Everyone probably knows what rubella is.However, recently this disease is becoming less and less common. Rubella is, in principle, a childhood disease, and it is thanks to vaccination that the infection is becoming less and less common. However, sometimes doctors have to diagnose rubella not only in children, but also in adults. Rubella in adults occurs in approximately every hundredth case. And this is where people often get confused and start to panic. On the one hand, everyone knows that this disease does not pose a particular threat to human life. However, in fact, the health of an adult who has contracted rubella suffers very, very much. Which, of course, cannot but frighten him. Therefore, let's try to figure out what rubella is in an adult, what it is fraught with, and what needs to be done in this situation. First, let's remember what rubella is. Doctors call it a disease caused by a virus. This virus is very contagious - it tries to infect as many people as possible within its reach.
Symptoms of rubella
Rubella symptoms in adults are almost the same as in children, although they are different in some ways. So, you can suspect rubella if:
- There are rashes on the skin.One of the very first signs of rubella is, of course, the appearance of a red rash. Moreover, this rash is very specific - an experienced doctor will easily determine the cause of this rash. It is very difficult to confuse it with anything. In children, the rash practically does not merge with each other, while in adults, the rashes often merge with each other, forming very large areas resembling erythema. Most often, these areas are localized on the back and buttocks. And these rashes last for a very long time - about 5 - 7 days.
- Enlarged lymph nodes.Approximately on the second day after the onset of the disease, a person's lymph nodes begin to become inflamed. Moreover, doctors are unable to track any strict sequence - the axillary or inguinal lymph nodes may become inflamed, or both may become inflamed, and even some other group may be taken along for company.
- Increased body temperature.Quite often, rubella in adults is accompanied by a very strong increase in body temperature - sometimes it reaches 40 degrees. And such a temperature is very, very difficult to bring down. Unlike children, for whom it is enough to give antipyretic syrup to reduce body temperature.
- Migraine attacks.In 90% of all cases of rubella in adults, attacks of severe headaches, similar to migraines, are accompanied. Such headaches almost completely knock a person off track - and it is impossible to get rid of them even with the help of very strong painkillers. Therefore, it is not worth even trying - you will only "overload" your liver and kidneys for no reason.
- Pain in joints and muscles.In addition, the sick person experiences very strong discomfort in the muscles and joints. Sick people compare these painful sensations with those that are familiar to everyone and occur during colds and flu. Moreover, this pain is in no way associated with an increase in body temperature.
- Symptoms of acute respiratory disease.In children, the most that can develop against the background of rubella is a mild runny nose. But in adults, there is a whole "bouquet": a severe runny nose, a sore throat, and sometimes a sore throat, a cough - from moderate to very strong. If it were not for the rash, the disease could easily pass for a common viral infection. And at this stage, doctors prescribe the same symptomatic treatment as for a common acute respiratory disease. Perhaps with the exception of antiviral drugs - they are absolutely useless in this case, since they do not have any negative effect on the rubella virus.
- Lacrimation and photophobia.These two symptoms are very typical for an adult who has rubella. Sometimes even simple daylight causes quite noticeable discomfort, not to mention bright artificial lighting. That is why doctors recommend that the sick person stay in a separate room with tightly drawn curtains until complete recovery.
- Conjunctivitis.In about half of all cases of diseases, acute conjunctivitis also joins photophobia. Moreover, it does not appear immediately, but only on the third or fourth day. It most often begins at night - in the morning, the sick person simply cannot open his eyes, due to the large amount of purulent discharge from the eyes.
- Pain in the testicles.Often, a man who has contracted rubella notes some pain in the testicles. There is no need to be afraid of this - the pain will disappear immediately after the man recovers. This pain does not entail any negative consequences. And in order to relieve the pain, there is only one way - strict bed rest.
Basically, these are almost all the symptoms.rubella in adults. However, sometimes there is still an atypical course of the disease, in which some other symptoms of the disease may appear. However, of course, the doctor will easily determine the cause of the development of these symptoms during the examination.
Possible complications of the disease
As mentioned above, rubella is a veryan interesting disease. In children it is quite mild, but in adults - at best, the severity of the course is average, and much more often - severe. But, nevertheless, most often, no matter how severe the disease is, it passes without any negative consequences. However, this is only if you do not give up and seek medical help from a doctor. Otherwise, the sick person will not receive proper treatment, which means that the disease will last much longer, and the course will be many times more severe. And this with a very high degree of probability can lead to the development of various complications. Moreover, one of the most severe complications that threatens in such cases is the inflammatory process, which involves the membranes of the brain. Agree, there is absolutely no need to expose yourself to such danger? It is much wiser to call a doctor in time and start treatment. You should not postpone the visit for later - after all, like any other disease, rubella has its own incubation period. Its duration can vary slightly, but on average it is ten days. And, despite the fact that a person does not feel any discomfort at this time, the virus is already beginning to have a very negative effect on the human body. However, rubella poses the greatest danger to pregnant women. And this is no coincidence - the rubella virus will not harm the expectant mother herself more than any other person. But the baby is exposed to a very serious danger, since there is a high probability that he or she will also be infected. And this insidious virus can cause a lot of trouble in the body of the future baby - and first of all, it can provoke the development of a variety of defects. The hearing apparatus and visual system are most often affected. In second place in terms of frequency of damage are the bone and nervous systems, as well as the brain and some other internal organs. In especially severe cases, even intrauterine death of the fetus is possible. In order for you to understand the seriousness of the danger of rubella for a pregnant woman, it is worth mentioning that in most cases, doctors insist that the infected expectant mother terminate the pregnancy. This is especially true if the disease affects a pregnant woman in the first trimester, when the main organs of the fetus are being laid. If a woman planning to become a mother did not have rubella in childhood, she should take care of prevention in advance. The best way to do this is vaccination. In any case, self-diagnosis and self-medication in this situation are simply impossible, because this is fraught with a variety of complications. Therefore, at the first symptoms of the disease, just call a doctor. After all, the most precious thing a person has is his health. Therefore, you should not play Russian roulette with it, because luck is a fickle lady, and you can never predict whose side she will be on this time. We advise you to read:
