Measles

The last couple of generations considered measles a rite of passage during early childhood. It was common practice to expose healthy children to a child infected with German measles so as to also infect them. The reason for the willful infection of healthy children with so called baby measles rests in the knowledge that a bout of this disease causes antibodies to be produced by the body, thus protecting the children in the future from contracting the disease once again. Children are generally considered to be able to weather Rubella (German measles) better than adults, and in the days before the development and ready availability of measles vaccine this kind of treatment was an acceptable form of childhood protection.

Yet in modern day American this kind of practice should be just another chapter in the history of measles, with measles vaccination all but eradicating the condition among today’s children. Unfortunately, more and more parents are falling back on the seemingly good old days by withholding vaccinations on purpose and instead they seek to infect their healthy children to protect them in the future from contracting the measles rash. While it is hard to contemplate what would possess a parent to knowingly withhold a vaccine, the notion that the latter might be a contributory cause for autism and the hype that has been associated with these as of yet unproven allegations may account for the resurgence of measles parties.

If you are finding yourself in the position of considering such as treatment for measles, consider the facts first: measles are not a condition to be trifled with. Spread by the measles virus that is shed from the bodily fluids of an infected person, the mere act of breathing in a room where someone suffering from this disease is sleeping will most likely lead to infection. Measles symptoms are worse for adults than for children and measles pictures reveal that the little red dots that appear on children and adults are but the external sign of the ailment.

Facts about measles reveal that adults who are infected may go on to also contract pneumonia, a potentially life threatening ailment. Diarrhea and also encephalitis may be observed as well. While the symptoms of measles are more uncomfortable in children than they are dangerous, adults exposed to the causes of measles run the risk of actually dying from the measles. Thus, if you choose to allow your child to contract measles, everyone and anyone she or he comes in contact with is exposed to the disease. Furthermore, there is no guarantee that the developed antibodies will remain in your child’s body for the duration of its life, and thus future exposure to the disease may pose a health risk.