Measles in children
Measles is a classic childhood disease, although it is no longer as common as it was years ago. We tell you its symptoms and treatment.
As we all know, measles is a childhood disease that is caused by a viral infection. It normally appears in unvaccinated children but any unvaccinated adult is not exempt from suffering from it. It is a highly contagious disease and contagion occurs through inhalation of the virus from a carrier, for example by the secretion into the environment of particles of a virus carrier when sneezing. Another child may come into contact with them by breathing or touching them and then unconsciously touching their eyes, nose, mouth, or ears. Children who have it can be contagious from four to five days before the first rash outbreakup to four days later, although it will depend on the child’s own defenses, if they are low it will be contagious for longer. It is more common to suffer from it between the first and fourth year of life.
FEVER, PINK EYE, MUCUS, AND COUGH ARE COMMON SYMPTOMS
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MAIN SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS
Symptoms begin one to two weeks after the child is infected, for example by contact with another classmate at school. At the beginning of childhood illness, children start with a fever for a couple of days at the most. It is accompanied by conjunctivitis (red and watery eyes), mucus in the nose and cough. The appearance of small white spots inside the mouth is also common at this stage.
Later the first rashes begin, commonly on the face and neck. Little by little it spreads to the other parts of the body: the trunk, back, arms, hands, legs, … Even the feet. From top to bottom. Finally, after a week the rash gradually begins to disappear in the same order of arrival.
The children most likely to suffer from measles are those who logically have not been vaccinated or travel to other countries (without the vaccine) or those who are vitamin A deficient.
MEASLES TREATMENT
Measles is a childhood disease that, unlike many others, does not have a specific treatment.
First of all, take your child after the slightest suspicion that he has measles, the family doctor will do a quick examination and will determine it in a moment, in order to avoid a complication and contagion to other people. As it is a virus there is nothing specific we can do to cure it , we can only help children by relieving the symptoms and waiting for the immune system to attack the intrusive agents.
– Constant hydration. We have to make sure that the child is well hydrated because to combat high fevers the child will need a lot of water. Also offer him juices, because now the more he needs an extra supply of vitamins and minerals to ensure that he has a good defense and that he will recover quickly.
– Isolate the child in a comfortable and warm room , free from drafts, so that measles does not worsen and lead to another respiratory disease, for example pneumonia. If possible, it must be noise-free so that you can sleep properly and facilitate recovery.
– Give medicine to relieve symptoms : fever, cough and rhinitis. In order to reduce fever, ibuprofen and paracetamol are adequate, however, we must prioritize medical pre-registration and stick to what he tells us.
– In the event that the picture becomes complicated and leads to an infection, the doctor can also prescribe antibiotics , but they should never be given unless he tells you.
– Keep the room dark. When having conjunctivitis, the eyes become very sensitive and the clarity can damage them, it is better to spend a few days receiving little light.
POSSIBLE COMPLICATIONS OF MEASLES
The greatest danger that this childhood disease has is its complication. Unfortunately, in some cases in which the child has low defenses, or for whatever reasons the condition worsens, it can lead to other more serious diseases such as pneumonia, otitis or even encephalitis , which is an inflammation in a region of the brain and that it requires antibiotics and surely hospitalization.
If you suspect that your child may have gotten worse, you need to take him to the doctor immediately. You have to be especially careful if your child’s fever does not decrease after 4 or 5 days after the first rash appears, if he complains of a sudden onset of earache or if his cough worsens.
Anyway, it is better to be safe than sorry. Therefore, it is always advisable to vaccinate the child as soon as he has reached the minimum age, in this case it is at least 12 months. In Spain, anti- vaccination groups have appeared for some time that are not in favor of vaccines in children due to their possible side effects. From PregDream we want to clarify that although there may be reactions to vaccines, it is safer to undergo them to avoid future infections. The MMR vaccine is effective not only for measles, but also for rubella and mumps.
In the case of MMV, from 11 weeks on, the little ones may present some mild symptoms of measles such as some fever, some other rash or loss of appetite, but it lasts two or three days at most and does not leave sequelae, for what is worth undergoing it.
Dr. Tabriella Perivolaris, Sara's mother and fan of fashion, beauty, motherhood, among others, about the female universe. Since 2018 she has been working as a copywriter, always bringing to her articles a little of her experience and experience as a mother and woman.