# Roseola vs Rubella vs Measles



## 2 in August (Jan 6, 2006)

I think my ds has Roseola. I started out thinking measles, but after I did some research the rash looks far worse and it spreads from the face and head to the body. I looked at Rubella and that rash looks much more like what ds had/has but again the head down spread doesn't fit.

I came here to search for more info and found a post that mentioned Roseola. That rash looks just like ds' (the the extent that as I was looking at the pics my 6yo dd walked by and said "that looks just like ____'s rash"). The progression for that is trunk up and that's how his spread. He had a fever and cold that started Sunday night and the rash appeared Friday. Now it's Tuesday and there is just a little rash left on his shoulders, neck and arms. The only thing that doesn't fit is that his cold was really bad. He seems to have had a really bad sore throat to the point he lost his voice and he cried unconsolably at times. Everything I read about roseola says what a mild illness it is.

I didn't take him to the ped. I just couldn't see hauling him in for the dr to say "It's a virus take him home give him tylenol and rest". Truthfully I didn't even think that it was anything until last night I just had the idea that it could be measles so I started to research it today.

So anyway, these 3 seem an awful lot alike. One site even called them the 3 types of measles. Although I'm not sure of the accuracy of that statement. It's just hard for me to decide between roseola and rubella, although I'm thinking he's got roseola and just a bit worse than normal. Would that sound right?

As an interesting side note, my friend's ds had pretty much the same thing. She took him to the ped (who we also go to) and she was told it was a "sore throat virus" that was going around. I can't seem to find anything about that except that most sore throats are caused by virusses.


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## Deborah (Dec 6, 2002)

How about having a cold and something else (involving a rash) at the same time? Might explain why it was so bad.

Once in awhile we do get zapped by two different things simultaneously.


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## amydep (Apr 18, 2006)

My DS had roseola early this summer. It started with a high fever (up to 103) that would only come down to about 100-101 with ibuprofen. The fever lasted 3 days. As soon as the fever broke, then the rash developed. DS case was textbook roseola. I wasn't sure what the fever was from because he had no other symptoms. I spoke with the doctor's office and they said to just keep an eye on it and if it didn't come down with the ibuprofen and lasted more than 3 days that I should bring him in. I googled a few things and thought that maybe it might be roseola, and sure enough, the rash started after the fever broke. The rash lasted just over 2 days and then it was gone. I think that the biggest thing with rosela is the high fever for 3 days and then the rash developing. Also, like you said, measles and rubella have rash on the face, and roseola does not.


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## Deborah (Dec 6, 2002)

It really is okay to leave a high fever up there. The fever is a sign that the body is fighting an illness and it is also a tool that the immune system uses to defeat the illness. So, when we use drugs to bring down a fever we are basically disarming the immune system.

I'd read some books on natural illness care to get a sense of what is going on and how to cope without using anti-fever stuff. It can be done.


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## menudo (May 21, 2002)

I have read that most Docs do not know the difference between the 3. If memory serves me right, when DD was small her Doc used roseola and rubeola (measles) in ref. to the same rash. To this day I am unsure which she had.








: Boggles the mind.


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## amydep (Apr 18, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Deborah* 
It really is okay to leave a high fever up there. The fever is a sign that the body is fighting an illness and it is also a tool that the immune system uses to defeat the illness. So, when we use drugs to bring down a fever we are basically disarming the immune system.

I'd read some books on natural illness care to get a sense of what is going on and how to cope without using anti-fever stuff. It can be done.

I agree 100%! With a normal virus, I would let the fever do its thing. But when the fever was high, we didn't know what was causing it because there were no other symptoms early on - no cough, no runny nose or any other type of viral symtoms. DS was just very uncomfortable when the fever was up in the 103 range. When I gave him the ibuprofen (at nighttime so that he could sleep easier) it brought it down to a more comfortable range of 100-101 for sleeping purposes. The nurse indicated that if the ibuprofen didn't bring it down at all that it could be a concern because then we might have been dealing with a bacterial infection of some kind. However, as soon as the fever stopped after 3 days and the rash began, then I knew that it was roseola.


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## 2 in August (Jan 6, 2006)

Agree about letting the fever run it's course. I did for a couple days but then I did give him some ibuprofen. Not because of the fever, but because he was rolling on the floor crying unconsolably with the same cry that he used to do when he had stomach problems. He cried so much he lost his voice. A half a dose a couple times a day was enough to help him sleep and stop crying long enough to get some fluids/calories into him.

lol, at myself. I guess I didn't think about him getting two bugs at once, but that would make sense.


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## spero (Apr 22, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *amydep* 
measles and rubella have rash on the face, and roseola does not.

That's not true. My son had roseola at 10 months and the rash was prominent on his cheeks, arms, and trunk.


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## User101 (Mar 3, 2002)

Moving to health and healing


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## rahrahgobg (Oct 11, 2007)

My oldest had Roseola at 10 months. I knew he had it because a friend's DD had just had it - she got it from MOPS. It is contagious when there are no signs.

He had a high fever for 5 days. It went up and down all day from 99-104. I took him to urgent care and there wasn't anything they could do. They just said to alternate IBprof. & Tylenol and give him a cool bath. Warm, but cool.

He had a rash all over his trunk after the 5th day for about 2 days. It was flush with the skin and the dots were small and a light red.

Chicken Pox have bigger dots and are sporadic - the Roseola was a consistent rash all over the trunk area.

They are supposed to have life long immunity from getting it again once they have it.

Vicki


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## 2 in August (Jan 6, 2006)

His fever lasted 5 days. The rash is still on his shoulders/neck and arms and now a little on his face. He is acting like he feels much better though. His nose is still leaking thick yellow mucous though.


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## MisaGoat (Jul 10, 2006)

My son had roseola over the summer.

I can't really compare it to rubella and measles but it started with a fever followed by a rash after the fever broke.

I gave him medicine to break the fever on the second night because he was miserable.

The rash was mostly on his trunk. The whole course lasted maybe 5 days. (fever then rash).

I did take him to the ped and he didn't seem that worried about it. (I only did because my mom was watching him when the fever started and she freaked out about it so I worried more than I would have on my own and wanted to make sure it wasn't anything more serious.)


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