Measles is a common respiratory infectious disease caused by the measles virus. It is a highly contagious disease with a high incidence in winter and spring, although it is usually disseminated. Measles is spread mainly through respiratory droplets. When a measles patient coughs or sneezes, the virus enters the susceptible person with droplets through the mouth, pharynx, and conjunctiva of the eyes and causes illness. People who are in close contact with a measles patient can also be infected through hands contaminated with the virus. The disease is mainly prevalent among children aged 6 months to 5 years, but is now increasingly prevalent in older children and adults, mainly because they were vaccinated against measles when they were young and then did not repeat the vaccination, resulting in a gradual decline in the level of protective antibodies in the body and loss of resistance to measles. The above-mentioned Pengpeng was vaccinated against measles at 8 months of age, but has not been vaccinated since, so he lost his protection and was “attacked” by the measles virus. Symptoms When measles first develops, the main symptom is a fever, usually below 39 degrees, but some patients have high fevers up to 40 degrees. In addition to fever, there is a runny nose, dry cough (cough without sputum), conjunctival congestion, tearing, and fear of light in the eyes. On the 2nd-3rd day of the onset of the disease, small grayish-white dots may appear on the buccal mucosa opposite the second molars bilaterally, surrounded by a red halo, called measles mucous membrane spots. The mucosal spots can gradually increase and fuse with each other, mostly disappearing within 1-2 days after the onset of the rash. The rash begins to appear 3-4 days after the onset of fever, first behind the ears, and soon progresses to the head and face, neck, chest, back, abdomen and extremities, and finally to the palms of the hands and soles of the feet, at which time the rash on the head and face has begun to fade. The rash of measles is very characteristic, generally about 2-5mm in size, initially light red, then gradually dense bright red, and finally turning dark red, but the skin between the rash is normal. The lymph nodes, liver and spleen of the body may be enlarged at the onset of the rash, and the cough may worsen. A number of complications may also occur during the onset of measles, the most common being pneumonia, but pneumonia caused by the measles virus itself is not serious and is mainly secondary to bacterial infection. If a patient develops a cough, coughs up purulent sputum, and has increased white blood cells in the blood, he or she should be alerted to the possibility of bacterial pneumonia, which requires a chest radiograph and, once the diagnosis is clear, early antibiotic treatment. In addition to pneumonia, it can also be complicated by laryngitis, myocarditis and encephalitis, requiring hospitalization. Although there are no specific medications for measles virus, thankfully measles is a self-limiting disease and can be treated symptomatically with a good prognosis. For high fevers, small doses of antipyretic and analgesic drugs or ice packs can be used to lower the temperature; for severe coughs, expectorants and cough suppressants can be used; patients with severe conditions can receive early injections of gammaglobulin to boost immunity. In general, patients should be isolated until 5 days after the rash emerges, and those with respiratory complications should be isolated until 10 days after the rash emerges, otherwise they may infect others. How to avoid being “attacked” by the measles virus? First, avoid going to public places or crowded places, and wear a mask when you travel. Secondly, children and adults who have not had measles can be vaccinated against measles during the epidemic season. If someone around you has had measles and you happen to have been exposed to it, you should be given 3 ml of human gammaglobulin within 5 days of contact with the patient to prevent the onset of the disease. If it takes longer than 5 days, you will inevitably develop the disease again, but with less severe symptoms.