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Measles - Measles symptom, treatment, causes

Measles is a highly contagious, acute, infectious viral disease that is spread mainly by inhaling infected droplets from the nose, throat and mouth of a person in the early stages of the illness. Also called morbilli or rubeola, the disease mainly affects children but can occur at any age.

Measles also called rubeola is a highly contagious but rare respiratory infection that's caused by a virus. The virus is spread easily through the air when an infected person coughs or sneezes or by direct contact with infected nose or throat secretions. Most people recover within 7-10 days, but there can be serious complications, some of which can be fatal, so you should get your children immunised against measles. Symptoms, after a ten-day incubation period, can include corzya, conjunctivitis, bronchitis, Koplik spots, rash and fever. Also called rubeola, measles can be serious and even fatal for small children. Approximately 30 million to 40 million cases of measles occur worldwide each year, resulting in more than 750,000 deaths. Once a common childhood disease, it is now rare due to effective immunizations in developed countries. Although usually a mild illness in children, measles can have serious complications and be fatal to children who are immunosuppressed.

Measles is a contagious disease that is more commonly found among children. Measles also known as rubeola is a potentially disastrous disease. Measles is primarily a respiratory infection caused by a highly contagious virus found all over the world. It can also pass through a pregnant woman's bloodstream to infect her unborn child. As this is a generally mild disease in children, the primary medical danger of rubella is the infection of pregnant women, which may cause congenital rubella syndrome in developing babies. It is a highly infectious viral disease characterized by a sore throat and a blotchy red rash that starts on the face and neck, and spreads to the rest of the body. Measles is also known as, five-day measles, or hard measles. A person who has had measles will never get the disease again.

Causes of Measles

The common Causes of Measles :

• Virus.
• Droplets from coughs and sneezes.
• Vitamin A deficiency will lead to the condition of measles.
• Direct personal contact.
• Wrong feeding habits.
• Malnutrition.
• Immunodeficiency due to HIV/AIDS.

Symptoms of Measles

After an incubation period of 7 to 14 days, fever, running nose, cough and conjunctivitis (eye inflammation) develop. The characteristic Koplik's spots appear 2 to 4 days later inside the mouth, typically opposite the first and second upper molar teeth or inside the lips. These spots resemble tiny grains of white sand surrounded by a red ring. Sore throat and hoarseness coincide with the spots. The typical skin rash appears a day or so later, beginning below the ears and on the neck as irregular red blotches, and rapidly spreading to the face, trunk and limbs.

At the peak of the illness the temperature may reach 40°C and the patient appears very ill, with hacking cough, red eyes that are extremely sensitive to light and an extensive rash that may be mildly itchy. In 3 to 5 days the fever subsides suddenly, the patient feels more omfortable, and the rash begins to fade rapidly, leaving a coppery skin discoloration that disappears when the surface flakes off. Some Symptoms of Measles :

• Runny nose.
• Watering of the eyes
• Feverishness .
• Inflamed eyes (conjunctivitis)
• Cold .
• Dry cough.
• Sensitivity to light .
• Skin rashes.
• Diarrhea.
• Sneezing.
• Red eyes.

Treatment of Measles

There is no cure for measles. Treatment is aimed at relieving symptoms and keeping the patient comfortable by good nursing. Complicating bacterial infections need prompt antibiotic treatment.

• There is no specific treatment, and basically treatment for the symptoms of fever , aches and pains etc., is all that is possible.
• If secondary infections (usually bacterial in origin, and therefore treatable) come on while the patient has measles, then the doctor may prescribe antibiotics.
• Use liquid baby paracetamol or ibuprofen to relieve fever and aches and pains do not give aspirin to children under 16.
• The patient should drink as much as possible, even if off their food.
• Bed rest.
• Some children may need to take extra vitamin A.
• The patient will seem very ill, and if in doubt, you should consult with your doctor. He or she may, however, not be able to add much to what you are already doing. In severe cases your doctor may arrange admission to hospital.

In the past, measles was considered an unavoidable hazard of childhood that resulted in some deaths and considerable long-term illness from complications. Since the introduction of measles vaccine in the late 1960s, measles has been uncommon except in people, who were not adequately immunised. Infants whose mother has had measles receive antibodies across the placenta that protect them from infection for most of the first year of life. Because children become very liable to infection after the first year, it is recommended that infant immunisation (which gives 97 per cent protection) should commence at 12 months (see IMMUNISATION).An attack of measles gives lifelong immunity