Lilypie 2nd Birthday PicLilypie 2nd Birthday Ticker

Thursday, 3 April 2008

False Measles

It's been a series of episodes on the false measles that I had - and the symptoms in fact started a month ago...
Here's the sequence of the long story : -
- started off with running nose and cough for a few days
- recovered from running nose and cough
- middle of the night - sudden high-fever
- fever had lasted for 3 days
- The day after fever stopped and completely subsided, my hands and body "feels" colder than normal.
- The next day : sudden surge of rashes appear on my back and neck
- Went to our GP doctor, and Dr Lawrence said that it is measles (Got a shock out of mummy & daddy)
- Two weeks later, went to visit a PD recommended by daddy's colleague (This will be the only time and the last time we will be there, as the PD is so rude and fierce!! - Mummy is shocked and quite disgusted to know that a PD can be of such a rude and fierce nature to adults and babies!) He prescribed sundry lotion - does not seem to work well on me.
- A week later, we went Kinder Clinic to visit Dr Terence Tan. He prescribed a steroid lotion to be applied on my affected skin areas. Seems to work well - been applying this lotion for the past 2 days only and it seems that there is improvements. As false measles is infectious, I have been "enclosed" at home for at least 2 weeks without stepping out of the house. Started stepping out along the corridor during the 3rd week. Dr Terence and other Doctors said that measles is a virus spread by others.

Throughout the one-month ordeal, mummy and daddy thinks that I have been very strong and very unaffected. I am still busy doing my usual stunts of climbing, crawling and digging things out etc.

Here's some description about false measles searched in the net : -

Roseola infantum (Exanthema subitum)
Roseola infanturn affects mainly infants from 6 months of age and children less than 3 years. The clinical profile mimics measles very closely, i.e. a prodrome of fever, blocked nose and cough for 45 days and then a maculopapular rash appears. However, there are features which clearly distinguish it from measles, i.e. in roseola:
(a) the signs and symptoms during the prodrome are less severe,
(b) there are no Koplik spots,
(c) when the rash appears, the fever begins to settle and the patient is much better,
(d) the rash appears on the trunk first and then spreads to face and extremities.
Very rarely aseptic meningitis or encephalitis can occur. The Singaporean layman considers it as measles and it is important to inform the parents that it is not measles, otherwise they will refuse measles immunisation as the child "already had measles". They should be told that it is 'false measles' and is due to a totally different virus. This virus belongs to the herpes group of viruses and is chiefly due to human herpes virus-6' (HHV-6) although recently, a newly discovered herpes group of viruses, HHV-7, can also cause roseola.

We thank God that His protection is still always upon me and my household!

2 comments:

kkf said...

dash had that before...I think the high fever was more scary than anything else!

Karis Tan said...

yes, it's quite scary as the fever was really high then!