Measles is one of the infectious diseases of childhood that causes a skin rash. Other names for it are red measles or seven-day measles. Serious complications, such as pneumonia, croup or encephalitis, can occur.

The disease starts with a cold, fever, cough, conjunctivitis (red eye) and tiredness. After approximately 3 days, a red blotchy rash starts on the face -- then spreads to the rest of the body, including the feet. The fever starts to go down on the second or third day of the rash. There may be some fine peeling of the skin after the rash fades.

It is difficult to prevent a disease caused by a virus. However, there are some things that you can do. One of the best ways of preventing the disease is immunization with measles vaccine of all infants when they are 15 months old. This vaccine can be given in the combined measles-mumps-rubella vaccine. ALL UNIMMUNIZED CHILDREN OR ADULTS SHOULD RECEIVE THE MEASLES VACCINE. Once you have had a case of measles or received the measles vaccine, you have a lifetime immunity (protection) to the disease.

A virus causes it.

As an additional measles serodiagnostic test, a staphylococcal protein A (SPA) adsorption test has recently been adapted to measure measles-specific IgM (1,2). This test is based on the principle that SPA will bind IgG antibody and will permit its removal from a serum specimen, allowing any residual measles IgM antibody to be measured by routine hemagglutination-inhibition (HI) testing (3). 
The sensitivity and specificity of the SPA test were assessed relative to sucrose gradient ultracentrifugation (SGU), the standard method for measuring measles-specific IgM, using 79 serum specimens from patients clinically suspected of having measles (Table 1) (4). The sensitivity of the SPA was 71% (45/63), and the specificity was 81% (13/16). In this study, a positive IgM detected by SPA was almost always confirmed as IgM by the SGU; of the 48 serum specimens positive by SPA, 45 (94%) were also positive by SGU. However, a negative SPA test did not mean IgM was absent; of the 31 specimens that tested negative by the SPA test, 18 (58%) were positive by SGU. 
Serum specimens from 36 measles cases confirmed by a four-fold or greater rise in complement fixation or HI-antibody titer were used to determine when measles IgM becomes positive by SPA. Only six of 19 (32%) specimens collected 0-4 days after rash onset were positive by SPA compared with 12 of 17 (71%) specimens collected 5-21 days following rash onset (X((2)) = 4.01, p = 0.045).

• Start with a liquid foods diet for at least 24 hours to increase fluid intake as much as possible. Use fresh fruit and vegetable juices, miso soup, bottled water and herb teas such as catnip, chamomile or rosemary, that will mildly induce sweating and clean out toxins faster.
•  Then follow with a simple, basic diet featuring vitamin A and C-rich fresh foods.
• Have one or two fresh green salads each day.

What can you do?

• Frequent hot baths will often release poisons thorough the rash.
•  Take tepid oatmeal baths to relieve skin itch and rash.