The appearance of boils in children is always accompanied by soreness and a deterioration in the general condition of babies. An abscess on the skin is far from as harmless as it might seem at first glance. Why boils are formed and how to treat them, we will tell in this material.
What it is?
Acute purulent inflammation of the hair follicle located next to the sebaceous gland and adjacent tissues in medicine is called a furuncle, and people call this ailment "boil"... It is popularly believed that such abscesses appear due to a cold or hypothermia. This is a common misconception. The boil is always closely associated with the activity of pathogenic pyogenic bacteria.
Furuncles can appear on any part of the body. They can be of different sizes. Several boils, which appeared one after the other, indicate that the child has furunculosis.
Many adults tend to underestimate the danger of boils. At the sight of such a painful phenomenon on the skin of a child, some moms and dads completely rely on their experience and recipes of traditional medicine. but it should be remembered that furunculosis is a manifestation of staphylococcal infection, which can be complicated by sepsis, toxic shock, purulent inflammation of various organs, including the brain. This can lead to disability and even death. That is why it is important not to self-medicate, not to make the child suffer, because the boil hurts very much, but immediately consult a doctor.
Reasons for the appearance
The main reason for the appearance of a boil is staphylococcal microbes. In 99% of cases, the causative agent is a specific representative of this genus of bacteria - Staphylococcus aureus. In 1% of cases, Staphylococcus epidermidis is to blame for inflammation of the hair follicle.
Staphylococcus aureus lives and lives on the skin and mucous membranes of almost every person. More than 40% of adults are asymptomatic carriers of staphylococcal infection. However, not everyone suffers from furunculosis. The disease develops when the immune system is unable to restrain the activity of the microbe.
For the appearance of a boil, it is important that several other factors "successfully" coincide with the weakness of the immune system, which will allow the microbe to feel "at home":
- the skin is injured - there are abrasions, scratches, microcracks, injection sites;
- the skin is poorly looked after - it is contaminated; in addition to staphylococcus, several other varieties of not the most harmless pathogenic microorganisms are "found" on it;
- the child has acne associated with blockage of the sebaceous gland ducts;
- the child suffers from allergies with skin manifestations (atopic dermatitis, allergic dermatitis);
- the child has any chronic diseases, and especially - diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, dysbiosis;
- the child has been previously diagnosed with diabetes mellitus;
- the baby has confirmed neurological diagnoses;
- there is exhaustion due to malnutrition, malnutrition, lack of vitamins and minerals, blood tests show anemia;
- the child has increased physical activity (this also applies to children who are involved in professional sports).
The common cold, which is almost always blamed for the occurrence of the next boil, has nothing to do with furunculosis.
But there is some connection between decreased immunity and hypothermia. Probably, it was she who was once noticed among the people and began to be considered the main reason. With the same success, a boil may appear after overheating in the sun, because any thermal effects somewhat reduce the child's immune defense.
It is for this moment that staphylococcus is "waiting", which, taking advantage of the fact that it is not restrained by the immune system, penetrates into a microcrack in the skin, into a clogged sebaceous gland, into a wound or abrasion, settles there. In the process of reproduction and life, staphylococcus aureus releases a large amount of toxins and enzymes that cause a general deterioration in well-being.
Staphylococcus aureus affects tissues with abundant formation of pus, as well as necrosis of a part of tissues. When all this accumulates under the skin, that very boil is formed, which looks quite frightening and feels rather painful.
Symptoms
Distinguishing a boil from a pimple or allergic reaction is quite simple. The boil develops quickly enough, and from the second day a so-called necrotic core is noticeable in it. Usually, furunculosis begins with the appearance of a single inflammatory element.
The boil goes through three stages in its development - first, infiltration occurs, then suppuration, and scarring after opening:
- First stage (infiltration) is manifested by the appearance of compaction. It is in the form of a red bump protruding above the surface of the skin, painful to the touch. A distinctive feature of the boil is that at this stage it rapidly increases in size, in a few hours adjacent tissues are affected, swelling appears, the temperature may rise, the child's behavior changes, he becomes lethargic and weak.
- In the second stage intense suppuration occurs, the furuncle continues to grow, but not in breadth, but in height, since the purulent head "swells". The color of the skin next to it may change - from reddish to purple and even dark brown. This is due to the fact that, in addition to pus, inside the head there is a layer of tissue that has undergone necrosis (death). At the time of suppuration, the temperature rises in almost all children, it can reach quite serious values - up to 38.0 degrees and above, the lymph nodes increase. The furuncle itself becomes incredibly painful, the child does not allow him to touch. If an unpleasant boil "jumped out" on the priest, the child cannot sit, if on the leg, on the knee - walking becomes difficult, because the clothes rub against the skin and cause acute pain. The boils under the armpit, in the nose, and on the lip are very painful.
- The child will feel a little easier only after how the pus will come out... The entire life cycle of a boil takes about 7-14 days. After opening, a fossa is formed, a depression, which is gradually overgrown with tissues and smoothed out. Traces from deep boils can persist for life.
When abscesses appear alternately or at the same time, they speak of furunculosis, and if the subcutaneous tissue and skin around a group of hair follicles become inflamed, then such inflammation is called a carbuncle.
The danger
The most dangerous are boils that have appeared on the face - on the cheek, on the nose, on the eyelid, in the ear, on the scalp, on the neck, since such an arrangement creates additional risks of brain infection and the development of sepsis.
Any furuncle located on the body, arm, leg close to blood vessels or lymph nodes is potentially dangerous from the point of view of the development of sepsis, because pus that has entered the bloodstream or lymph flow will quickly spread throughout the body.
Many do not understand how pus can penetrate there, but this gap in knowledge is restored simply - it breaks through where it is thin. If the boil is superficial, the pus will come up, out. If the boil is deep, then the breakthrough may be internal, this will become the main prerequisite for systemic infection.
A boil in a baby and a newborn is a double danger, and therefore it is customary to treat such children in a hospital. Older children may be left to be treated at home.
Treatment
Boils can be treated with conservative methods and with the help of surgical intervention. Quite often, it is possible to do without an autopsy operation, if the boil is not deep, if we are not talking about extensive furunculosis.
Drug treatment
The goal of therapy in this case is to make the maturation of the boil faster, because the processes of infiltration and suppuration are painful for the child.
The maturation of the purulent head is accelerated by:
- "Zvezdochka" is an ointment known to many generations (trade name - "Golden Star");
- "Ichthyol ointment";
- Balm "Vinilin".
A breakthrough of a boil can be successfully provoked by ointments with antibacterial properties:
- "Levomekol";
- "Bactroban";
- "Fucidin".
At the final stage, after the discharge of pus, use the same antimicrobial ointments, lotions with a hypertonic solution.
If boils appear on the face or neck, an internal intake of antibiotics with active local treatment is mandatory. Extensive furunculosis, especially in an infant, requires the introduction of antibacterial drugs intravenously. For internal use, children are prescribed broad-spectrum antibiotics - the penicillin group, and if they are ineffective, then antibiotics - cephalosporins, macrolides. The drugs based on erythromycin - "Azithromycin", "Clarithromycin", are very effective.
Much depends on what kind of staphylococcus affected the baby. If the inflammation is caused by an antibiotic-resistant hospital strain of Staphylococcus aureus, then the selection of an antibacterial drug will be significantly difficult, because it is incredibly difficult to destroy such an infection even with the current level of development of medicine.
As an auxiliary therapy, immunoglobulins or anti-staphylococcal plasma - immunomodulators - can be prescribed. They are administered in a hospital for severe forms of infection. When treating at home, the doctor may recommend "Polyoxidonium", "Derinat". When treating a boil, it is always useful to introduce the child to take vitamins. Of particular importance are vitamins A, E, C, B1 and B 12, as well as PP.
Surgery
Forced opening of a boil is indicated when the doctor has every reason to believe that complications are possible when the boil was formed in a "dangerous" place or its treatment with medicines for 5 days did not give a positive result - the pus did not go away.
The operation is simple - the surgeon makes a cross-shaped incision under local anesthesia, thoroughly cleans out the contents, including pus and necrotic fragments.
Sometimes it is completely impossible to do this, then the doctor leaves a small drainage in the cruciate wound - for the discharge of pus.
Disinfectants are applied to the site of intervention and a sterile bandage is applied. You will have to go to the clinic for dressings if the child is allowed to receive treatment at home. It is not worth treating boils with onions, honey and warm compresses boiled in milk, as some traditional healers advise., excessive heating can be beneficial only at the very early stage of the disease, when it is required to accelerate suppuration.
In other periods, any warming up is extremely dangerous for the health and life of the baby.
It is even more dangerous to open boils on your own and squeeze purulent contents out of them. In the absence of sterility, the likelihood of developing multiple furunculosis, as well as systemic blood poisoning, increases. Any manipulations with the boil should be carried out only in a hospital.
Prevention
- Correct hygiene. The baby's skin must be clean. But excessive washing with soap dries the skin, which increases the likelihood of micro-injury. Therefore, a child should be bathed with baby soap no more than once a day, and babies - no more than once a week. It makes sense to use bactericidal soap only if purulent masses have got on the child's skin.
- Timely treatment. All abrasions, scratches and wounds must be treated in time with aniline dyes, which include "brilliant green" and "Fukortsin".
- Strengthening the immune system. This can be safely attributed to hardening, full and balanced nutrition, rich in vitamins and microelements, a sufficient number of walks in the fresh air, an active lifestyle, and sports.
What is staphylococcus aureus will be told by Dr. Komarovsky in the next video.
