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Rheumatic fever is a serious and rare disease, what are the symptoms of rheumatic fever? What are the factors and things that may increase your chances of contracting this disease? Is there a cure? Although it is a rare disease, it is very serious and may have life-threatening complications. What do we know about the symptoms, causes, and treatments of rheumatic fever? The most important information you can find here.
Symptoms of rheumatic fever
Symptoms of rheumatic fever often appear after a severe sore throat. These are the most important symptoms and complications associated with rheumatic fever:
1. Common symptoms of rheumatic fever
These are the most important symptoms that may appear on a person with rheumatic fever in general:
Joint pain.
rash.
Muscle pain.
Inflammation and swelling of the tonsils.
a headache.
Nausea and vomiting.
Nerve infections may cause involuntary body movements and severe mood changes.
moderately severe fever
Chest pain and heart palpitations.
These rheumatic fever symptoms often appear 2-3 weeks after the symptoms of sore throat have disappeared.
2. Rare symptoms of rheumatic fever
These are some of the rare symptoms that may appear in a person with rheumatic fever
Blisters under the skin.
Very high and severe fever.
Nose bleeding.
Abdominal pain.
Rheumatic fever causes and risk factors
Rheumatic fever is one of the complications that may appear as a result of a sore throat caused by a certain type of bacteria, and it usually appears when the inflammation worsens without obtaining timely treatment.
Rheumatic fever is a serious autoimmune disease that usually affects children between the ages of 5-15 years, and in rare cases, adults may be affected.
These are the factors that may increase the chances of infection in general
Heredity and genetics, or in other words, another family member had this disease earlier.
Recurrent sore throat.
Sore throat without receiving the necessary treatment in a timely manner.
It is worth noting that this type of disease is common in countries where there is no developed health sector, so in many cases it is only necessary to undergo antibiotic treatment only.
Diagnosis of rheumatic fever
Rheumatic fever is usually diagnosed after undergoing a physical examination aimed at assessing the condition of the joints, heart, skin, and physical reflexes.
The patient may also undergo a blood test to monitor the percentage of antibodies in his blood, which indicate the presence of inflammation, such as: sore throat, and the patient may also undergo an EKG to closely monitor the condition of the heart and its valves.
Rheumatic fever treatment
The main goal of treatment is to eliminate the bacteria that were the cause of sore throat in the first place, which in turn led to rheumatic fever.
Here are some of the treatment options available
Rest and sleep to relieve symptoms as much as possible.
Antibiotics, such as: Penicillin, to rid the body of any remaining bacteria, and it may take the use of these antibiotics for relatively long periods to prevent recurrence of infection.
Pain relievers and anti-inflammatories, which usually target joint pain and reduce inflammation.
The treatment options offered if the symptoms of rheumatic fever begin to affect the heart may range from mild diuretics to open surgery to replace the heart valves in some severe cases.
Special medications target the nerves to prevent the involuntary movements that may accompany rheumatic fever symptoms.
Long-term complications of rheumatic fever
Sometimes the symptoms of rheumatic fever may turn into very serious complications represented in the occurrence of heart damage that takes months or years for its consequences to appear, such as:
Heart valve problems.
heart failure
Heart rheumatism.
