Know More About Rubella

“Rubella”, which is a common infection among children, is also known as “German measles”. The term “Rubella” derives from a Latin word, which in English means “Slightly red”. This disease is also hailed as “German Measles” as it was first discovered by a German physician. This is a contagious disease, which generally lasts from one to five days. Both adults and children can be affected by this disease but children are more vulnerable to this disease. It has been observed that Children recover from this sooner than the adults do.

If a pregnant woman is affected by this disease, the condition of fetus can deteriorate. Sometimes a newborn can be affected by the congenital rubella syndrome (CRS), if the mother is infected within twenty weeks of pregnancy. If this happens, the newborn can suffer from low birth weight, prematurity, hepatitis and anemia. This virus forces some women to undergo abortion.

Rubella can attack any person of any age group. This disease rarely affects the persons, who have crossed their forties. Infants are also not affected by this disease.

Causes of Rubella

It is the Rubella virus, which is the cause of this disease. This disease can be transmitted from one affected person to another person by following the route of respiratory system. Within five to seven days of infection, this virus can be found in the blood. This virus can very easily infect the fetus by crossing the placenta. This virus can deter the cells of a fetus from developing or it can destroy the cells as well.

Symptoms of Rubella:

The symptoms of Rubella can be varied but a little caution can help a person to determine whether he is affected by the virus of this disease or not. Within twenty-five days, the symptoms of this disease begin to be manifested. At the initial stage, a patient may experience mild fever. Emergence of skin rash is one of the prominent symptoms of this disease. Rashes generally starts appearing on the face and then these rashes begin to spread in the entire body. The rashes are red in color and it may bring an itching sensation to an adult patient. If a child is attacked by this disease, he generally does not feel any kind of itchiness in the affected parts of the body. These rashes last for three to four days and after that, they begin to disappear automatically.

A patient can experience acute pain in joints. Though serious complication is very rare in this disease, sometimes it does happen. Blood clotting, myocarditis and encephalitis are some of the severe symptoms of this disease. Lymph nodes can emerge in armpits, groin and neck. Conjunctivitis and headache are some of the common signs of this disease. The severity of the symptoms of this disease can increase if the patient is an aged person. As aged persons do not have strong immunity system, they can affected by some other diseases that can deteriorate their health condition. A girl or a woman can experience some symptoms of Rubella that are very similar to the symptoms of arthritics. This disease can infect the respiratory track as well.

Treatment :

Before starting the treatment, it should be confirmed the fact that the patient is suffering from Rubella. A simple blood test can corroborate this fact. A child should drink plenty of water in this situation. Fever-relieving syrup can be taken to reduce the temperature of the body. If a child is infected by this disease, he can attain life long immunity against this particular virus. If in any case, a patient is facing unnatural symptoms, one should take the advice of a practitioner as soon as possible. When a patient is suffering from myocarditis, encephalitis or blood clotting, special care needs to be taken to avoid any catastrophic consequences in future.

Some of the symptoms of this disease can be effectively treated with paracetamol. If a newborn is affected by this disease, he/she should be treated with very care and caution. Cataracts and heart defects can be redressed by undergoing surgery. A vaccination can help a person to stay away from this disease. Proper monitoring and regular counseling can also help a patient to recuperate from this disease.

Advice :

If a child is affected by this disease, proper care and cautions have to be taken in order to help him to recover from this disease. If situation appears out of control, medical advice should be taken forthwith.