Measles is a highly contagious disease caused by the morbillivirus, with symptoms including a rash, high fever, cough, and watery eyes. The rash typically appears a few days after other symptoms and starts on the scalp or face before spreading to the neck, chest, torso, arms, and legs. Prompt medical attention is advised to prevent spreading the disease to others. German measles, caused by the rubella virus, has similar symptoms but involves a rash of small pink dots that spread rapidly over the body.
A rash is usually just one of many measles symptoms, and recognizing it is often as much about seeing all the symptoms in their sum as it is about identifying particular characteristics. All people, and especially children, develop rashes for a variety of reasons, some more serious than others. In most cases, the most distinguishing feature of a measles rash is that it appears a few days after other measles symptoms, particularly a sustained high fever; a cough, often accompanied by a runny nose; and itchy, watery eyes. The rash itself normally starts on the scalp or face and normally appears as small red bumps initially. These have a tendency to spread and within a few days – and in some cases a few hours – the bumps will grow and spread to cover the neck, chest and torso and normally extend down the arms and legs as well. In general, anyone who suspects a rash is measles-related is advised to seek immediate medical attention, both to speed recovery and to prevent spreading the disease to others since measles is highly contagious.
Understand the disease in general
Measles is typically a childhood illness caused by the morbillivirus that lives in the mouths and noses of infected children. The virus is released into the air when your child coughs or sneezes and as such is highly contagious. The incubation period, which is the time between a person being exposed to the virus and developing symptoms, is normally between 10 and 14 days. While outbreaks are less common in most places today due to widespread vaccination programs, they still occur, and those who haven’t been vaccinated, a class that includes most children, are particularly at risk.
Complications of measles include pneumonia and encephalitis and can be quite serious. Knowing the symptoms, including recognizing the rash, can be a very important tool when it comes to getting prompt treatment. In many cases, there is no specific treatment other than letting the disease take its course and making sure the patient is getting adequate fluids. Most adults and older children will make a full recovery, but it’s not always the same for toddlers; in children younger than 5, the disease is often fatal, particularly if it develops into something else. In these cases prompt hospitalization is usually crucial.
Rash starts
A rash usually begins to appear about two weeks after a patient has been exposed to the virus. One of the first indications of measles is usually the development of Koplik’s spots, tiny blue-white dots surrounded by red inside the mouth and inside the cheeks. These spots are often considered the very beginnings of the rash, or at least a precursor to it. Flat red bumps on the skin near the ears and hairline usually begin to appear by the time Koplik’s spots are fading.
Diffusion and growth and
One to two days after the rash appears near the hairline, it can spread to the trunk and limbs, even as it begins to disappear from the face. The measles rash may be slightly itchy. The patient is usually infectious from a few days before the rash appears until a few days after, at which point the rash also begins to fade.
It’s important to realize that a rash is not the first sign of measles, nor is it the best way to diagnose the disease. Patients usually feel unwell for several days before the rash appears; most have a very high temperature associated with a runny nose, cough, and usually watery eyes. A rash can confirm suspicions of measles, but it’s usually not enough to make a diagnosis.
Variations of German measles
A related disease known as German measles, caused by the rubella virus, is contracted in the same way as the more standard measles virus and has an incubation period of 12 to 23 days. When it comes to diagnosing German measles, one of the most reliable symptoms is swollen lymph nodes around the hairline, behind the ears. A child with German measles will also have a sore throat, runny nose, a slight fever and a rash. A German measles rash involves small pink dots that spread rapidly over the body, particularly the torso. Although this rash looks like the measles rash, there is less of it and in most cases it goes away faster.
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