An infectious disease caused by tubercle bacilli (most often Koch's bacillus) is tuberculosis. In a child, the symptoms of the disease, like in an adult, depend on its form, that is, on the organs in which the tuberculous focus was formed. But regardless of the form, tuberculosis requires urgent treatment, otherwise in the end a progressive disease will lead to death.
When a child is sick with tuberculosis, the first signs that you may notice are irritability, lack of weight gain, weakness, fatigue, distraction. Schoolchildren may begin to lag behind their peers in school. There is a slight increase in temperature, an increase in lymph nodes. Children with tuberculosis have these first symptoms, as tubercle bacilli that enter the body first settle in the lymph nodes, where they release toxins.
Tuberculosis of the bronchial glands
This form of the disease in children is detected quite often. The bronchial glands are located in the chest, just where the large vessels and bronchi pass, so Koch's rods with a blood stream easily enter into them and form foci of inflammation. With damage to the bronchial glands, tuberculosis in a child can cause different symptoms. Sometimes the disease develops like flu, which is manifested by an increase in temperature, cough. But this condition can drag on for a longer period than happens with flu. Acute development does not always occur. In many children, the disease begins to manifest itself gradually. At first, behavior changes: they become moody, lethargic. Then weight loss, pallor, cough are observed.
Pulmonary tuberculosis
In a child, the symptoms of this form of the disease are caused by the appearance of an inflammatory focus in the lungs and are often accompanied by a long-term increase in temperature. Pulmonary tuberculosis is less common in children than the one that develops in the bronchial glands, but it is more difficult to treat. Nevertheless, it is quite possible to cure him. The collapse of the lung tissue is an extreme degree of the disease, to which the situation usually does not reach, provided that the treatment is started on time. But still, such an unfavorable course of tuberculosis in young children can be observed, therefore it is extremely important to protect the health of babies and strengthen their body.
Lymph node tuberculosis
This form of the disease is also most often found in young children. Tuberculosis in a child causes symptoms in peripheral lymph nodes, which become inflamed, increase significantly in size, and can soften and fester. When pus flows out, fistulas that do not heal for a long time are formed. Sometimes children have a skin lesion, initially looking like a palpable small tumor, which then, like the lymph nodes, grows, softens and festers, eventually releasing the contents out and forming a fistula.
Joint and bone tuberculosis
This form of the disease is also often diagnosed, but it develops very slowly, sometimes for years. However, at the initial stage, children begin to feel pain during movements in those places where the inflammatory focus has formed (most often, tubercle bacilli affect the spine, knee or hip joints). Over time, the child's gait changes or lameness appears.