Measles Health Dictionary

An acute contagious notifiable disease with catarrh of upper respiratory passages and watery eyes, characterised by papular eruption. Incubation: 1-2 weeks. Usually affects children. Common spring and autumn. Fever may reach 40°C (104°F), with coughing and sore throat. About two days before the rash, white spots (Koplik’s spots) may appear in mouth, but which fade when rash disappears.

Rash: blotchy and orange-red. Commencing behind the ears, it rapidly invades the whole body. Complications: inflammation of the middle ear, brain, and eyes.

Prophylactic: Pulsatilla.

A Danish study confirms that suppression of measles with drugs and vaccines can contribute to dermatitis, arthritis and cancer later in life.

Treatment by or in liaison with a general medical practitioner.

Alternatives. Marigold petal tea popular: 2-6 teaspoons to 1 pint boiling water. Make in vacuum flask. Consume 1-2 flaskfuls daily.

Other teas. Lime flowers, Chamomile, Elderflowers and Peppermint, Vervain. Formula (France): equal parts, German Chamomile, Catmint, Thyme. 2 teaspoons to each cup boiling water; infuse 15 minutes. 1 cup freely. Children: 2-5 teaspoons each year to 5 years; quarter to half cup to 10 years.

Jethro Kloss. 1 teaspoon Pleurisy root; quarter of a teaspoon powdered Ginger. Steep in 1 pint boiling water. For hyperactive child, add 1 teaspoon Skullcap. Infuse 20 minutes. Dose: half-1 cup freely. Children: 2-5 teaspoons each year to 5 years; quarter to half cup to 10 years.

Traditional. First give laxative to clear stomach and bowels. Then, bruise Houseleek, adding equal weight of honey. Dessertspoon every 2 hours. Cup of Balm tea assists reduction of temperature.

Topical. Wash with warm Elderflowers or Chamomile tea. Aloe Vera juice.

Aromatherapy. To inhale or for bath: Lavender essential oil.

Enema. Constipation. Injection of warm Chamomile tea.

Eyes. Impairment of sight possible. For inflamed eyes and lids bathe with warm Elderflowers or Chamomile tea.

Note: There is always debility and chilliness followed by a throwing out of the skin morbific materials. Diaphoretic drinks are important so that no undue stress is placed on the kidneys. These include teas of Yarrow, Lemon Balm, Lime flowers, Hyssop, Ginger, Elderflowers and Peppermint.

Tincture. Echinacea. Adults: 1 teaspoon. Child: 1 drop each year to 5; thereafter 2 drops each year to 12 years.

Diet. 3-day fast, if possible. No solid food. Abundant Vitamin C drinks, fruit juices. All cases should receive Vitamin A supplements, halibut liver oil. Foods rich in beta-carotene (carrots). 

A potentially dangerous viral illness that causes fever and a characteristic rash. Measles mainly affects children, but can occur at any age. The virus is spread primarily by airborne droplets of nasal secretions. It can be transmitted during the incubation period (8–14 days after infection) and up to 7 days after symptoms appear.The illness starts with a fever, runny nose, sore eyes, cough, and a general feeling of being unwell. After 3–4 days, a red rash appears, usually starting on the head and neck and spreading to cover the body. The spots sometimes join to produce large red blotches, and the lymph nodes may be enlarged. After 3 days, the rash starts to fade and the symptoms subside.

The most common complications are ear and chest infections, which usually occur 2–3 days after the rash appears. Diarrhoea, vomiting, and abdominal pain also occur. Febrile convulsions (see convulsion, febrile) are also common, but these are not usually serious. Encephalitis occurs in about 1 in 1000 cases, causing headache, drowsiness, and vomiting. Seizures and coma may follow, sometimes leading to brain damage or even death. In very rare cases, a progressive brain disorder known as subacute sclerosing panencephalitis develops years later. If measles occurs during pregnancy, the fetus dies in about a fifth of cases. However, there is no evidence that measles causes birth defects. There is no specific treatment for measles. Plenty of fluids and paracetamol are given for fever, and antibiotic drugs may be given to treat bacterial infections that occur as complications.

To help prevent measles, immunization with the MMR vaccination is recommended at 12–15 months of age.

This produces immunity in about 90 per cent of cases, with a booster shot given before school or nursery school entry.

Measles, formerly known as morbilli, is an acute infectious disease occurring mostly in children and caused by an RNA paramyxovirus.

Epidemiology There has been a dramatic fall in the number of sufferers from 1986, when more than 80,000 cases were reported. This is due to the introduction in 1988 of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine (MMR VACCINE – see also IMMUNISATION); 1990, when the proportion of children immunised reached 90 per cent, was the ?rst year in which no deaths from measles were reported. Even so, fears of side-effects of the vaccine against measles – including scienti?cally unproven and discredited claims of a link with AUTISM – mean that some children in the UK are not being immunised, and since 2002 local outbreaks of measles have been reported in a few areas of the UK. Side-effects are, however, rare and the government is campaigning to raise the rate of immunisation, with GPs being set targets for their practices.

There are few diseases as infectious as measles, and its rapid spread in epidemics is no doubt due to the fact that this viral infection is most potent in the earlier stages. Hence the dif?culty of timely isolation, and the readiness with which the disease is spread, which is mostly by infected droplets. In developing countries measles results in the death of more than a million children annually.

Symptoms The incubation period, during which the child is well, lasts 7–21 days. Initial symptoms are CATARRH, conjunctivitis (see EYE, DISORDERS OF), fever and a feeling of wretchedness. Then Koplik spots – a classic sign of measles – appear on the roof of the mouth and lining of the cheeks. The macular body rash, typical of measles, appears 3–5 days later. Common complications include otitis media (see under EAR, DISEASES OF) and PNEUMONIA. Measles ENCEPHALITIS can cause permanent brain damage. A rare event is a gradual dementing disease (see DEMENTIA) called subacute sclerosing panenecephalitis (SSPE).

Treatment Isolation of the patient and treatment of any secondary bacterial infection, such as pneumonia or otitis, with antibiotics. Children usually run a high temperature which can be relieved with cool sponging and antipyretic drugs. Calamine lotion may alleviate any itching.

n. a highly infectious virus disease that tends to appear in epidemics every 2–3 years and mainly affects children. After an incubation period of 8–15 days, symptoms resembling those of a cold develop accompanied by a high fever. Small red spots with white centres (Koplik’s spots) may appear on the inside of the cheeks. On the third to fifth day a blotchy slightly elevated pink rash develops, first behind the ears then on the face and elsewhere; it lasts 3–5 days. The patient is infectious throughout this period. In most cases the symptoms soon subside but patients are susceptible to pneumonia and middle ear infections. Complete recovery may take 2–4 weeks. Severe complications include encephalitis (one in 1000 cases) and *subacute sclerosing panencephalitis. Measles is a common cause of childhood mortality in malnourished children, particularly in the developing world. Vaccination against measles provides effective immunity (see MMR vaccine). Medical names: rubeola, morbilli.