Is scarlet fever back? Increase in internet searches for childhood illnesses on NHS sites – surpassed only by Covid and ADHD
Online searches for NHS advice on common childhood illnesses soared last year, figures show.
Five of the ten most visited health conditions on the NHS website mainly affect young people – including scarlet fever, slap on the cheek and hand, foot and mouth disease.
Advice about Covid and symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder remained the first and second most visited health conditions overall, with 3.7 million views for Covid and 3.6 million for ADHD.
But visits to the hand, foot and mouth disease page increased by 46 percent from the previous year, with 2.8 million visits compared to 1.9 million in 2023 – making it the third most viewed page in 2024.
Symptoms include mouth ulcers and an increased rash of spots on the hands and feet.
Slapped Cheek Syndrome saw the biggest increase among the top ten conditions, with visits to the page more than tripling.
The condition, which can cause a rash on children’s cheeks, was the fourth most visited page of 2024, rising from 830,000 visits in 2023 to 2.6 million last year. It followed a notable increase in cases in the United States.
The scarlet fever page saw its number of views increase by a third to 1.9 million, making it the site’s tenth most visited site.
Last year saw a sharp increase in searches for NHS advice on childhood illnesses including scarlet fever (pictured)
The NHS website was visited over 700 million times in 2024 (file photo)
The infection mainly affects young children and symptoms include a rash that looks like small, raised bumps and starts on the chest and abdomen.
There were also 2 million visits in 2024 for advice on skin rashes in babies and children and 2 million visits to the chickenpox page.
Dr. Ronny Cheung, from the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, said: ‘Having high-quality, accessible and regularly updated information and advice, online and through apps, is a crucial step in helping parents and carers look after their health. of their children.
‘If parents of children with common illnesses are supported to care for them at home and seek medical help at the right time, this will help keep our children safe while reducing pressure on NHS frontline health services such as GPs and emergency emergency departments. who are becoming increasingly overloaded.’
The NHS site, which is managed by NHS England, is the UK’s largest health website with 701 million visits in 2024.