If your child is irritable, has fever and refuses to eat, you might need to check the mouth for the presence of sores. Primary herpetic gingivostomatitis is a viral infection of the mouth which is characterized by mouth sores, fever and irritability. Many parents have wrongly attributed their child’s refusal to eat and irritability to ‘teething’.
Symptoms include:
- Fever
- Refusal to eat because of pain
- They may be irritable
- Drooling saliva
- Painful sores on the gum, tongue, roof of the mouth and inside the cheek. The infected sores may bleed.
Mode of transmission
The virus may be contacted through Infected parents kissing their babies, sharing contaminated toys, spoons, feeding bottles or thumb sucking.
Secondary presentation
After the sores heal, the virus that caused the infection stays in the body without causing harm until the individual’s immunity is low. The low immunity encourages the virus to be active and cause sores. The secondary presentation is known as cold sores/fever blisters.
Treatment
- The condition is self limiting(heals spontaneously within 7 to 14 days) so treatment is aimed at relieving symptoms.
- Rinse with warm water and salt.
- Encourage child to drink fluids to prevent dehydration.
- Try soft diets such as mashed potato and cereal.
- Ensure good oral hygiene care: brush gently. Poor oral hygiene may worsen condition.
- Pain relieving medication to ease pain from sores.
- Visit your physician if you notice high fevers or no sign of healing.