general information
From an anatomical point of view, human lips are musculocutaneous folds surrounding the oral cavity. They consist of the orbicularis muscle, skin and mucous membrane. The upper and lower lips are connected to each other by commissures (commissures) at the corners of the mouth.
Lips are constantly exposed to external and internal factors and act as a platform for the manifestation of various diseases. An indicator of pathological changes in the body is, in particular, a symptom that is simply called “white lips”.
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In normal condition, the lips stretch without pain, have a pink or light red color, and a smooth surface. White lips in a child or adult are a leading sign of various diseases, to which dryness, swelling, soreness, and cracking may be added.
Lips are an important detail that affects the aesthetic perception of the face and performs many other functions. The lips are involved in the formation of facial expressions; they contain receptors responsible for different types of sensitivity. In addition, they serve as an indicator of a person's health status.
When a pathological process occurs in the body, the lips can change their size, become less elastic, lose sensitivity, become covered in rashes, and turn white. Consulting a dermatologist will help eliminate these manifestations or prevent them.
Symptoms of white fever in children
White fever in a child occurs in three stages.
- An initial sharp rise in the baby's temperature.
- Subsequent stabilization of this indicator.
- A drop in temperature to normal (can be either sudden or gradual).
Symptoms of this condition include fever, although the child's palms and feet feel cold. The baby's skin is pale, and if you press on a certain area, the white spot on it remains for a long time. The reason is that due to severe spasm in such an area, blood circulation is impaired.
The little patient is lethargic and weak and does not want to eat. Arrhythmia may also occur, and the baby’s body may become dehydrated.
It is worth remembering that these symptoms indicate that the child’s immune system has been put into action; as a result, the body, raising the temperature to 38.5 or 39ºC, ensures that the protein of foreign origin, which has entered the system from the outside, coagulates. The problem is that white fever is a dangerous disease, because if the temperature persists for a certain time, convulsions can begin, and dehydration will also occur. As a result, the child's life will be in danger.
In general, this condition is most often observed in children whose ages range from birth to three years.
When should you see a doctor?
It makes sense to consult a doctor if the temperature persists for a long time and does not want to subside. Also an alarming symptom will be the child’s general weakness and difficulty breathing. If the condition of a small patient is of concern, you need to call a pediatrician.
In the most serious cases of white fever in a child, a doctor can best determine what to do about the condition. Of course, in many cases, parents prefer to deal with the temperature on their own, but it is the doctor who will be able to accurately determine its causes and develop optimal actions.
Diagnostics
Diagnosis of white fever requires repeated temperature measurements to record that it has reached 38.5 or 39ºC. It is also necessary to check his palms and feet to see if they are cold (this is a symptom of this condition).
Treatment
It should be clearly established that this is truly dangerous white fever. Treatment of a child if his temperature has simply risen to 38.5 or 39ºC may not be necessary if he feels relatively comfortable in this situation.
The room in which the patient remains must, in any case, have just a warm temperature; there should not be heat there. It is necessary that the air is humidified; there is no need to wrap the baby up.
Drink should be given to him in plentiful quantities, and food should be given whenever he wants. Moreover, if the baby abstains from eating food even for quite a long time, you still cannot force him to eat. If the child already does not have enough strength, then all the remaining strength can be spent on digesting the food received, which will not improve his condition. The recommended drink is various fruit drinks and raspberry jam diluted in water; you can also give water, the main thing is that it is all warm and not hot. But, for example, such a very popular combination as milk and honey is actually not recommended in case of a sharp increase in temperature. The reason is that the milk curdles inside.
Since white fever in a child should be treated, first of all, by fighting the fever. The temperature, when it rises above 39 degrees, should be brought down by giving the child an antipyretic.
Medicines for white fever will be prescribed to the child by a doctor invited by the parents, who will first determine the cause of the little patient’s condition.
- If a sharp increase in temperature occurs as a result of an infection that is of bacterial origin, then the child needs to be prescribed antibiotics, but an antipyretic is not required, since they can bring down the temperature itself, but this will only camouflage the fact that the cause could not be dealt with.
- The doctor can also prescribe both an antipyretic and a second drug, the function of which is to influence the source of the disease, in particular, these can be antiviral drugs, as well as cough medicines.
It should be borne in mind that the effect of the antipyretic takes time. If only half an hour has passed after taking it, then with a significant probability the temperature simply will not have time to drop. It makes sense to wait for several hours, and after that in most cases it will go down.
At the same time, a drop in this indicator in a child from 39º to 38ºC would be quite acceptable; it would also be nice if it drops by half a degree, this will also mean that the body is coping with white fever. At the same time, it is not worth giving the baby antipyretics again, after he has been given the amount prescribed by the doctor. An overdose of these drugs can cause hypothermia when the child's temperature drops below 36.6ºC.
In addition, you can wipe the child using a damp sponge, but you should not rub him with alcohol. This compound negatively affects the body of a small patient. If it is abused, intoxication may result, after which his condition will only worsen.
It is also advisable for parents or other older relatives to remain close to the child. The fever when the child is alone is aggravated by the fear that he experiences in such a situation. When an adult is with him, this has a beneficial effect on him, after which his condition improves.
Why are lips white
Human lips, their surface, mucous membrane, and surrounding skin very often display pathological changes that fall within the scope of consideration of several areas of medicine. As a rule, these are deviations that require dermatological, dental, therapeutic care, and the attention of infectious disease doctors.
Only a qualified specialist will be able to determine whether, in your case, white lips are an external sign of illness or a temporary cosmetic problem.
The main reasons why a person’s lips turn white are as follows.
- Manifestation of anemia. The lips and their mucous membranes lose their natural color and turn white due to a decrease in hemoglobin content in the blood. Such changes are observed mainly in iron deficiency or anemia caused by a lack of vitamin B12. The change in color is often accompanied by a deterioration in general health, headaches, burning and painful sensations in the lips, and their dryness.
- Oral candidiasis. More common in young children. It develops when infected with yeast-like fungi of the genus Candida. First, white dotted spots appear on the lips, later they merge and form a continuous film.
- Leukoplakia. A chronic disease accompanied by increased keratinization of the epithelium and inflammation of the mucous membrane. The color of the lesions on the lips can vary, including whitish or white-gray.
- Smoking. Under the influence of nicotine, foci of whitish hyperkeratosis may appear.
- The influence of meteorological conditions (dry air, wind, low temperatures). In such situations, a short-term change in color is observed, followed by restoration of normal tone when the provoking factor is eliminated.
If the natural color of the lips is not restored within several days, they are sore, there are rashes on the surface, or a deterioration in the general condition, you need to consult a doctor - a therapist or a dermatologist. He will study your complaints, conduct anamnestic information collection and a physical examination. If there is a suspicion of a systemic or infectious disease, he will refer a specialist of the appropriate profile for consultation.
How to help your child
Pediatrician and infectious disease specialist at the GMS clinic Daria Zakharova reminds that the infection in different children can occur in different ways: for some - in the form of mild malaise, decreased appetite with minor abdominal discomfort and a single loose stool, for others - with fever, repeated vomiting and severe diarrhea.
“The parents’ actions largely depend on the severity and age: where to turn for help. If a child feels sick every hour and complains of severe abdominal pain, then you need to call an ambulance, which will take him to the hospital, where the cause of the pain will be determined. In all other cases, you need to call a doctor,” emphasizes Daria Zakharova.
In children over five years of age, the infection is usually milder, so you can help them on your own.
“You need to start with drinking plenty of fluids to replenish the fluid deficit - what the child loses with vomiting and diarrhea,” says Elena Kolganova. There are special formulas for calculation, but usually 50-100 ml of water per kg of body weight per day is required, i.e. if a child weighs 30 kg, then with rotavirus infection he will need from 1.5 to 3 liters of liquid per day. It is better to use a special pharmaceutical solution: for children it should contain a minimum of salt and sugar. You need to give your child water often and little by little - 10-15 times an hour, 2-3 sips.”
White lips in adults and children: diagnosis and treatment
In cases where anamnesis and visual examination of the affected areas of the lips are not enough to make an accurate diagnosis, laboratory and instrumental studies are prescribed. Usually this:
- clinical blood and urine analysis;
- blood chemistry;
- microscopy of lip plaque, histological examination of the selected material;
- Ultrasound, CT, MRI - if necessary, assess the condition of internal organs.
After the diagnosis is made, measures are taken to eliminate the causes of the disease. For some, the doctor will recommend getting rid of bad habits, preventing the adverse effects of the environment, and reviewing their diet in order to saturate it with vitamins and microelements. Others will need drug therapy with systemic and local medications. The choice of medications is carried out taking into account the characteristics of pathological changes in the lips and the nature of the body diseases identified during diagnosis.
How to make an appointment with a pediatrician
If the situation has become urgent, then you can dial an ambulance from our clinic, whose phone number is +7 (495) 229-00-03. You can also contact us through our website using the feedback form.
Our medical center staff act as quickly as possible. Especially if we are talking about an emergency situation that requires urgent hospitalization. The clinic carries out diagnostics and immediately prescribes the optimal treatment method that will help your child overcome all the difficulties of the disease as quickly as possible.
Language
Doctors of the old school began the examination with a request to stick out the tongue as much as possible, even if the stomach or back hurt. The tongue is a mirror of the gastrointestinal tract; all our diseases are “written” on it no worse than on a prescription form.
If there is a constant yellow or white coating on the tongue, this indicates a problem with the functioning of the stomach or intestines. You should also be wary of the so-called “geographical” patterns on the tongue, which are often observed after long-term use of antibiotics or with intestinal dysbiosis, a lack of beneficial bacteria inhabiting it.
Leather
A child's skin can also tell a lot about the state of the body. So, with dysbacteriosis, it is dry, flaky, and an allergic rash often appears on it. If your lips dry out and crack, this can also be caused by serious disturbances in the functioning of the stomach and intestines.
The so-called “marbled” skin should also be of concern - pale, with a clear pattern of small veins located close to the surface, slightly spotted. It is very likely that the child has impaired activity of the autonomic nervous system, which automatically controls the work of our internal organs. This can lead to fatigue, irritability, and headaches.
Bruises under the eyes may indicate that the child lacks iron or some vitamins. If “bags” form under the lower eyelids, then do not rush to conclude that the kidneys are functioning poorly - perhaps this is simply a feature of the subcutaneous tissue.
Appetite and sleep
Parents often pay attention to the most obvious things: for example, appetite and sleep. Does poor appetite indicate anything? Of course, since this is a reflection of the general state of the baby’s nervous system, its balance and comfort.
If a child is, as they say, “skin and bones,” and has bruises under his eyes and often catches colds, you can suspect a tendency to tuberculosis, and in this case you need to see a TB doctor more often. The appetite must correspond to the energy expended by the body, and when the child is inactive and likes to play “quiet games,” it’s okay if he eats a little. If, on the other hand, he runs around all day and comes home “with his tongue hanging out,” you most likely will not have to persuade him to eat properly.
However, if a child eats a lot, regardless of his physical activity, and does not gain weight, this may also indicate a disease, for example, the presence of worms or some kind of psychological problems.
Parents are also worried about the child’s poor sleep. Most often, healthy children do not wake up at night, but may have difficulty falling asleep. Think about how often you neglect your child’s daily routine—whether he goes to bed at a strictly set time, doesn’t watch scary cartoons or action films at night, or spends the evening at the computer. All this excites the child’s nervous system and confuses his biorhythms.
Nervous system
Usually parents pay attention to body temperature: normal means everything is fine, high means you need to give aspirin. But even with this everything is not so simple. For example, the temperature rises, and your hands feel like ice. This indicates a spasm of peripheral blood vessels.
If your baby's hands are constantly cold, this is a signal that he has increased excitability of the nervous system. In general, a violation of thermoregulation indicates the vulnerability of the child’s body, the inability of its nervous system to cope with stress. This also applies to such a feature of the child as sweating. Constantly wet palms, constantly wet underwear, even if there were no violent games, are a signal of problems in the nervous regulation of the body.
Other signs also indicate a state close to neurosis - the baby likes to fiddle with something in his hands, bite his nails, often suddenly shudders, talks in his sleep (it’s okay if this happens from time to time, but if it happens every night, it has It makes sense to consult a neurologist).
If a child is constantly nervous, excitable, if it is difficult to captivate him with a game, and once he starts playing, he can no longer stop, forgets himself, reacts aggressively to attempts to intervene, throws prolonged tantrums, then you should not attribute everything to a bad character - perhaps these are symptoms of increased intracranial pressure . It is recommended to show such a child to a neurologist.
Disturbances in the functioning of the thyroid gland can also lead to excessive excitability of the nervous system. In this case, the baby may have a rapid heartbeat. Slightly bulging eyes also indicate excess thyroid hormones. In this case, consultation with an endocrinologist is necessary.
