Measles - what kind of disease? Symptoms, treatment, consequences

What is the disease? How to recognize in time, what are its consequences, how is it treated? We'll talk about everything in this article.

Measles is a viral disease that is transmitted by airborne droplets, directly from the infected person.

A bit of history

When there was such a disease, as measles? The history of the disease will help us to understand the question. The first case, which was recorded, occurred in the 9th century, and was described by an Arab physician, Razes. The doctor mistakenly thought that the patient had a mild form of smallpox. Therefore, at the first time measles was called "small disease" (morbilli), and smallpox - morbus, which means "great illness".

What is the disease? What symptoms does it have and how does it proceed? This was established only in the 17th century, thanks to Sidenhom (England) and Morton (France). But these doctors could not establish the cause of the disease, and only in 1911 experiments were conducted on monkeys, and it was possible to establish that measles is an acute viral disease that is transmitted by airborne droplets. The causative agent of the disease was established only in 1954. Measles is a disease everyone must know about the dangers.

From the middle of the 19th century until the beginning of the 20th century, measles was the most dangerous childhood disease, which often ended in a fatal outcome. To reduce the epidemic of the disease was possible only after the vaccine was developed. Obligatory vaccination could reduce the activity of the disease, and in some countries it completely eliminated it. However, cases of the disease are fixed and today, according to WHO statistics, about 30 thousand people die each year.

Symptoms in children

First of all it is worth noting that children are most affected by infection at the age from one to 7 years, and cases of infection of children older than 7 years and adults are more rarely recorded.

It is important to know: measles begins to manifest itself after 7-14 days.

What is the disease? How to diagnose it? In order to start treatment in time, you need to be able to recognize the disease.

The disease of measles symptoms in children has the following:

• Bad feeling.
• Sleep disturbance.
• Lethargy.
• Fatigue.
• Headache.
• Poor appetite, or complete lack of it.
• Temperature increase.

Catarrhal stage lasts from 3 to 5 days. Symptoms are as follows:

• Inflammation of the throat.
• There is a cough.

Further worse. The disease begins to affect the vessels, small capillaries on the eyes and skin begin to burst. The rhinitis begins with a purulent discharge. There is swelling on the face, eyes become numb. At the infected child there is a fear of light, from it he constantly screw up his eyes. The temperature rises to 40 degrees, gradually cough becomes stronger, there may be vomiting.

Only after the baby has the main symptoms of measles, he is given an accurate diagnosis. For the diagnosis, the doctor must appoint:

• General blood analysis.
• General urine analysis.
• Analysis for the isolation of the virus in the blood.
• Chest X-ray.
• In some cases, electroencephalography.

The main symptoms of the disease: measles in children

• Small rashes, the size of a grain, on the inner surface of the lips and cheeks. If there are such symptoms, the child must be isolated.
• Unlike other childhood diseases, a rash with measles does not appear in a chaotic order, but in stages. First of all pink spots appear on the scalp and behind the ears. Then they pass to the bridge of the nose, and gradually spread all over the face. On the second day the rash begins to spread on the upper part of the body (arms, chest). The third day is legs.
• Since the onset of the rash, body temperature rises sharply to 40 degrees.

The rash period lasts from 4 to 7 days.

Symptoms of measles disease in adults

Although measles are considered to be a childhood disease, but still adults are not immune from infection. How does the disease develop in adults, what are the symptoms of the disease?

We will consider the main signs of the disease. Measles is something that can not be ignored!

• First of all, the state of health deteriorates, appetite disappears, horrible headaches and insomnia appear. The ill feels like a cold, he has a pershit in his throat, a runny nose appears, the temperature rises sharply, lymph nodes increase.
• After 2 - 5 days, all the symptoms disappear, there are strengths, vivacity.
• A day after the improvement, the disease comes with renewed strength. All the symptoms return, but are more acute and painful.
• The next stage is a rash. There are many spots that later connect and turn into one continuous spot. The rash appears in a certain sequence: behind the ears, head, upper body, lower body.

Therapy

A very insidious disease is measles. Treatment should begin immediately. How should it occur in children?

After the doctor has appointed or nominated analyzes, and the diagnosis was confirmed, treatment is appointed or nominated. Unfortunately, to date, there has not been a single measles drug developed, so all efforts are focused on treating the symptoms.

• Prescribed antipyretic drugs for children based on ibufen and paracetamol.
• High temperature and vomiting lead to dehydration of the body, so you must always comply with the drinking regime.
• Since the child has a fear of light, the windows in the room where he is, you need to curtain dark tight curtains. In the evening, use a night light.
• Used antihistamines to remove puffiness and itching from rashes.
• The doctor prescribes expectorants that will help relieve coughing attacks.
• Put drops in the nose (vasoconstrictive) and in the eyes (with conjunctivitis).
• The throat and mouth are treated with chamomile.
• Antibiotics are taken.
• Chapped lips from high temperature should be lubricated with a damp cloth.

Infected child should not contact other children, he is prescribed bed rest and complete rest.

In addition to medicines, it is necessary to ventilate the room, do a wet cleaning 2 times a day, humidify the air.

A prerequisite for treatment is diet compliance. All the food that the child is eating should be high in calories, since the body needs strength and considerable resources to fight the virus. But at the same time, food should be easily digestible, natural.

Hospitalization with measles occurs rarely, only in those cases when the symptoms of the disease is very acute. Basically, the patients stay at home and always follow all the doctor's instructions.

Treatment of measles in adults

The first thing to do is to ease the patient's condition. Antibiotics are used to combat inflammation. If the disease is mild, then there is no need for hospitalization. In order to make up for the loss of fluid in the body, it is necessary to drink plenty of water, syrups, tea, compotes.

Since measles become inflamed with mucous membranes, special attention should be given to hygiene. The throat must be rinsed with infusion of chamomile and water-salt solution. Also, treatment necessarily includes cough drugs with a coughing effect, prednisolone, antipyretic.

Measles: Complications

The most dangerous and common complications that measles can cause are:

• Pneumonia is an infectious inflammation of the lungs.
• Visual impairment, rarely complete blindness.
• Otitis is an inflammatory process in the ear.
• Laryngitis is an inflammatory process in the laryngeal mucosa.
• Encephalitis is an inflammation of the brain.
• Stomatitis is an inflammation of the mucous membrane of the mouth.
• Polyneuritis is a multiple lesion of nerve fibers.
• Bronchopneumonia is an acute inflammation of the bronchi.

Complications in adults

In most cases, measles does not leave any consequences, but still, although rarely, the disease does not forget about itself after the treatment.

So, what is the danger of measles? The consequences of the disease in adults can be as follows:

• Bronchiolitis - acute inflammation of bronchioles, transmitted by airborne droplets.
• Croup - inflammation of the respiratory tract.
• Bronchitis.
• Myocarditis in an easy degree - defeat of the heart muscle.

Sometimes the disease puts an imprint on the eyesight, can lead to complete blindness.

Prevention

There are two types of prevention: emergency and planned.

Emergency prophylaxis is carried out in the event that the fact of contact with the infected person is established precisely. But at the same time it must be reliably known that the child had not previously had measles, and was not vaccinated. In such cases, an immunoglobulin is administered. The drug should be administered within 5 days from the date of contact.

Planned prevention is nothing more than a vaccination. What is an inoculation? This is an artificial introduction of the virus, so that the body could develop immunity. According to the schedule of vaccinations, the first scheduled vaccination against measles is given to a child in 1 year, the second - at 6 years.

After a routine vaccination, each mother is warned about the possible consequences and reactions of the child's body. Therefore, the mother must carefully monitor the condition of the child after vaccination. There are symptoms that parents immediately have to respond to and ask for help from doctors. Among them:

• Coryza.
• Conjunctivitis.
• Temperature increase.
• Cough.

Special vigilance should be shown from 5 to 20 days after the introduction of the virus. Any rash on the body is an excuse to go to the doctor. After all, it is better to insure yourself once again than to risk the health of a child.

Any mother should know that every vaccination is done only for a healthy child. From the time of the last illness, it should take from 1 to 6 weeks.

A vaccine against measles can be obtained by everyone, for this it is necessary to apply to a polyclinic at the place of residence. At itself it is necessary to have a card with records about earlier vaccinations.

A malicious disease is measles. Photos clearly demonstrate this. The patient's body itches and itches.

Rubella, chickenpox, measles - infectious diseases, most common in children. However, an adult can also become sick. In this case, the disease of measles is much more difficult. Photos of adults infected are not much different from images of the manifestation of the disease in children, but the child's well-being is an order of magnitude better during the entire period of the illness.

Quarantine

It is very important to isolate the patient from the healthy, especially the children. But as we know, infected patients are placed in hospital only in special cases, so it is necessary to allocate a separate room to the home. If this is not possible, then it should be for a while to take healthy children to relatives. In the room where the patient is, it is necessary to do a wet cleaning, airing. All windows must be veiled with thick curtains, so that the room is dim. It is very important to single out the diseased member of the family separate cutlery: plates, mugs, spoons. It is important to wear a gauze bandage, both for the sick and those who care for it.

Care for a sick child must be vaccinated or an adult with a measles. It is worth remembering that the infantile measles disease is very contagious.

Measles during pregnancy

What if a pregnant woman gets sick with measles? How dangerous is the disease for the baby and the future mother?

Any viral diseases (measles, chickenpox or rubella) are extremely dangerous during pregnancy. What about measles, then if a woman gets infected with a virus at an early pregnancy, it is fraught with various vices in the development of the fetus. And despite all the modern methods of diagnosis, doctors can not determine how much the disease managed to hit the child's brain. It is possible to reveal this only after birth. If a pregnant woman gets measles late in the day, the probability of infection of the child is very high. So it's just that the baby is born with the virus. It is fraught with the fact that a child, still immature organism, most likely, will not be able to bear the disease.

Despite all the danger, measles is not an indication for abortion, for example, as in the case of rubella. But still, if a woman falls ill with measles at an early age, the doctor always warns the future mother of possible irreversible consequences. But the choice is always for the woman.

Naturally, any future mother does not want her child to have any illnesses. Therefore, during pregnancy, a woman should not only eat properly and take all the necessary vitamins, but also carefully monitor their health.

Brief summary of the aforesaid

What is the disease? This is a dangerous disease that spreads by airborne droplets, has an acute course. The disease is old enough, however, there is no way to treat measles. Only the symptoms of the disease are treated. Fortunately, the illnesses of children (measles) signs are pronounced, they will not be noticed.

Most often, measles are affected by preschool and primary school children, but this does not mean that adults are protected from infection. The best prevention is a timely vaccination: the first - in 1 year, the second - in 6 years. Further at will.

Ailing family member must be isolated from healthy relatives.