Children are susceptible to various bacterial and viral infections in their lives, some more often than not. Just like a cough and cold, having a sore mouth or ulcers can occur due to a variety of reasons. However, if it is more severe than usual and hurts more than a usual ulcer might, there is a chance your child might have contracted the gingivostomatitis virus.
This long and complicated name is given to a disease that infects the gums and mouth of the child. If children fail to take proper care of their teeth, do not brush well, or rinse their mouths, viral and bacterial infections can cause this disease to take place. A strong reason to cause primary herpetic gingivostomatitis is the presence of the virus, HSV-1, that results in sores inside the mouth as well.
Diagnosing gingivostomatitis is pretty straightforward since the signs and symptoms of it are pretty evident and can easily be spotted. The doctor will first check your child’s mouth for sores and observe their appearance. Checking for a fever will be another way to make the diagnosis better. If there are other conditions such as intense coughing or body ache, there might be chances of other diseases being present, too. A blood test might be recommended in such cases along with taking a swab from the mouth to check for bacteria culture. In extreme cases, doctors tend to take a skin sample from the mouth to check for the presence of other types of sores.
Given that the primary culprit in most cases of gingivostomatitis is the HSV -1, or herpes simplex virus type 1, it is necessary to understand how the virus might take the infection further within the body.
For healthy babies, the virus stays pretty much where it is. If your baby has weak immunity, the virus can spread further within the body. One of the conditions that such a scenario may cause is termed as herpes simplex keratitis or HSK. This is where the virus makes it way to the eyes and directly starts infecting the cornea. This can easily damage the eye permanently in a variety of ways, and may even lead to blindness. The sensitivity to light, watery eyes and red colour in the eye are strong indicators of the onset of HSK.
While taking care of the child and touching the sores, if the hands are not cleaned properly and the child is handled, there are chances of infection reaching the genital area as well, leading to a specific type of genital herpes.
With immense about of pain and discomfort in the mouth, most children don’t feel like eating or drinking anything at all. This can lead to a reduced appetite and body. The mouth will start getting dry as well as the skin. With no food in the body, your child may feel constantly tired and dizzy at times, or even suffer from , he may tend to sleep for a lot longer than usual.
Since gingivostomatitis is a viral infect/a>, the usual method of administering antibiotics will not work on your child, unless there are bacterial sores present as well. Most sores disappear in a couple of weeks or so, even whether the disease is left untreated. For proper relief from the symptoms, certain treatment measures need to be undertaken.
Gingivostomatitis in toddlers is extremely painful for them and a troublesome time for parents as well. Although treatment techniques are present, preventive measures are the easiest form of mitigating any risks from such infection from happening at all.