Possible measles

[MittensKittens]

I think my son might have measles. He's had a cold for a while now, and this morning his penis became red and swollen. First, I was worried that he had a problem with his penis. Then, he started getting blotches on his cheeks and a few on his arms. He has a runny nose, a little bit of a fever, red eyes and a cough.

Any BTDT advice?

[MittensKittens]

And does anyone have any good links where I can see pictures of mild cases of measles? All I am getting is babies covered in measles.

[MountainMamaGC]

Are you sure its not Roseola, commonly known as the baby measles. There is also a virus called slapped cheek disease aka fifths disease.

[Emmeline II]

It doesn't fit the typical rash progression for measles. There are several common viral illnesses that have a rash: Roseola, Rubella, Fifth disease, HFM, and chicken pox. Though measles does often have respiratory symptoms, it also is normally accompanied by a fever preceding the rash.

Measles

[MittensKittens]

Yes, my son did have a fever preceding the rash, which I put down to teething. The cold-like symptoms I attributed to... a cold . Then, he started getting the rash. It's not chickenpox, we've all had that and I know very well what it looks like. It could be roseola, looking at the pictures. There are only a few "spots" across his body, and the fever has now gone away. I was REALLY worried about the swollen penis, but although it still has a "spot" the swelling has now subsided.

Thanks for your input

[amnesiac]

Moving to H&H.

[Mirzam]

It sounds doubtful it's measles which is almost always accompanied by a cough. I know both my brother and I had a cough with measles.

[mbravebird]

The red eyes sound like the measles. Either way, it would be good to get some extra vitamin A in him -- the preformed kind, so he could absorb it well. and extra D helps you absorb A better, as well as helps with general immune response. And I imagine Sodium Ascorbate would help.

But for Measles, vitamin A is particularly helpful. It apparently draws heavily on the body's vitamin A reserves, and if the reserves get low, that's when it's more dangerous.

[Emmeline II]

This is my guideline for illnesses that typically have a fever and a rash. A good habit is to check the interior of the cheek for Koplic spots with any fever in case a rash later appears.

It can be difficult to separate the different rashes. What is easier to examine is:

• The order in which the symptoms appear.
• Which symptoms are concurrent.
• The progression of the rash.

Fever with Rash viruses:

• How many days ago did his fever begin?
• High, low, stayed high, stayed low, etc?
• When did the rash appear?
• Was the fever gone when the rash appeared?
• Where did the rash originate? Head, Torso, Extremities?
• Where did it move to, from the point of origin? Head, Torso, Extremities?

In a mild case, it is more likely not to have all the clinical symptoms.