The symptoms of an infection
As a harbinger in the early stages of the disease, unspecific disease symptoms such as fever, headache and an inflammation of the respiratory organs occur. Typical is the beginning on the cheeks with spreading over the body. Because of the central paler parts, the rash on the body is also called garland-like.
Afterwards the redness moves over the arms and legs and over the trunk. Here the rash is red at first and fades away in the course of time. Joint pain is often observed after the 7th day.
The rash of rubella usually begins on the face. The cheeks redden intensively and are slightly swollen. The area around the mouth and nose remains untouched.
Overall, the rash on the face has the shape of a butterfly. The skin in this area itches, tightens and is warm. One or two days later the rash spreads to the trunk of the body and the extensor sides of the arms and legs.
The buttocks are also affected. Later on, typical garland-shaped figures appear, as the redness in the middle becomes paler and paler and develops towards the edge. They owe their name “Ringelröteln” to this appearance.
In half of the patients this rash causes itching. After about 5 to 8 days the rash subsides spontaneously. During the rash the affected person is not contagious.
About every 5th child and every 2nd adult suffers from rubella infection and develops joint pain. The medical term for this is then parvovirus B19 arthritis, as the virus responsible is parvovirus B19. Especially finger, hand, knee and ankle joints are inflamed symmetrically on both sides and cause pain.
In most cases the pain persists for 3-4 weeks and then heals. Very rarely, however, the virus remains in the synovial fluid and continues to cause pain beyond this period. Diarrhoea is one of the general symptoms associated with rubella.
Typical flu symptoms such as fever, headache, aching limbs, nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea are not uncommon.Usually diarrhea and other symptoms occur in the initial phase of the disease, when the general condition is reduced and the rash has not yet appeared. In case of diarrhea, one must ensure that a sufficient amount of water and unsweetened tea is drunk and, if necessary, rehydrating solutions must be used. In case of severe weight loss a doctor should be consulted.
