How dangerous is measles for a child: symptoms, complications, treatment

The Ministry of Health is scaring us with a growing measles epidemic, be careful! What is this disease and how dangerous is it for your children?

There is an opinion that measles is a mild disease that is better to get over in childhood, like chickenpox, for example, but this is not entirely true. Measles is a viral infection that is dangerous with serious complications, especially for children under one year old. There is no cure for measles, and the WHO still considers measles to be one of the most common causes of child mortality worldwide.

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The causative agent of measles Measles virus is transmitted from person to person by airborne droplets. The contagiousness (infectiousness) of the measles virus is close to 100%, like chickenpox - this means that a child who has no immunity will definitely get sick if he encounters the microbe. The measles virus can spread with the air flow for a distance of up to 400 meters, without losing its activity. However, the virus does not live long and dies at room temperature in 3-4 hours, is sensitive to UV radiation and is afraid of disinfectants.

Symptoms of measles in children

The incubation period for measles is one to two weeks, but a person becomes contagious even before the first symptoms appear.

• The first stage: The temperature suddenly rises to 39-40 degrees.
• Weakness, headache.
• Runny nose with copious discharge, cough.
• The eyes become red and watery, and purulent discharge is possible.
• On the 3rd-4th day, the condition improves slightly, the temperature decreases.

• The second stage: A day after improvement, deterioration occurs again - the temperature rises
• The main distinguishing feature of measles is Filatov-Koplyk spots, which appear on the inside of the cheeks, opposite the molars. They look like whitish spots with a red border around the contour.
• Approximately on the 3rd-4th day, a cow's rash appears, first on the cheeks, behind the ears, on the neck, then on the folds of the arms and legs, on the fingers, covering the entire body of the child.
• Unlike the rubella rash, the cowpox rash can coalesce. On the fifth day, the rash begins to turn pale and gradually disappears in the same sequence as it appeared.

Source: freepik

Complications after measles

The measles virus spreads through the bloodstream throughout a child's body, including the lungs and brain, but most often affects the eyes. The most common complication of measles is pneumonia.

• Otitis. Possible laryngeal stenosis (croup). Cow encephalitis is life-threatening.
• Corneal conjunctivitisWhen signs of complications appear, antibiotic treatment is usually prescribed. Never give these drugs to a child without a doctor's prescription, as you can worsen the course of the disease and complicate treatment.

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Measles treatment

Since measles is caused by a virus, there is no treatment for this disease, which is why antibiotics are not effective for measles.

1. You have to rely on the child's immunity, which must cope with the infection.
2. Put the baby to bed, ventilate the room and ensure its humidity - if there is no humidifier, do wet cleaning several times a day.
3. Don't force your child to eat if they don't want to, and if they do ask, the food should be light - a baked apple, vegetable puree, or lean soup.
4. The child should drink a lot, this will help lower the temperature and reduce the concentration of microbes in the blood.
5. A temperature above 38 degrees can be reduced with drugs approved for children (based on ibuprofen or paracetamol).
6. The likelihood of eye complications can be reduced by taking additional vitamin A, but vitamins should only be taken after consulting a doctor.

Source: freepik

Measles prevention

Nowadays, measles is quite rare, thanks to vaccination - the measles vaccine is included in the national vaccination calendar and is given to children after one year in the form of a comprehensive MMR vaccine (measles, mumps, rubella), with a booster at 6 years of age.

Measles vaccination is a topic for a separate article, as it is made with a live attenuated vaccine based on the measles virus grown in an egg (chicken or quail). Complications are possible after vaccination, which you also need to be aware of, but their probability is many times lower than the death of a child from complications after measles.

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