Rubella in adults: symptoms of the disease

Rubella is a viral infectious disease that manifests itself in a skin rash that spreads quickly over the skin, increases in lymph nodes and a slight increase in body temperature. Most of all rubella are affected by children aged 1 to 7 years. After the disease passes, life-long immunity is formed.

In principle, rubella in adults, the symptoms of which are similar to the symptoms in children, the disease is quite complicated. Typically, children suffer rubella much more easily than people of more mature age.

It often happens that the symptoms of the disease in children are rather mild, in adults it's the other way round - the disease is difficult and the symptoms are very intense. An interesting fact: such a disease, as measles, also occurs much harder in adults, but children practically do not notice it. If you notice the symptoms of rubella in a pregnant woman - this is a very worrying sign, because in this case, rubella is even more dangerous.

Rubella in adults: symptoms

The symptoms of rubella in adults are as follows:

1. Enlargement of lymph nodes . And most of all in sizes add zadneshejnye and occipital lymphonoduses. This symptom is most pronounced at the end of the incubation period, that is, just before the rash appears. According to doctors, an increase in lymph nodes is a pathognomonic symptom of rubella.
2. The appearance of a rash all over the body . And it is much smaller than the one that appears in measles. It has a pink color, does not merge into one, disappears after a couple of days after the appearance, does not peel and does not pigment. The rash appears during the first day of the disease. It is localized in adults usually just like in children: on the back, buttocks and flexor extremities of the peripheral joints. Most often, the intensity of rash in adults is much higher than in children.
3. The appearance of headache, pain in the joints and muscles . Similar manifestations have only rubella in adults, symptoms of this kind in children are extremely rare.
4. Intoxication syndrome of average severity . That is, the body temperature rises to about 38-39 degrees Celsius, there is malaise and general weakness. Children are all much easier: the temperature in very rare cases rises above the mark of 37 degrees.
5. Enanthem on the mucous soft palate and cheeks . Belsky-Filatova-Koplik stain is not observed in this disease, in contrast to measles. This is considered another distinguishing feature in the symptoms of measles and rubella.
6. The general blood test changes : the number of leukocytes decreases, the number of lymphocytes and monocytes increases. In addition, the number of plasma cells in the blood increases.
7. The mucosa of the upper respiratory tract becomes inflamed . Appears rhinitis or pharyngitis. The conjunctiva becomes inflamed.

Summing up, we can say that rubella is much more dangerous in adults, the symptoms are much stronger. Before they began to get vaccinated against her, it was very rare to find a case of an adult. Since all of them had been ill as early as childhood or, at the extreme, in adolescence.

After the vaccination, thanks to the emerging immunity, children became sick much less often. But there was a large number of patients among adults, because post-vaccination immunity can not last forever.

Therefore, a large number of scientists, and many parents, began to think about not having a rubella vaccine. And in general, there is a share of common sense: the disease in childhood is much easier, in addition, after it is developed immunity, which can be called life. Another disadvantage of vaccination: after it is quite common complications.