci, meningococci, listeria and viral meningitis. There is more than one type of meningitis. The most severe of these is bacterial meningitis. Viral and fungal meningitis, on the other hand, are overcome with milder symptoms. Various medications are used in the treatment of meningitis , which is a contagious disease . The meningitis vaccine administered in childhood is extremely effective in reducing the incidence of the disease.
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