Rubella in child

Rubella (German Measles) (for Parents)

What Is Rubella?

Rubella is an infection that mostly affects the skin and lymph nodes. In kids, rubella — commonly called German measles or 3-day measles — is usually a mild illness. But the infection is dangerous for pregnant women because it can cause serious health problems in their babies.

Rubella is caused by the rubella (roo-BELL-uh) virus (not the same virus that causes measles). It spreads when people breathe in virus-infected fluid.

Before the rubella vaccine, epidemics happened every 6-9 years, usually among kids 5 to 9 years old, along with many cases of congenital rubella. Thanks to immunization, there are far fewer cases of rubella and congenital rubella.

What Are the Signs & Symptoms of Rubella?

Rubella infection may begin with 1–2 days of mild fever (99°–100°F, 37.2°–37.8°C) and swollen, tender lymph nodes, usually in the back of the neck or behind the ears. A rash then begins on the face and spreads downward. As it spreads, it usually clears on the face.

The rubella rash is often the first sign of illness that a parent notices. It can look like many other viral rashes, appearing as either pink or light red spots, which may merge to form evenly colored patches. The rash can itch and lasts up to 3 days. As the rash clears, the affected skin might shed in very fine flakes.

Other symptoms of rubella, which are more common in teens and adults, can include headache, loss of appetite, mild conjunctivitis (inflammation of the lining of the eyelids and eyeballs), a stuffy or runny nose, swollen

lymph nodesin other parts of the body, and pain and swollen joints. Many people with rubella have few or no symptoms.

The rubella rash usually lasts 3 days. Lymph nodes may be swollen for a week or more, and joint pain can last for more than 2 weeks. Children who have rubella usually recover within 1 week, but adults may take longer.

Is Rubella Contagious?

Rubella is contagious, and passes from person to person through tiny drops of fluid from the nose and throat through sneezing and coughing. Someone also can get it by sharing food or drink with a person who's infected. People who have rubella are most contagious from 1 week before to 1 week after the rash appears. Someone who is infected but has no symptoms can still spread the virus.

The virus also can pass through a pregnant woman's bloodstream to infect her unborn child. Babies born with congenital rubella syndrome are at risk for serious problems with their growth, thinking, heart and eyes, hearing, and liver, spleen, and bone marrow. They also can shed the virus in their urine (pee) and fluid from their nose and throat for a year or more, so can pass the virus to people who aren't immunized against it.

Can Rubella Be Prevented?

The rubella vaccine protects people from the disease. Widespread immunization is the key to preventing the spread of the virus and protecting babies from the serious health problems of congenital rubella syndrome.

Most rubella infections today are in young, non-immunized adults rather than in kids. In fact, experts say that about 10% of young adults are not vaccinated against rubella, which could be dangerous for any children they might have someday.

Children usually get the vaccine at 12–15 months of age as part of the scheduled measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) immunization or measles-mumps-rubella-varicella vaccine (MMRV). Most get a second dose at 4–6 years of age. As with all immunization schedules, there are important exceptions and special circumstances. For example, a child who will travel outside the United States can get the vaccine as early as 6 months of age. Talk to your doctor to see when your child should get the vaccine.

The rubella vaccine should not be given to pregnant women or to a woman who plans to become pregnant within 1 month of getting it. If you are thinking about becoming pregnant, make sure that you're immune to rubella through a blood test or proof of immunization. If you're not immune, get the vaccine at least 1 month before you become pregnant.

Pregnant women who are not immune should avoid anyone who has the illness, then get the vaccine after their baby is born so they'll be immune during any future pregnancies.

How Is Rubella Treated?

Antibiotics can't treat rubella because they only work against bacteria, not viruses. Unless it causes other problems, rubella will get better on its own. Rubella usually is mild in kids, who often can be cared for at home. Check your child's temperature and call the doctor if the fever climbs too high.

To ease minor discomfort, you can give your child acetaminophen or ibuprofen. Never give aspirin to a child who has a viral illness, as such use is linked to a serious condition called Reye syndrome.

When Should I Call the Doctor?

Call the doctor if your child seems to be getting sicker or has symptoms that don't seem mild.

If a pregnant woman is exposed to rubella, she should contact her doctor right away.

Rubella Vaccines for Children | CDC

Pronounced (rue-BELL-a)

Two doses of the MMR shot (measles, mumps, and rubella) are recommended for children by doctors as the best way to protect against rubella.

When should my child get the MMR shot?

One dose at each of the following ages:

12 – 15 months

4 – 6 years

Before traveling to another country, infants 6 to 11 months should get 1 dose of the MMR shot.

Why should my child get the rubella shot?

Protects your child from rubella, a potentially serious disease, as well as measles and mumps.
Prevents your child from spreading rubella to a pregnant woman whose unborn baby could develop serious birth defects or die if the mother gets rubella.
Prevents your child from getting a rash and fever from rubella.
Keeps your child from missing school or childcare and you from missing work to care for your sick child.

The MMR shot is safe.

The MMR shot is very safe, and is effective at preventing rubella. Vaccines like a medicine, can have side effects. These are usually mild and go away on their own.

There is no link between the MMR shot and autism.
Scientists in the United States and other countries have carefully studied the MMR shot. None has found a link between autism and the MMR shot.

What are the side effects of the shot?

Most children don’t have any side effects from the shot. The side effects that do occur are usually very mild, and may include:

Fever
Soreness, redness, or swelling where the shot was given
Temporary pain and stiffness in the joints (mostly in teens and adults)
Mild rash

More serious side effects are rare. These may include high fever that could cause a seizure.

Prepare for your child's vaccine visit and learn about how you can:

Research vaccines and ready your child before the visit
Comfort your child during the appointment
Care for your child after the shot

Before, During, and After Shots

What is rubella?

Rubella, sometimes called “German measles,” is a disease caused by a virus. The infection is usually mild with fever and a rash.

Are you planning a pregnancy?

Even before becoming pregnant, make sure you are up to date on all your vaccines. If you aren’t up to date, you’ll need the MMR vaccine before you get pregnant.

Infection during pregnancy can cause miscarriage, or birth defects like deafness, blindness, intellectual disability, heart defects, and liver or spleen damage.

If you are not up to date on MMR vaccine, but you are already pregnant, consult your healthcare provider about ways to reduce your risk of exposure to rubella.

What are the symptoms of rubella?

In children, rubella usually causes the following symptoms that last 2 or 3 days:

Rash that starts on the face and spreads to the rest of the body
Low fever (less than 101 degrees)

Before the rash appears, older children and adults may also have:

Swollen glands
Cough, runny nose, and redness or swelling of the white of the eye
Aching joints (especially in young women)

About half of the people who get rubella do not have symptoms.

Is rubella serious?

Rubella is usually mild in children. Complications are not common, but they occur more often in adults. In rare cases, rubella can cause serious problems, including brain infections and bleeding problems.

How does rubella spread?

Rubella spreads when an infected person coughs or sneezes and touches objects or surfaces with unwashed hands.

The disease is most contagious when the infected person has a rash. But it can spread up to 7 days before the rash appears and up to 7 days after. People without symptoms can still spread rubella.

Rubella is rare in the United States but can be brought to the U.S. by travelers.

Treatment of rubella in children | Moscow

Rubella or

rubella measles in children is an infectious disease with characteristic light pink or pale red small rashes on the body, especially in the head and ears.

How do you know if a child has rubella or is it something else?

Stages of the disease

As long as the virus spreads throughout the body, apart from headache and weakness, in rare cases of fever, no serious symptoms will be seen. This so-called incubation period can last up to three weeks. At the height of the disease, a rash occurs on the baby's skin (risk group from 1 to 7 years). It happens that, in addition to lethargy, swollen lymph nodes and a runny nose, nothing else bothers the child. A clear picture in this situation can be shown by a blood test for the presence of antibodies.

Treatment of rubella in children

Rubella in children is not so much difficult to treat as it requires increased attention to the child:

Keep bed rest
Give your baby plenty of fluids
Use antihistamines to relieve itching
Use antipyretics, antibiotics, and anti-inflammatory drugs as directed by your physician.

There is absolutely no need to get carried away with the use of drugs in this case. With proper care rubella in children passes quite imperceptibly and painlessly. After the final cure, do not rush to take your child to kindergarten or school. Keep it at home for at least another week to avoid possible complications.

Prevention of rubella in children

It should be noted that lifelong resistance to this disease is acquired after recovery. The first vaccination is given to a child upon reaching one year, but not everyone develops immunity, so revaccination is repeated by 6 years. The rubella vaccine is tolerated quite easily, so there are no complications.

Semeynaya clinic provides rubella vaccination (live rubella vaccine). If necessary, please contact our clinic by any means available to you.

Make an appointment with a pediatrician

For more details, consult a qualified specialist at the Semeynaya clinic.

For pediatric appointment prices or other questions, please follow the link below:

Tags Pediatrician

Rubella in children and adults: symptoms and treatment

Rubella is treated by a pediatrician

Rubella is an infection that mainly affects the skin and lymph nodes.

The disease is caused by the rubella virus (for a long time it was believed that rubella is a mild variant of the course of measles, but later science learned to distinguish between these diseases), it is transmitted by airborne droplets, through particles of the saliva of a sick person sneezing. In addition, the rubella virus can be transmitted transplacentally, that is, from a pregnant woman to her fetus.

Rubella is usually quite mild, rarely causing complications, although rubella encephalitis and even fatal cases occur. The main medical hazard of rubella is infection of pregnant women, since the rubella virus can cause congenital rubella syndrome in the fetus.

Before the rubella vaccine became available in 1969, epidemics of the disease occurred every 6–9 years, usually in children aged 5–9 years, along with many cases of congenital rubella (i.e., deafness, heart defects, and other physical defects in newborns whose mothers had rubella during pregnancy). Thanks to mass immunization, cases of rubella and congenital rubella syndrome have become incomparably smaller.

Most cases of rubella currently do not occur in children, but in young unvaccinated adults.

Symptoms

The illness usually begins with one to two days of mild fever (up to 38°C) and swollen, painful lymph nodes, usually in the back of the neck or behind the ears. A pale pink spotted rash then appears on the face and spreads downward. As it spreads to the lower parts of the body, the face is usually already cleared.

A rubella rash is often the first sign of illness that a parent notices. It may look like many other viral rashes, appearing as pink or light red spots that may coalesce to form patches of uniform color. The rash may itch and last up to 3 days. When the rash disappears, small-lamellar peeling may remain in its place.

Other symptoms of rubella (more common in adolescents and adults) may include headache, loss of appetite, mild conjunctivitis (inflammation of the lining of the eyelids and eyeballs), nasal congestion or discharge, swollen lymph nodes elsewhere in the body.

If a pregnant woman gets rubella, she can develop congenital rubella syndrome, with devastating consequences for the developing fetus. Children infected with rubella before birth are at risk of growth failure, intellectual defects, heart and eye defects, deafness, and problems with the liver, spleen, and bone marrow.

Rubella rash usually lasts 3 days. Lymph nodes may remain swollen for a week or more, and joint pain may last over 2 weeks. Children with rubella usually recover within 1 week, but adults may take longer.

Contagiousness

The rubella virus is spread from person to person through tiny droplets of fluid from the nose and throat when sneezing and coughing. People with rubella are most contagious 1 week or more before the rash appears and up to 1 week after the rash appears. Someone who is infected but has no symptoms can also spread the virus.

Infants with congenital rubella syndrome can shed the virus in their urine and nasal mucus for a year or more, which means they can infect unvaccinated people.

Prevention

Rubella can be prevented with a vaccine. This vaccination is included in the calendars of all countries, is crucial for curbing the spread of the disease and preventing birth defects in the fetus caused by congenital rubella syndrome.

The first dose of vaccine is usually given to children at 12 months of age as part of routine measles, mumps, and rubella immunizations. The second dose is usually administered at age 6 years. It is acceptable to give a second dose of the vaccine 6 months after the first, or even 1 month if we know that the child is at increased risk of contracting the disease.

Rubella vaccine should not be given to pregnant women or women who plan to become pregnant within 1 month of vaccination.

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