Contents
General description of the disease
Measles is an acute infectious viral disease, during which a high temperature rises, the mucous surfaces of the upper respiratory tract and the oral cavity are affected, conjunctivitis occurs, a specific rash appears, and general intoxication of the body is observed.
Causative agent – An RNA virus that quickly dies outside the presence of the human body when exposed to high temperatures (during boiling, irradiation) and disinfectants.
Transmission mechanism – the virus enters the environment along with the mucus secreted by the patient when sneezing or coughing, with saliva when talking, that is, measles is transmitted by airborne droplets.
The source of the disease is an infected person in the last 2 days of the incubation period) up to 4 days after the rash. On the 5th day of the rash, the patient is considered safe for others.
Measles types:
- 1 typical, for which a characteristic severe course of the disease (unvaccinated children and adults are infected);
- 2 atypical – previously vaccinated people become infected, the course of the disease in this form is mild, while the stage of the rash is disrupted (the rash can be seen only on the face and neck), the incubation period lasts 21 days (with a typical form of measles, it lasts from a week to two, but in exceptional cases lasts 17 days).
Symptoms of a typical form of measles:
- Day 1 – the onset of the disease is characterized by a rapid and acute onset, which is characterized by: a rise in body temperature to 40 degrees, sneezing, a hoarse voice due to a dry cough, fear of light, runny nose, swelling of the eyelids and a red tint of the conjunctiva, hyperemia of the throat, the appearance of red spots on soft and hard palate (the so-called “measles enatema”);
- Day 2 – Filatov-Belsky-Koplik spots appear (corporal spots with a red border that appear on the oral mucosa near the molars). This is the main symptom by which I define measles.
- Day 4,5 – the appearance of a rash (exanthema) on the skin of the face, behind the ears, on the neck; then the next day after that, the torso is covered with a rash, and on the third day of the rash (6-7 days of illness) the extensor parts of the limbs (including the fingers) will be covered with the exanthema. It is worth noting that the rash is formed from small papules, which are surrounded by a red spot and can join together. Fusion of papules is a hallmark of measles from rubella.
- 7-8 Day (the fourth day after the rash) – the patient’s condition is normalized (the temperature returns to normal, the rash dries up, darkens, peels off). Moreover, the rash disappears as it appears. The pigmentation will disappear in about 10-11 days.
Important!
Basically, children under 5 years of age and young people (who have not had measles in childhood) who have not been vaccinated against measles vaccine are sick with measles. In adults, the course of the disease is very difficult, complications often occur.
Measles can give complications in the form of disturbances in the functioning of the central nervous system, the respiratory system and the digestive tract (may develop: stenosis of the larynx, laryngitis, lymphadenitis, primary measles and secondary pneumonia, hepatitis, measles encephalitis).
Patients who are immunocompromised have a hard time tolerating measles. Most fatalities.
If the mother had previously suffered from measles, then her baby has immunity during the first decade (first three months) of life.
There have been cases when a newborn had congenital measles. This arose due to the fact that the virus was transmitted from the sick mother to the fetus.
Healthy foods for measles
During illness, you should adhere to a dairy and vegetable and fruit diet.
At a temperature that is kept at a high level in the first days of illness, you should not overload the body with heavy food. For nutrition, dishes made from dairy and sour-milk products are well suited. If the patient has no appetite at all, he should be given a lot of drink (freshly squeezed juices, cranberry and lingonberry fruit drinks, compotes).
Gradually (to the extent of temperature stabilization), the patient needs to introduce milk porridges, vegetarian soups into the diet, then you can go to ordinary cereals, stews, vegetables, fruits and salads (mashed potatoes) from them. Do not forget about the greenery. Lettuce leaves, dill, parsley, and spinach work well.
To improve the condition (it is better to wait until the rash begins to subside), you can add steamed, boiled or stewed fish and non-fatty meats. For meat dishes, it is better to take dietary meat.
After the complete disappearance of the rash and its pigmentation, as well as all the symptoms of the disease, you can switch to your usual diet. Naturally, nutrition should be healthy and correct, containing all the vitamin and mineral complexes necessary for the body.
Traditional medicine for measles:
- 1 To calm the patient and relieve pain, it is necessary to drink a decoction of linden flowers. For a liter of boiling water, you will need 5 tablespoons of dried linden flowers. Consume one and a half to two glasses before going to bed.
- 2 In order for the rash to pass faster and to be external, and not internal (on internal organs), you need to drink 4 times a day before you start eating, a tablespoon of a decoction of parsley root or dried flowers of pansies. It takes 2 tablespoons of roots / flowers to make two glasses of the decoction. You need to insist the broth for 8 hours, wrapping it well to keep the temperature. After insisting, you need to filter the broth.
- 3 Drink brewed dry raspberries like tea. You can add honey.
- 4 Rinse the eyes with a weak (not strong) solution of boric acid (it just needs to be slightly diluted with clean warm filtered water). They shouldn’t wipe the rash.
- 5 To leave spots from the sky and mucous membranes of the cheeks, it is necessary to rinse your mouth every 2 hours with a decoction of chamomile or sage – take a spoonful (tablespoon) of herbs in a glass of boiling water.
- 6 To remove flaking when taking a bath, you should add bran. Water procedures should not exceed 10 minutes, the optimum temperature for bathing is 34-35 degrees.
- 7 With a strong cough, like tea, you need to drink the brewed roots of marshmallow and licorice, decoctions of herbs: elecampane, chamomile, coltsfoot, calendula flowers, lungwort, thyme, elderberries.
Dangerous and harmful foods for measles
- fatty, hard, fried foods;
- spices: horseradish, mustard, pepper (especially red);
- non-living food.
These products irritate the intestinal mucosa, make the digestive tract work harder, which is why the body spends all its energy on digesting and processing food, and not on curing the disease.
Attention!
The administration is not responsible for any attempt to use the information provided, and does not guarantee that it will not harm you personally. The materials cannot be used to prescribe treatment and make a diagnosis. Always consult your specialist doctor!