Rubella, also known as ‘German measles’, is a viral infection caused by the Rubella Virus. It has similar characteristics as measles, but is caused by a different virus. Rubella is not as infectious as measles, and its symptoms are not as severe. While the disease mostly affects children, people of any age may be affected. Most people make a complete recovery within a week, and the disease takes its own course. One serious exception is in the case of pregnant women: when they contract the disease before 20 weeks of pregnancy, there is a high risk of spontaneous abortion or the child being born with Congenital Rubella Syndrome (CRS). Since the development of the Rubella vaccine, administered in the form of the MMR vaccine, the occurrence of the disease has greatly dropped in the United States, and it is now rare. Those who have not been immunized, though, are still at risk.
Symptoms:
The virus spreads through the air, and it is possible to catch the virus if you breathe in the air that an infected person has coughed or sneezed. After contracting the virus, the first symptoms appear after a 14 to 21 day incubation period. A rash starts with the face, and spreads to the trunk, hands and legs. The rash is typical to both measles and rubella, and can be described best as a fine, pink rash with tiny lesions. The rash soon disappears, and leaves almost no scarring. Other symptoms include a mild fever, headache, a runny nose and inflamed eyes. Women may also feel aching joints.
Treatment:
As with many other viral infections, there is no treatment for the rubella virus. Once affected with the disease, the only thing to do is to wait for the disease to run its own course. The illness itself is usually quite mild and self-limiting. Treatment is more focussed on relieving discomfort from the symptoms. Rubella patients are generally advised to stay away from people, especially pregnant women. The only exception is in the case of pregnant women who contract the disease, in such cases, medical intervention is necessary.
Home Remedies:
The healing and restorative properties of Neem leaves (or leaves of the margosa tree) can be used to provide relief from the rash and discomfort that rubella brings. You can bathe your child (or yourself) in a bath of neem. Take some neem leaves and soak them in a bucket or tub for a few hours, and bathe in this water. You can also boil the neem leaves for half an hour, and then use the water to dab on the face with a towel. Remember not to scrub the face, but only to dab it.
Children can also be given antipyretics and analgesics to give relief from joint pain and fever. A cold towel can also be applied on the forehead at regular intervals for the fever.