Everything You Need To Know About Rubella
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1. Symptoms of rubella: Rubella is an infectious disease that affects mostly children between five and nine years of age. It is transmitted by air, and the incubation time until the first symptoms is about two weeks. The child may have flu-like symptoms (moderate fever, cough, runny nose) but also small pimples or red patches on the body. Muscle pain and swelling of the lymph nodes may also indicate rubella infection.
Sometimes rubella can have complications. Sometimes children develop polyarthritis (joint damage) that disappears when the disease is treated.
The most serious of the complications is meningoencephalitis if the bacterium passes the meningeal barrier. This is a life-threatening emergency that requires emergency care and hospitalisation.
2. Children's rubella vaccine: Parents are sometimes afraid to vaccinate their child. However, vaccinating your child protects them against serious complications. The MMR vaccine (against measles, mumps and rubella) is not mandatory but is highly recommended. You can vaccinate your child as early as nine months. The vaccine is very well tolerated. A small fever can appear within 24 hours after the injection but disappears after a day or two.
Whilst rubella is generally a mild disease in young children, it can be dangerous in adolescents, adults and especially pregnant women. Thanks to extensive vaccination campaigns, rubella has almost disappeared in the UK, but a few cases are still listed each year.
If you are not convinced of the need for vaccination, talk to your doctor who will explain the benefits that you and your child can gain.
3. Treatment of rubella in children: There is no treatment against rubella itself. The only treatments that are effective are symptomatic treatments. If your baby has rubella, give him/her children's paracetamol or ibruprofen appropriate to their weight and age to relieve fever and possible pain.
If the child is a bit older, a vitamin C treatment can help boost their immune system to fight the infection. Do not hesitate to consult your pediatrician who can advise you on the treatments that will relieve your baby.
