Rubella is an acute disease that most often affects preschool children. Among the most common infections, a "group of five" is distinguished. It includes diseases caused by similar pathogens. These include rubella in children, the symptoms of which are characterized by high fever and rash. To treat a disease, you need to understand what causes and signs it appears.
What is rubella?
The disease has an infectious nature and is accompanied by rashes. The causative agent is the Rubella virus, discovered in Japan in the 30s of the last century. After recovery, a person develops a lifelong immunity, therefore more often than once they do not get rubella.
Both single cases of infection and massive ones are noted. It was previously believed that rubella symptoms in children occur cyclically once every 8-12 years, but cases of illness have become more frequent due to refusal of vaccination.
The risk group includes children aged 1 to 7 years, in older children, the disease is diagnosed less often.
How does infection happen?
Rubella virus is viable for a long time in a frozen form. In a normal environment, it is transmitted by contact from one child to another. Therefore, outbreaks of the disease are recorded in kindergartens. If at least one baby has had rubella, then all the children in the group will become infected.
Infection occurs by airborne droplets. The virus that enters the body through the respiratory tract is fixed in the lymph nodes and provokes the disease.
The incubation period of rubella lasts from 10 to 21 days. Even if you isolate the kids with a rash for 5 days from the team, this measure is ineffective. Infection occurs a week before the onset of measles rubella symptoms in children and 14 days after the onset of the disease. During this period, they are dangerous to others. On day 12-14, the virus leaves the lymph nodes completely.
Experts are sure that children in whom the disease proceeds with mild signs are a stronger source of the virus than babies with a pronounced manifestation of infection.
Stages of the disease
Rubella overcomes three periods:
- incubation;
- premonitory;
- acute.
The incubation period lasts from 10 to 21 days. When the virus enters the bloodstream, the child begins to secrete infectious agents. With completely absent rubella symptoms in the baby, he still poses a threat to others.
The lymphatic system takes the first blow. Then a rash appears that spreads throughout the body. Rashes from the ears and neck begin, then affect the trunk, hips and buttocks. The rash can be pronounced or almost invisible, depending on the baby's immune system. After a few days, it decreases, but the child remains contagious for another 7 days.
Recovery occurs one week after the first signs of rubella appear. The child becomes active and alert. The increase in lymph nodes persists for 15-21 days.
Types of disease
The following varieties of the disease:
To a dangerous species include infection of a pregnant woman, especially in the first trimester.
Infection of babies occurs in utero, and they are born with congenital rubella syndrome. Up to 20% of newborns die at the age of 3 years due to various complications.
Symptoms of measles rubella in children can occur with additional external influences (teething, hypothermia, SARS). Sometimes a deaf baby is born with heart or brain defects. Many children have problems with speech and mental retardation.
Acquired rubella can occur in children older than 3 years and includes the following forms:
- Easy. Characteristic for children with a good immune system. Elevated temperature and signs of general intoxication are not observed. Rashes pass in 2-3 days.
- Moderate It is characterized by a temperature of more than 38 degrees. Symptoms are similar to colds (cough, runny nose). Sometimes conjunctivitis occurs.
- Heavy. The disease is characterized by high fever (39-40). Symptoms of intoxication are pronounced. In some cases, a bacterial infection occurs.
Rubella is most easily tolerated in mild to moderate form.
Symptoms of the disease
Infection proceeds with some features. What are the symptoms of rubella in children? It begins, like most similar infections, with the malaise of the body. It is such signs that occur in a child first of all. Common signs of rubella include:
- an increase in body temperature, which manifests itself for a short time;
- headache;
- chills and pain in the joints.
The child has a dry cough and swelling of the nose. Some parents take rubella symptoms as symptoms of a cold.
They can be present from 12 hours and last up to three days. After the end of this period, specific signs are added to general infection signs.
In children under one year of age, symptoms may be muffled.
Specific features
The second cycle of the disease occurs 3 days after the symptoms of the initial stage of rubella in children. These include a rash on the body of the child. Initially, it has a pink color, and over time it changes to dark red.
A distinctive feature of rubella in children is the characteristic of the individual elements of the rash. They spread along the surface of the body, but like measles they do not merge into single formations. The main symptoms of rubella in children are rash and redness. They do not leave peeling, scars and pigmentation on the skin, as with chickenpox.
What does rubella look like in a child? Primary symptoms appear on the face, then goes to the neck, after a few minutes, rashes appear on the back, stomach and buttocks.
In one place, the rash lasts for a short time, and it can soon be seen in other parts of the body.
Other symptoms of the disease include enlarged lymph nodes in the neck, as well as submandibular and cervical lymph nodes. They cause sharp pain in the neck.
Features of the disease in children up to a year
Rubella in infants is very rare. They have a specific immunity to this disease. The exception is children whose mothers had rubella during pregnancy. Such an infection is congenital in nature and leads to many complications.
In other cases, rubella symptoms in children under one year old are no different from the course of the disease at an older age.
Particular attention to the well-being of the baby will allow to identify the pathology and ease its condition.
Diagnosis of the disease
For professionals, it is important to distinguish between the symptoms of measles and rubella in children. With mild signs, additional studies are prescribed.
These include:
- blood and urine tests;
- RTGA;
- radiography of the lungs;
- ECG in rare cases;
- serological and enzyme immunoassay.
According to the results of the examination, the doctor makes an accurate diagnosis. A sick child is isolated from healthy children for up to 3 weeks.
How to treat pathology
Rubella symptoms in children, and in rare cases adults, are treated at home. The following recommendations should be followed:
- Provide the patient with favorable conditions when in a separate room, diet and heavy drinking.
- Water the baby with plain and mineral water without gas, compotes, fruit drinks and juices. It is important that more than 1 liter of fluid per day is ingested. It allows you to cope with intoxication and fight viruses.
- Follow exactly all the doctor’s prescriptions and observe bed rest for 5-7 days.
- With measles rubella in children, photophobia can be observed, so the windows need to be closed with blackout curtains.
- In the room where the patient is located, it is necessary to create a calm atmosphere and silence. Parents should take the time to not only look after the child, but also read books to him and play.
Compliance with all the tips for proper treatment will accelerate the recovery of the baby and relieve complications.
The prognosis of the disease is favorable. Complications can develop only with weakened immunity or the attachment of a bacterial infection. In these cases, you may experience:
- angina;
- pneumonia;
- bronchitis;
- encephalitis;
- meningitis.
The disease will require effective treatment, which is prescribed by a specialist taking into account the existing symptoms.
Drug therapy
Treatment of symptoms of measles rubella in children and adults is carried out with drugs only as directed by a specialist.
Drug therapy includes:
- Ascorutin. The drug is prescribed to prevent disseminated intravascular coagulation.
- Antihistamines. They help relieve swelling and reduce inflammation.
In the event of a secondary infection (tonsillitis, pneumonia), a specialist prescribes antibiotics.
For symptomatic treatment, the doctor prescribes non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. They relieve pain, intoxication and reduce fever.
With nasal congestion, vasodilator drops are used - Nazivin, Otrivin and others.
Folk remedies
To remove rubella symptoms, decoctions and infusions from medicines are used. They are completely suitable for babies, as well as dried fruit teas and drinks that increase immunity.
It is useful to drink a decoction of the following plants: chamomile, rose hip and echinacea purpurea.
Fresh berries (raspberries), lemon, currant leaves and honey are added to any drinks.
General recommendations
When treating rubella symptoms in children, the following recommendations are followed:
- Diet. Food should be carried out in small portions. Children should be fed fermented milk products, steam and baked dishes. The main thing is to completely remove fried, oily and spicy from the diet. Forbidden dishes that can irritate the gastric mucosa and strain the intestines.
- Indoors, the necessary level of humidity and temperature must be observed. Ventilate the child’s room once every 1.5 hours and do wet cleaning daily.
- During the period of the disease, taking a bath is not recommended. Washing a child in the shower is not prohibited, because if you do not do this, then sweat can cause irritation.
- Walking with a rubella-infected baby. it does not follow. With weakened immunity, it can become infected with SARS, as well as infect other children and adults.
If you follow these tips, the baby’s recovery will be much faster.
Prevention
Immunity to the virus that causes rubella develops after one illness. Despite the ease during the illness, it can cause serious complications in the child. Treatment of rubella symptoms in children and prevention includes several points.
For this, a vaccination against the disease is included in the vaccination calendar.
It is done when the baby is 1 and 6 years old. Until the age of one, the child protects innate immunity. For vaccination use drugs of both domestic and foreign manufacturers. Moreover, all of them are made on the basis of attenuated rubella viruses.
Drugs contribute to the creation of a stable protective immune response against such infections. The vaccine is injected subcutaneously into the deltoid muscle of the shoulder or under the scapula.
In most cases, rubella vaccination can cause some reactions in babies, which are expressed in a slight swelling of the injection site. In 10% of patients observed:
- increase in body temperature;
- sore throat;
- runny nose.
A similar reaction to the vaccine develops on 12-14 days after vaccination. Such symptoms usually disappear within a few days.
If the vaccine against infection has not been given at the required age, then vaccination is allowed at any period up to 18 years, which is especially important for girls.
In addition to vaccination, there is a second method of protection against infection. This is teaching the child to the basic rules of personal hygiene, as well as stopping visits to the institution where the infection is present.
Rubella in children is an infection that affects infants under the age of seven. Correct diagnosis and timely treatment will quickly relieve its symptoms. Timely vaccination will allow the child to get rubella in a mild form and will not cause any complications.