Symptoms of mycoplasma infection in children

  Mycoplasma infections are mostly seen in school-age children and adolescents, but nowadays they are not uncommon in infants and young children. The incubation period of mycoplasma infection is about 2 to 3 weeks, and its clinical symptoms are mainly fever, headache, chills, fatigue, loss of appetite, cough, sore throat, pain under the sternum, etc. Fever and cough are the main manifestations of mycoplasma infection.  Mycoplasma infections generally have a less acute onset, with a temperature of 37-41°C, mostly around 39°C. They can be of the persistent or tachyphylaxis type, or only have a low fever, or even no fever. Most of the coughs are heavy, initially irritating dry cough, gradually changing to spasmodic violent cough, accompanied by a small amount of mucus sputum, especially at night, sometimes with a small amount of blood in the sputum, some can appear wheezing and dyspnea. Mycoplasma infection can also cause lesions in other systems and organs, such as measles-like rash, muscle pain, wandering joint pain, liver function damage, hemolytic anemia, myocarditis, nephritis, etc.  The disease can be spread by droplets of respiratory secretions. Do not attend daycare or school during the illness to prevent infection, pay attention to drinking more water during illness, eat light and easy-to-digest food, pay attention to ventilation indoors to keep the air fresh, children who cough and wheeze should pay attention to rest and reduce running and jumping, shouting and other actions. Antibiotics such as erythromycin and azithromycin are preferred for treatment, and other symptoms can be treated symptomatically under the guidance of a doctor.