Symptoms of rubella
Release time : 12/13/2024 15:19:43
After being infected with rubella, many people often easily confuse it with other diseases and neglect timely targeted treatment. Moreover, rubella can present different symptoms in different situations, so it is important to recognize the symptoms of rubella for treatment. At the same time, we must also understand the impact of rubella on pregnant mothers.
What are the symptoms of rubella after infection? Early detection of symptoms, targeted treatment, and timely treatment are the effective ways to cure rubella. Let's follow the editor to learn more now.
Rubella is clinically classified into acquired rubella and congenital rubella syndrome, the latter being the most common.
1. Acquired rubella (1) Incubation period: 14-21 days.
(2) Prodromal Period: 1 to 2 days. In infantile patients, the prodromal symptoms are usually mild or absent.
In adolescents and adults, the symptoms are more pronounced and last for 5 to 6 days. There may be low-grade fever or moderate fever, headache, loss of appetite, fatigue, weakness, as well as symptoms of a slight upper respiratory tract such as cough, sneezing, runny nose, sore throat, conjunctivitis, etc. Occasionally, there might be vomiting, diarrhea, epistaxis, gum swelling, etc. However, the palate may show rose-red spots or purpuric spots on the soft palate in some patients without roughness, congestion, and mucosal spots on the cheek mucosa.
(3) Erythema Stage: Typically, the rash appears 1 to 2 days after fever onset, with initial appearances on the face and neck, quickly spreading to the trunk and limbs within 1 day, but the palms and soles are generally free from rash.
The rash initially appears as fine, dot-like, pale red papules, papulovesicles, or papular lesions with a diameter of 2 to 3mm.
Facial and extremity erythematous rashes are sparse, partially confluent, resembling measles.
Erythematous rash, especially on the back, is dense and confluent with similarities to scarlet fever.
Rash generally lasts 3 days (1 to 4 days) and resolves, also known as "Three-day Measles."
Rash on the face is a characteristic sign of erythema molluscum, with some patients exhibiting hemorrhagic rashes accompanied by systemic bleeding, primarily due to thrombocytopenia and increased capillary density.
During the rash phase, there is often a low-grade fever, mild upper respiratory tract inflammation, splenomegaly, and diffuse lymphadenopathy, particularly noticeable in the cervical region behind the ears, at the nape of the neck, and in the posterior part of the neck.
Lymph nodes are enlarged, with mild tenderness but not fusion or purulence.
Sometimes, the spleen and lymph nodes of rubella patients are enlarged before rash appeared. The enlargement can occur 4 to 10 days before rash, and the swelling will persist for 3 to 4 weeks.
The rash has subsided without leaving any pigmentation or scaling.
Only a minority of severe cases may present with fine, flaky desquamation, while large-scale peeling is extremely rare.
Upon resolution of the rash, body temperature drops, upper respiratory symptoms subside, and enlarged lymph nodes gradually return to normal, but full recovery takes several weeks.
(4) Asymptomatic Rheumatism: In cases of rheumatic fever, patients exhibit only fever, upper respiratory tract inflammation, and lymphadenopathy without rash.
An individual may also exhibit an asymptomatic or subclinical infection with the rubella virus, where no symptoms or signs are present, and serological tests for rubella antibodies yield a positive result.
The ratio of patients with overt infection to those without rash or asymptomatic infection is 1:6-1:9.
2. Congenital Rubella Syndrome (CRS) refers to the condition in which the fetus is born with multiple systemic birth defects, known as Group 1 Sensorineural Hearing Loss (GRS), following maternal infection with rubella virus during the first three months of pregnancy. The earlier the infection occurs, the more severe the damage to the fetus.
Infection of the fetus may lead to severe complications, including stillbirth, miscarriage, and premature delivery.
Heavy exposure can lead to fetal developmental delays, potentially affecting the entire body system and resulting in various malformations.
Congenital malformations in newborns are often caused by congenital rubella.
Most congenital patients have clinical symptoms at birth, but progressive symptoms and new deformities may appear months to years after birth.
Is rubella contagious? In fact, rubella is contagious because it is caused by the rubella virus infection. The rubella virus can easily be transmitted through droplets, especially in children who are less resistant. Therefore, it is important to understand the transmission routes of rubella to prevent its infection as much as possible.
1. The patient with erythema infectiosum is the only source of infection, including subclinical or latent infections, and the actual number is higher than that of patients who are actually infected, so it is an important source of infection that is often overlooked.
The infectious period is from 5 to 7 days before the onset and 3 to 5 days after the onset, with the highest infectivity occurring on the day of illness and the day before.
Patients may be infected with viruses in their oral, nasal, and pharyngeal secretions as well as blood and urine.
2. Transmission Pathways: Reye's disease in children and adults is primarily transmitted through respiratory droplets, but close contact between individuals can also lead to contagion through direct contact.
Newborns who are infected in the womb, especially in the throat, can excrete the virus for weeks, months, or even more than a year. Therefore, they can infect medical and family members who lack antibodies through contaminated bottles, nipples, clothing, diapers, and direct contact, or cause transmission in the baby's room.
Infection of the fetus can cause miscarriage, stillbirth, prematurity or congenital encephalopathy due to rubella.
Susceptible individuals, rubella generally occurs in children aged 5 to 9 years old. During epidemic periods, the incidence of rubella in young adults, middle-aged and elderly populations is also not uncommon.
Rubella is more common in winter and spring.
In recent years, outbreaks have occurred more frequently during the spring and summer seasons, which can spread among groups such as kindergartens, schools, and military units.
How to treat chickenpox? What should we do after infection? Many mothers are still unclear about it. Now let me tell you how to treat it.
1. Generally, symptomatic treatment is required for rubella patients, who typically have mild symptoms and do not require specific treatment; the focus is primarily on symptomatic management.
Patients with severe symptoms should be bedridden and consume a liquid or semi-liquid diet.
For patients with high fever, headache, cough and conjunctivitis, symptomatic treatment may be given.
2. For complications such as high fever, drowsiness, coma or convulsions, treatment should follow the principles for epidemic japanese encephalitis.
For patients with severe hemorrhagic tendency, adrenal corticosteroids may be administered as treatment and fresh whole blood transfusions may be necessary.
3. In cases of congenital rubella infection without symptoms, there is no need for special treatment. However, follow-up observation should be conducted to timely identify any latent defects.
For those with severe symptoms, appropriate treatment should be administered: if there is obvious bleeding, intravenous immunoglobulin can be considered, and in cases where necessary, blood transfusion can be performed.
Pneumonia, respiratory distress, jaundice, congenital heart defects, and retinopathy are treated in the same manner for newborns.
Congestive heart failure and glaucoma require aggressive management, while cataract surgery should ideally be postponed until after age 1.
Early and regular auditory brainstem evoked potential examinations are performed to diagnose deafness in a timely manner, allowing for timely intervention.
At the same time, we should also pay attention to the following precautions: 1. When a patient with rubella is found, isolation must be immediately enforced and continued until 5 days after the onset of the rash.
2. Patients should rest in bed, avoiding direct exposure to cold air to prevent catching a new infection after being exposed to the cold and exacerbating their condition.
3. During fever, drink plenty of fluids, avoid spicy and greasy foods in the diet, and eat more liquid or semi-liquid foods.
You should eat more lean meat, poultry eggs, dates, honey and fresh vegetables and fruits.
4. To prevent scratches from causing infections.
Pregnant women who contract rubella as immune-compromised individuals are still susceptible to infection. Thus, pregnant mothers who have not previously been infected with rubella can easily become infected. What symptoms does rubella present in pregnant women? Rubella is a common skin rash disease in children, primarily affecting those aged 5 to 9 years old. Once an individual contracts the disease once, they can become permanently immune.
Rubella symptoms may not be particularly obvious at times, and it can sometimes lead to misdiagnosis as a different disease.
Nearly half of the people with rubella have no idea that they have been infected.
If a pregnant woman has a typical rash from rubella, the rash will appear about 12 to 23 days after she is exposed to rubella virus.
You may have symptoms such as low-grade fever, fatigue, enlarged lymph nodes (particularly in the occipital region), joint swelling and pain, redness and swelling of the eyes, runny nose, etc., before the rash appears after 1 to 5 days.
The duration of the rash often lasts 1 to 3 days before subsiding.
It usually first appears on the face, and then spreads to other parts of the body.
The symptoms of swollen lymph nodes and joint pain may last for several weeks.
The contagiousness of rubella virus begins 1 week before the rash and lasts about 1 week after the rash. The contagiousness is strongest during the rash.
To reduce the risk of rubella during pregnancy, it is important for expectant mothers to pay close attention to their daily care and avoid crowded places. However, they should not get vaccinated against rubella during pregnancy.
Therefore, if you are not immune to rubella, be careful not to touch any person who has a rash or is carrying the rubella virus, and those who have not had rubella but have recently been in contact with it.
If you are pregnant and in the first 3 months of pregnancy, during a measles epidemic, even if there is only one case of measles in your community, you should avoid contact with others, stay at home, and not go to work or shopping.
If you are going to travel to an area where rubella is prevalent, then you should postpone or cancel your plans.
Additionally, if you have other children at home, make sure they get their vaccinations on time.
You should get the measles vaccine for yourself and your household members, including your maids (if you use them).
If you have plans to have another baby in the future, make sure to get vaccinated against rubella after giving birth this time. This will prevent any issues with rubella during your next pregnancy. However, it's important to note that you should not get vaccinated while breastfeeding.
Additionally, you should not attempt pregnancy for at least 3 months after receiving the rubella vaccine. During this time, you must take contraception measures.
What are the effects of a pregnant woman contracting rubella on her fetus? What impact does an infected pregnant woman have on her unborn child? Many women who have never had rubella worry about such concerns. Let me share with you what I know.
If this low probability event did happen and you were pregnant in your first month, the chances of a fetus getting rubella (which you would not know that you were pregnant) was 90%.
In the first 20 weeks of pregnancy, if a mother is infected with rubella, the baby may develop congenital rubella syndrome. Such babies may have many problems at birth, such as deafness, blindness, heart defects, intellectual disability, developmental delays or other disabilities.
In addition, if you are infected with rubella in the early stages of pregnancy, it is also easy to cause miscarriage, premature birth and stillbirth.
However, the risk of congenital defects in babies born to mothers infected with rubella during pregnancy decreases as the gestational age increases.
The risk of birth defects due to rubella at 2 months'gestation is reduced to 25%.
By the third month of pregnancy, it will be reduced to 5%.
Once the baby is 20 weeks pregnant, there is virtually no risk of infection with rubella.
Getting the measles vaccine before getting pregnant is best for you and your baby.
Additionally, undergoing prenatal rubella immunization testing can also help you manage the entire pregnancy.
The medical information provided in this text is for reference only.
Should you experience discomfort, it is advised to seek medical attention immediately for a precise diagnosis and treatment by a face-to-face medical practitioner.