Adult rubella is usually a bit more difficult than in children. The symptoms of rubella and its treatment are similar to those of the youngest. Rubella in adults can relatively often cause a number of complications. Importantly, rubella vaccination does not provide permanent immunity to the disease. Only having rubella as a child can give you confidence that you will not fall victim to rubella as an adult.

Rubella in adultsis relatively rare, because most of us either contracted it in childhood or were vaccinated against it. But what if rubella develops in an adult? What are thesymptoms of rubella in adults?How is rubella treated in adults? And what can becomplications of rubella in adults ?

Adult rubella: symptoms

Rubella in adults begins with flu-like symptoms that persist for several days: malaise, headache and muscle pain, possibly pharyngitis, dry cough, runny nose, conjunctivitis, low-grade fever. Over time, the lymph nodes in the neck, occipital, behind the ear and cervix become enlarged and painful, which is caused by the multiplication of the virus in them. Usually, a rash appears the day after the swollen lymph nodes appear and may last for up to several weeks. The rash is macular or maculopapular. First it appears on the face, most often behind the ears, then on the torso, and after 1-2 days, spots also appear on the limbs. The rubella rash is rarely itchy and can sometimes also appear on the soft palate and on the mucous membranes of the mouth (Forheimer's spots). The rash disappears after 2-3 days without leaving any discoloration or scars. Slight peeling of the skin may occur. Rare symptoms of rubella also include enlargement of the spleen and hepatitis.

Adult rubella: treatment

Rubella in adults is treated only symptomatically. Drugs to lower the fever are given. The patient with rubella should remain in bed. You should also limit your contacts with people who have not had rubella to avoid contamination.

Adult rubella: complications

Adult rubella relatively often causes various complications, up towhich include:

  • transient inflammation or joint pain, occurring more often in women than in men, and usually affecting the small joints of the hand and wrist (occasional involvement of large joints)
  • encephalitis, which may appear one week after the onset of the rash - encephalitis is usually relatively mild and resolves without permanent traces
  • thrombocytopenia occurs on average in one patient in 3,000 patients, may persist for up to six months after falling ill, and resolves spontaneously
  • myocarditis
  • optic neuritis

Rubella very rarely causes bone marrow aplasia or Guillain-Barré syndrome, i.e. acute polyneuropathy characterized by damage to the nerves leading to paresis of various muscles, and even involvement of the respiratory muscles.

What is rubella? The doctor, Piotr Gryglas, explains

Source: x-news.pl/Dzień Dobry TVN

Category:

Infectious diseases