Measles - Causes, Symptoms and Treatment

Measles
Definition:
It is an acute, contagious viral disease, usually occurring in childhood and characterized by eruption of red spots on the skin, fever, and catarrhal symptoms.
Measles , also known as rubeola, is a potentially disastrous disease. It can be complicated by ear infections, pneumonia , encephalitis.
The virus is spread easily through the air when an infected person coughs or sneezes or by direct contact with infected nose or throat secretions.
It is a highly infectious viral disease characterized by a sore throat and a blotchy red rash that starts on the face and neck, and spreads to the rest of the body.Measles is also known as, five-day measles, or hard measles. A person who has had measles will never get the disease again.
Causes for Measles
Measles is caused by the measles virus i.e- Paramyxovirus. It is mostly seen in the winter and spring. The virus enters the body through the respiratory tract or the conjunctiva. Measles is endemic throughout the world.
Other main causes of measles includes:

• Personal contact is the main cause of measles because it is a contagious disease.


• Droplets from coughs and sneezes


• Immunodeficiency due to HIV/AIDS


• Malnutrition


• Vitamin A deficiency will lead to the condition of measles.

• Runny nose.


• Sneezing.


• Red eyes.


• Red spots in mouth.


• Red spots inside cheeks.


• Koplik spots - small spots in the mouth.


• Mouth spots with white center and red ring.


• Skin rash.


• Light sensitivity.


• coughing , possibly with a barking cough.


• sore throat - the lymph nodes in the throat may swell.


• at first the spots are very small - a couple of millimetres - but they double in size quickly and begin to join together.


• the temperature, which may run as high as 40ºC, may stay that high for a couple of days. Then it disappears together with the rash, which may leave some brown spots.

Article Source: http://www.thehealthmanual.com

Nikhil Jain is a writer, who writes many great articles on home remedies and herbal remedies and some conditions and ailments. For more information on measles , visit www.home-remedies.info

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