CONTAGIOUS DISEASES

What are the first symptoms of measles?

Measles comes on rather gradually with cough, sneezing, watery eyes and nose, much like an ordinary cold in the head.  The eruption appears after three or four days, first upon the face and neck as small red spots, and spreads slowly over the body.

Is measles a serious disease?

In infants and during the winter season it is likely to be very serious on account of the danger of bronchitis and pneumonia, which frequently accompany it.  In children over four years old it is generally not severe.  No child should be voluntarily exposed to this disease, and particularly one who is delicate or prone to disease of the lungs should be protected against it.

When and how is measles contagious?

Measles may readily be conveyed from the very beginning of the catarrh, two or three days before any eruption is present.  It is not often carried by healthy persons.  Its poison does not cling long to a sick room.

What is German measles?

German measles, or rubella, is a distinct disease and has nothing to do with ordinary measles.  It is extremely rare for a child to be much sick with it.  There is usually a very extensive eruption which may cover the body, but few other symptoms.

What are the first symptoms of scarlet fever?

Generally it comes suddenly, with vomiting, high fever, and sore throat.  The eruption usually appears within twenty-four hours as a red blush, first upon the neck and chest, and spreads rapidly.

When and how is scarlet fever contagious?

Scarlet fever is only slightly contagious for the first one or two days of the attack.  It is most contagious at the height of the disease and during desquamation.  It may be carried by healthy persons and by the clothing or bedding from the sick room.

How does whooping-cough begin?

For a week or ten days it cannot be distinguished from an ordinary cold on the chest.  Then the attacks of coughing gradually become more severe and vomiting may follow.  After a severe coughing fit the breath is caught with a peculiar noise known as the “whoop.”

How does chicken-pox begin?

It usually comes out gradually, as widely scattered pimples over the scalp, face, and body, many of which soon become small vesicles, resembling tiny blisters.  There is itching and local discomfort but little fever, and the child rarely seems to be very ill.

How does diphtheria begin?

Sometimes suddenly, but usually gradually, with sore throat and swelling of the glands of the neck, with white patches upon the tonsils, or a free discharge which may be bloody, from the nostrils.

How does mumps begin?

As a swelling upon the jaw, beneath the ear.  As it increases it extends forward upon the cheek and backward behind the ear.  It affects one or both sides.