Rubeola

Alternative names:

hard measles; measles; nine day measles; red measles

Symptoms:

• a sore throat
• a runny nose
• a barking cough
• muscle pain
• fever
• bloodshot eyes
• tiny white spots inside the mouth (called Koplik's spots) appearing 3 to 4 days after the onset of symptoms
• photophobia (light sensitivity)
• rash
  • appears around the fifth day of the disease
  • may last 4 to 7 days
  • usually starts on the head and spreads to other areas, progressing downward
  • maculopapular rash--appears as both macules (flat discolored areas) and papules (solid, red, elevated areas) that later merge together (confluent); occasionally may bleed very slightly

• itching of the rash

Note: The period between the appearance of the earliest symptoms and the appearance of a rash or fever is usually 3 to 5 days.

Signs and tests:

• a Donath-Landsteiner test
• a blood differential
• a viral culture (rarely done)
• a measles serology