Special features for babies | Pfeiffersches glandular fever in the child

Special features for babies

In toddlers and especially in babies, Pfeiffer’s glandular fever is usually without clinical symptoms. Infection with the Epstein Barr virus is often simply confused with a cold. If the course of the disease in babies is characterized by a high and persistent fever, a doctor should always be consulted. This doctor can then assess the condition and initiate therapy to relieve the symptoms. Priority is then given to lowering the fever with medication and ensuring a sufficient fluid intake.

When can my child go back to kindergarten?

If a child is infected with whistling glandular fever, it is still contagious from the time of infection through the outbreak of the disease until weeks later. Children may return to community facilities, such as kindergarten, as soon as the clinical symptoms have healed. Some courses of the disease involve the spleen with enlargement. In some cases, the spleen is involved with enlargement, and there is a fear of a rupture of the spleen, which is why physical protection is important and absence from kindergarten is also very beneficial in this respect.

Can my child continue to go to school?

School attendance should be avoided during an infection. Firstly, because other children who are not yet infected can be infected. On the other hand, the disease is often accompanied by a high level of fatigue and the like, so that the children are not able to concentrate and get through a day at school. The disease improves mainly by keeping quiet.

When can my child do sports?

During the acute phase of the disease, there is an absolute indication to refrain from sports. During this phase, bed rest should be observed if the symptoms are severely restrictive. Even six to eight weeks after the infection has subsided, there is still a ban on sports, as there is still the risk of a life-threatening rupture of the spleen.

This prohibition applies especially if the treating physician has detected a swelling of the spleen in an ultrasound scan. Because the spleen is swollen, it protrudes further out of the thorax and is thus not well protected against impacts or similar, so that tears can more easily occur, which then lead to a life-threatening abdominal bleeding. The spleen has enough time to subside due to the protection.

This usually takes six to eight weeks. Not only sports activities, but also children’s romping and playing ball or similar activities should be prevented by parents.