Scarlet treatment | The Scarlet Tongue

Scarlet treatment

Scarlet fever should be treated with antibiotics. These can effectively combat the bacteria that cause scarlet fever and protect those affected from serious complications such as heart, kidney and liver disease as well as brain abnormalities. Penicillin V is usually used as the antibiotic of choice.

However, in cases of allergy to penicillin, erythromycin or clarythromycin can also be used. Scarlet fever is usually diagnosed on the basis of the typical symptoms alone. These include high fever and the characteristic scarlet tongue.

In the further course of the disease, a rash may also develop, typically leaving out the mouth area. Since scarlet fever is a highly infectious disease with severe complications, streptococcal infection should be diagnosed with certainty. A scarlet fever rapid test is usually sufficient for this purpose.

This involves taking a throat swab in which the scarlet fever bacteria are detected. If the rapid test is negative despite a high degree of suspicion, the throat swab can also be sent to the laboratory, where a culture of the bacteria is prepared. Scarlet usually lasts for about two to three weeks if untreated.

However, antibiotic therapy should always be given due to serious complications. This usually leads to a significant improvement of the symptoms after about four days, but antibiotics should still be taken for the full days indicated by the doctor or pharmacist (e.g. 7 or 10). This is the only way to prevent other people from becoming infected and the infection with streptococci from spreading to organ systems in the body.

Even before the disease becomes noticeable, affected persons carry the bacteria in their bodies for two to four days. This phase is called the incubation period. Thus, a total of two to three weeks of illness can be expected, provided no subsequent complications occur.

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• This is how long scarlet usually lasts

The prognosis for scarlet fever is highly dependent on the ability to prevent serious complications. With adequate treatment with antibiotics, the infection is over after three weeks at the latest. However, since there are several strains of bacteria that cause scarlet fever, it is possible to become infected with the disease again.

If complications occur as a result of the infection, this can cause lifelong limitations such as heart, kidney or liver weakness. The complications can even be fatal. It is therefore important to take an antibiotic to minimize this risk.