Cytomegalovirus infection: symptoms in children and treatment

Almost all parents know about such a disease as cytomegalovirus infection. Symptoms in children often do not manifest, and an infectious disease can be detected only after a blood test in which antibodies to the cytomegalovirus are found. How dangerous this disease is for a child's organism and how to behave in case of its manifestation will be told in this article.

What is cytomegalovirus infection?

Cytomegalovirus is an infectious disease that belongs to the herpes group. It usually occurs asymptomatically in the initial stages, in children the symptoms are more pronounced than in adults. That is why the virologists are mostly children.

Infection can be congenital or acquired. Congenital cytomegalovirus infection is more severe and causes more complications. The disease can provoke disturbances in the work of individual organs or systems or worsen the general state of the body.

In connection with the sharp deterioration of the environment, parents are increasingly asking: what is dangerous cytomegalovirus infection in children? Symptoms and treatment depend on the way the child is infected. Typically, the infection manifests itself only with a decrease in immunity, before that it can be in a latent form and not harm the health of the baby.

Localization of the virus

After getting the infection in the body, it tends to get to the salivary glands through the bloodstream. It is here that the virus builds its DNA into the nucleus of healthy cells and promotes the production of new viral particles.

As a result, the cell significantly increases in size. It is from here that the name of the disease began, since from Latin cytomegalia is translated as "giant cells". In healthy children, whose immune system functions well, cytomegalovirus infection does not appear. Symptoms in children with immunodeficiency, HIV, malformations and prematurity may have varying degrees of severity.

Congenital cytomegalovirus

It enters the body of the child directly from the mother, through the placenta. This occurs when a woman first develops CMV in pregnancy and her body lacks antibodies to this virus. For a baby, the most dangerous is a congenital cytomegalovirus infection.

Symptoms in children can be manifested by impaired visual or auditory apparatus, frequent convulsions, developmental lagging (mental, physical). Another possible mode of transmission is the period of labor or breastfeeding. In this case, the child will not have dangerous consequences and the disease can never manifest.

Acquired cytomegalovirus

It enters the child's body in preschool and school establishments. Since the virus is transmitted by airborne droplets, it can enter the body of all children in the same room. Such an infection will not cause any harm to the health of the child.

Cytomegalovirus infection in children, acquired at school age, does not contribute to disorders in the development of body systems and does not slow the overall development of the child. But with a decrease in immunity can manifest itself with frequent colds.

Symptoms of congenital cytomegalovirus

With neonatal infection of the fetus (especially before the 12th week of pregnancy) a child is born with multiple developmental defects. The virus promotes the presence of heart defects, brain pathologies and other dangerous diseases or pathological processes in the baby's body.

The first sign of the presence of CMV in a child is hypotension of the muscles, lethargy, restless sleep, poor appetite, problems with digestion of food. In especially severe cases, a fatal outcome is possible in the first weeks after birth.

With infection in the third trimester, the child has no developmental defects. In this case, the symptoms of the disease will manifest jaundice, hemolytic anemia, hydrocephalus and other dangerous pathologies.

After the birth, the disease may not manifest itself, but as the child grows, minor developmental lags will start to appear, which will be provoked by the cytomegalovirus infection. Symptoms in children of 3 years are manifested by the presence of various neurological disorders and diseases.

Symptoms of acquired cytomegalovirus

The acquired virus manifests itself in rare cases, most often it sleeps without having any effect on the children's body. This indicates a good work of the immune system, which prevents the activation of the virus. In the case when the child has weak immune protection, the disease will manifest itself with frequent colds (with inflammation of the lymph nodes, runny nose and fever).

If a child has chronic immunodeficiency, his body will very often become infected. In this case, complications from the disease will be localized in many body systems - cardiovascular, nervous, digestive, urogenital.

Treatment of this form of the virus is very long and in most cases unsuccessful. Fortunately, a complicated cytomegalovirus infection is rare enough. Symptoms in children, treatment, reviews - all this is an important information for parents who care about the health of their baby and seek to prevent possible negative consequences of the disease.

Diagnosis of the disease

Diagnosis of the virus has certain difficulties. To detect the pathogen, a number of specific tests and tests must be performed. The main ones are a fence of saliva, urine and feces in a child.

In the analysis of blood, attention is drawn to the presence of antibodies. IgG can be transmitted from mother to child and do not indicate the presence of the virus, as they will eventually disappear without drug treatment. If IgM is found in the blood, this is a direct confirmation of the presence of the virus in the child's body.

The presence of antibodies to the virus in the blood is not an excuse for agitation. Cytomegalovirus infection in a child whose symptoms are not manifested can all his life be in a latent state, without affecting the body's condition and causing complications.

Hardware diagnostics CMV

For diagnostics of the affected systems of the body, the doctor can prescribe additional examinations that will determine the extent of the virus's damage to the body:

• Chest x-ray - if the lung tissue is damaged, signs of pneumonia or other diseases of the respiratory system will be visible in the picture;
• MRI or ultrasound of the brain shows the presence of calcifications or inflammatory processes in the brain;
• Ultrasound of the abdominal cavity makes it possible to establish an increase in the size of the liver and spleen, the presence of hemorrhages in the organs or disruption of the digestive and urinary systems.

If the child has a generalized form of infection, the doctor will obligatorily send for examination to the oculist for the detection of damage to the fundus and structures of the visual apparatus. This will allow to reveal structural changes in time and to appoint competent treatment capable of preserving the child's vision, which is directly influenced by cytomegalovirus infection in children. Symptoms, responses of parents and doctors allow more rationally to prescribe treatment on the basis of experience of past patients.

The pediatrician and infectious disease specialist appoint the methods of examination. After the detection of the localization of the virus in the treatment of a child, a nephrologist, urologist, neurologist or oculist takes part.

Treatment of congenital cytomegalovirus

Features and methods of treatment depend directly on the form of infection and the complexity of the course of infection.

Note! Completely kill this virus in the body is impossible. Treatment is aimed only at improving the general condition of the child and normalizing vital processes in the body.

Drug therapy CMVI is the use of interferon and immunoglobulin, which directly affects the cytomegalovirus infection. If the body has inflammatory processes, it is necessary to prescribe suitable antibiotics and drugs to enhance the body's immune defenses.

In some cases, a large effect of therapy may be manifested in the appointment of homeopathic remedies, acupuncture or manual therapy. The method of treatment is selected individually, depending on how much the cytomegalovirus infection has affected the body. Symptoms in children, photos of the manifestation of the disease will allow to identify the virus in time and seek medical help from a doctor.

Treatment of acquired cytomegalovirus

The acquired form of cytomegalovirus is amenable to therapy at home. In this case, after the examination, the doctor selects the appropriate treatment, and the parents can independently conduct it, following all the doctor's recommendations.

Cytomegalovirus infection in children, the symptoms of which are manifested by diarrhea, requires the use of adsorptive agents, which will solve not only the problem with the intestine, but also remove all pathogenic bacteria from it. All this will positively affect the result of complex treatment.

Infected children should receive adequate nutrition and drink lots of clean drinking water. This will make it possible to quickly remove bacteria from the body and restore metabolic processes.

Cytomegalovirus infection: symptoms in children, "Cytotect" as a way to increase immunity

"Cytotect" - a specific immunoglobulin, aimed at eliminating the pathogens of digital computers in children. The drug is used to treat or prevent a disease accompanied by a decrease in the body's immune defenses. Preventative measures are necessary for organ transplantation, when immunity is suppressed artificially, so that rejection of the transplanted organ does not occur.

Prevention is the main way to protect against cytomegaly. After all, to observe personal hygiene, to lead a healthy lifestyle and to prescribe a doctor to take the necessary drugs is much easier than then to treat the disease, especially with the presence of complications.

Consequences of cytomegalovirus infection

The development of complications is more likely to affect newborns and children suffering from immunodeficiency. It is worth noting that not everything depends on the timeliness and effectiveness of treatment, as the disease can progressively progress and cause serious health problems.

The most frequently manifested complications include:

• Damage to the nervous system;
• Encephalitis - an inflammation of the brain;
• Cytomegalovirus pneumonia;
• Eye diseases, in particular chorioretinitis, which leads to strabismus in children and blindness.

The effectiveness of treatment depends more on the state of the natural immune defense of the child. Since drugs can only suppress the spread and aggressiveness of the virus. If a child other than CMV has cancer or leukemia, the symptomatology will be much more vivid, and the treatment will be much more difficult and more long-lasting.

Prevention of CMVI in children

The main method of prevention is to strengthen the immune system of the child. This task includes not only rational nutrition, but also necessary for the child moderate physical activity, hardening, active rest and many other factors.

After the illness (especially a serious infectious disease), the child should not be immediately taken to the garden or school, since his body has not yet fully recovered, and the immunity is too weak. In this state, there is a high probability that a child can become infected with CMV.

If the child is often sick and his condition worsens, you need to see a doctor, take the necessary tests and be examined. Attentive attitude of parents to the health of their child will avoid dangerous consequences of the disease, stopping the virus at an early stage.