What are the symptoms and treatment of rubella in children?

The saddest thing is when children get sick, because children's bodies do not have a certain resistance to diseases like adults, so once they are diagnosed with the disease, the disease is very serious. Clinically, rubella is a common disease in children and has a certain incubation period, so it is not easy for many parents to detect the disease in time. So what are the symptoms of this disease and what are the treatments?

Typical symptoms of rubella in children

Incubation period

The child will have no discomfort during this period, and the duration varies, generally 2 to 3 weeks.

Prodromal stage

1 to 2 days before the rash appears, the symptoms are mild or there are no obvious prodromal symptoms. There may be low or moderate fever, accompanied by mild upper respiratory tract inflammation such as headache, loss of appetite, fatigue, cough, sneezing, runny nose, sore throat and conjunctival congestion; occasionally vomiting, diarrhea, epistaxis, swollen gums, etc. Some patients may have rose-colored or hemorrhagic macules in the pharynx and soft palate.

Rash period

The rash appears 1~2 days after the fever, first on the face and neck, and spreads to the trunk and limbs within 24 hours, but there is no rash on the palms and soles. The rash is light pink, fine-point macules, maculopapules, or papules, with a diameter of 2~3mm, and the skin between the rashes is normal. The rash on the face and distal limbs is sparse, and some of them merge to resemble measles. The rash on the trunk and back is dense and fused into patches, similar to the rash of scarlet fever. The rash usually lasts for 1 to 4 days and then disappears. The rash period is often accompanied by low fever and mild upper respiratory tract inflammation. At the same time, superficial lymph nodes throughout the body are swollen, especially behind the ears, behind the occipital bone and behind the neck. The swollen lymph nodes are mildly tender, non-fused and non-ferrous. The spleen is slightly enlarged. When the rash subsides, the body temperature returns to normal and systemic symptoms disappear. However, the spleen and superficial enlarged lymph nodes subside more slowly, often lasting 3 to 4 weeks. After the rash subsides, there is generally no pigmentation or desquamation left. Non-rash rubella refers to the situation in which some rubella patients only have fever, upper respiratory tract inflammation, and swollen lymph nodes but no rash. After being infected with the rubella virus, there may be no symptoms or signs, and the rubella antibody test is positive in serological examination, which is the so-called latent infection or subclinical patient.

General treatment and symptomatic treatment

During the fever period, you should rest in bed, strengthen care, keep the indoor air fresh, and give vitamins and nutritious and easily digestible food. People with high fever and headache can use antipyretic analgesics. If you have a sore throat, you can gargle with a compound boric acid solution, and if you have a cough, you can use expectorants and cough suppressants.

Antiviral therapy

For patients with severe conditions, antiviral treatments such as ribavirin and interferon can be used.

Treatment of complications

For patients with concurrent encephalitis, treatment should be based on the principles of Japanese encephalitis. Mild arthritis does not require treatment. Local pain can be treated with sedatives, local hot compresses or physical therapy. Patients with severe purpura bleeding tendency can be treated with glucocorticoids and, if necessary, transfusion of fresh blood and platelets.