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Illustrated Health Encyclopedia
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Ency. home > Disease > S > Scalded skin syndrome

Scalded skin syndrome   

Overview | Symptoms | Treatment | Prevention

Alternative names:

Ritter disease; Staphylococcal scalded skin syndrome (SSS)

Symptoms

  • fever
  • redness of the skin (erythema) which spreads to cover most of the body
  • skin slips off with gentle pressure leaving wet red areas (Nikolsky sign)
  • large areas of skin peel or fall away (exfoliation or desquamation)
  • painful skin
  • infant appears quite ill

Signs and Tests

Tests include:

  • Complete blood count (CBC)
  • cultures of the skin and throat (often yield staphylococci)
  • skin biopsy (done only in rare cases where diagnosis is at question)
  • check of electrolytes to see if fluid loss has caused difficulties

Ency. home > Disease > S > Scalded skin syndrome

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