Measles - characteristic symptoms, treatment and prevention

First symptoms of measles, treatment, prevention

Measles is an infection of viral etiology, which is characterized by lesions of the upper respiratory tract and rashes all over the body. The virus has a negative effect on the immune system, affects the walls of blood vessels. Measles prevention measures in school and preschool institutions have led to the fact that the age of the disease has become older - it is diagnosed in both teenagers and adults.

Paths of transmission

The measles virus is transmitted by airborne droplets - it is enough to be with a sick person for 10-15 minutes to become infected. There is a version that the infection can be transmitted transplacentally (from mother to child during pregnancy), such cases are confirmed by official medicine, but there are exceptions.

Measles is an insidious disease, because doctors cannot accurately answer how many days the incubation period of measles lasts. It is generally accepted that this term is 9-11 days, but there are cases of variation from 7 to 28 days. It depends on the general state of human health, the level of the immune system. Official medicine also knows patients who are carriers of the virus, but do not get measles themselves.

Large-scale infection occurs rarely, but with a certain frequency - once every 8-10 years, if the virus is not imported into the region from outside. The consequences of outbreaks of the measles epidemic are not considered critical or catastrophic - it does not lead to numerous fatal consequences. It is believed that the optimal period of the year for measles is spring and early summer, when the air temperature allows the virus to remain viable in the environment for a long time.

Symptoms of measles in children

How are the signs of measles manifested in a child:

1. The incubation period is asymptomatic, but there is already a danger to the environment. Unwanted contacts in the last 2-3 days of incubation are one of the causes of epidemics.
2. Further, the symptoms of a common respiratory disease begin to appear - an increase in body temperature, a dry and unproductive cough, inflammation of the eyes (conjunctivitis), a decrease in appetite up to a complete refusal to eat. Among the first symptoms of measles in children, lacrimation and photophobia, hyperthermia in the morning and hoarseness of the voice are often noted.
3. On the second day from the beginning of the active phase of the disease, a characteristic sign appears - Belsky-Filatov-Koplik spots, which are a small rash in the form of "semolina". Spots are localized in the projection of the location of small molars - they are most often the reason for diagnosing measles.
4. After a maximum of three days, the spots disappear and a rash appears all over the body. The spread starts from the head and gradually descends downward, "absorbing" the entire surface of the body. At the same time, the patient's regional lymph nodes increase, but they remain painless even during palpation.

Knowing what the initial stage of measles looks like in patients, it is possible to make a correct diagnosis in time and start appropriate treatment. When examining the patient during the period of active rashes on the body, the doctor may detect an accelerated heartbeat, an increase in the liver and spleen, and wheezing in the respiratory tract. Usually, even such health disorders do not prevent a full recovery without any consequences, but measles is often accompanied by complications. It is extremely undesirable to allow the infection of adults - the disease is very severe in them, it can end in death. It is especially necessary to monitor the health of a pregnant woman - intrauterine virus infection of the fetus can provoke its incorrect anatomical development. To prevent the risk of giving birth to a defective child, women are advised to take a blood test for antibodies to the measles virus - they are produced in the body after recovery or against the background of regular vaccination.

Treatment of childhood measles

There is still no effective drug in medicine that will stop the development of the infection or lead to the immediate death of the virus. Therefore, the treatment of childhood measles is reduced to symptomatic therapy:

• the patient is prescribed bed rest, plenty of drinking (preferably decoctions of rose hips and natural citrus juices) and a gentle diet;
• the oral cavity should be rinsed as often as possible with a decoction of chamomile flowers or a solution of chlorhexidine;
• if the virus has affected the eyes and conjunctivitis has developed, the doctor will prescribe antibacterial drops, the curtains should be lowered in the patient's room and the intensity of artificial lighting should be reduced;
• with a high body temperature, the patient is given antipyretic drugs.

How to treat a rash with measles? Doctors do not recommend doing anything - it does not bother the patient, does not cause severe itching - and therefore even treating the rash with green tea will not speed up recovery. But if the rash looks like an abscess, the patient's condition worsens, then hospitalization is indicated - it is quite possible that another infection has joined and aggressive antibacterial therapy is required.

Preventive measures

Patients of pediatricians and infectious disease specialists often have the following questions:

• how many times and when the measles vaccination is given - 2 times for 6 months and 12 years, if an adult has not had a vaccination, then it is given once under the age of 40;
• what happens in the body after vaccination - the immune response to the measles vaccine is predictable: a slight increase in temperature, general malaise without any consequences;
• at what age is revaccination against measles carried out - according to the vaccination calendar, it is shown to children at the age of 12, but the pediatrician must take into account various factors and issue permission for manipulation only after examining the child.

You can learn more about the disease and how dangerous measles is and how its complications are transmitted on the pages of our site Dobrobut.com.
Related services:
Vaccination