Kids And Measles

Kids and Measles

Vaccinations are available for diseases like measles which at one stage were quite common. However, still, there are plenty of people who do not get vaccinated and the risk of contracting measles will increase. In the US alone the year 2018 saw 17 outbreaks of measles. Rubeola infection or measles was a very severe condition way back in the 1960s before the vaccine was made available to the public. Those were the times when millions of children suffered from this highly contagious disease. Paramyxovirus causes measles infection. As an airborne infection, the virus quickly spreads and is airborne when the affected child sneezes or coughs.

Risk factors

The efficiency of the measles vaccines has brought down the number of instances of measles in recent times. However, knowing the risk factors and getting a child vaccinated is very important for their wellbeing.

• Nutritional deficiency in kids like the deficiency of Vitamin A increases the risks of acquiring measles.
• Children who are not vaccinated are vulnerable to the virus.
• Very young children those still have not got their first shot of MMR or measles, mumps and rubella vaccine are at higher risk of acquiring the infection.
• There are some who have a malfunctioning immune system or one that is impaired where they are said to be immunocompromised. These children might acquire the infection even if the MMR vaccines have been given on time.
• There are also some children who are recommended to skip the vaccine either one dose or more due to health conditions or other types of ongoing treatments.

Types of infectious stages and the implications of the infection

The first signs of the infection start getting noticeable one or two weeks after the virus enters the body.

• Initially, there could be partial symptoms occurring like a cough and runny nose much like other viral infections. Then children tend to get a high fever along with redness in the eyes. There are some children who acquire conjunctivitis at this stage.
• Koplik spots are the red spots that occur on the inside of the mouth which takes place within 3 or 5 days after the early symptoms.
• This is then accompanied by the breakout of a rash which normally starts on the face region. This is also the stage where fever will increase.  
• The contagious stages when measles occurs are the four days before the appearance of the rashes and the last four days before the infection subsides. In the case of measles, the rashes appear with a flat head, and there is redness without the formation of pustules or the presence of fluids in the rashes.

Recovery from measles

Taking bed rest and incorporating home remedies go a long way in helping the child recover quickly. Children are kept confined to prevent the virus from spreading to the other kids. Intake of healthy food, food rich in Vitamin A can help speed up the process or recovery.

Being cautious during the recovery period and taking complete rest can help prevent further complications like pneumonia, ear infections, and encephalitis which are prone to occur in children who are vulnerable after a measles outbreak.