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Hospital warns of perils of condition for young children

By Regina Hsu
CONTRIBUTING REPORTER
Saturday, Aug 09, 2008, Page 2

“This disease can be contracted from any type of skin abrasion or wound. It also spreads quickly and can affect the entire surface of a victim’s body.” — Shen Chung-min, pediatrician

Taipei’s Cathay General Hospital yesterday called on parents to be mindful of the skin disease staphylococcal scalded-skin syndrome (SSSS), which is easily mistaken for other afflictions, such as allergic reactions.

The hospital cited a recent case of a 3-year-old girl, who developed burn-like blisters and peeling skin after contracting SSSS from scratching a mosquito bite.

“This disease is most likely to occur in children five years old or younger,” pediatrician Shen Chung-min (沈仲敏) told a press conference yesterday.

Symptoms include high fever, blisters and peeling skin. SSSS is often mistaken for other skin diseases, which may delay treatment and lead to worsening of symptoms, she said.

“This disease can be contracted from any type of skin abrasion or wound. It also spreads quickly and can affect the entire surface of a victim’s body,” she said.

Referring to the three-year-old, 60 percent of the patient’s body was covered in blisters which later burst, exposing raw skin, she said.

Cathay General Hospital Director of Plastic Surgery Wu Jui-hsing (吳瑞星) said SSSS patients are treated as burn victims because of the vast area in which blisters may appear.

Plastic surgeon Huang Chi-tseng (黃繼增) added that SSSS attacks the surface of the skin but that it can fully regenerate after proper treatment with antibiotics and topical cream.

Shen added that although patients’ blisters resemble those of burn victims, the damage is not as extensive and will not leave scars.
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