What should I do if my child has numbness?

Measles in children mainly refers to the child suffering from measles, which is a relatively common acute respiratory infectious disease, mainly transmitted through respiratory secretions and droplets. Measles is extremely harmful, and there is currently no specific medicine. When a child becomes ill, parents will definitely be very anxious and concerned about the response measures. So, what should we do if our child has numbness? Let’s take a look below.

The first step is to take the child’s temperature to confirm whether the child has a fever and carefully recall whether the child has had a fever in the past few days (but children are precious nowadays and fever should have been discovered long ago). If the rash starts on the 3rd or 4th day of fever, then measles should be considered.

The second step is to carefully observe whether the child is coughing or sneezing. This is also a symptom of measles.

The third step is to observe whether the child’s eyes are watery, bloodshot, or afraid of light. This is also a symptom of measles.

The fourth step is to ask the child to open his mouth and use a tongue depressor to observe whether there are many small grayish-white dots on the mucosa next to the lower molar (the sixth tooth in the lower alveolar). These small dots are called "measles mucosal spots" in medicine. When you see this, you can basically be sure that it is measles.

The fifth step is to observe the order of rash development, and see whether the rash grows from behind the ears to the forehead, then to the face and neck, then to the body and limbs, and finally to the palms and soles of the feet. This is also a symptom of measles.

Step 6. The order in which the rash disappears is the same as the order in which it appeared. After the rash subsides, some scaling or pigmentation may remain.

Symptoms of measles

It takes some time from contracting measles to recovering. During this period, the baby will show different symptoms at different stages. Generally, after contracting measles, a high fever will occur, accompanied by symptoms such as runny nose and cough. Spots may be found on the oral mucosa on the 2nd to 3rd day of the fever, and a rash will appear 1 to 2 days later. It starts from the head and face and spreads to the whole body within a few days. After the rash appears, the fever will subside. Some children may develop complications such as pneumonia, otitis media, encephalitis, etc.

Incubation period

The incubation period of measles is generally 10-14 days, but can be as short as 1 week. There may be a slight rise in body temperature during the incubation period.

Prodromal stage

The prodromal period of measles is also called the pre-eruptive period, which usually lasts 3-4 days. The main symptoms of this stage are similar to those of upper respiratory tract infection:

1. Fever: seen in all cases, mostly moderate or above.

2. Other symptoms such as cough, runny nose, tearing, pharyngeal congestion, etc., with eye symptoms being prominent, such as conjunctivitis, eyelid edema, increased tears, photophobia, and an obvious horizontal line of congestion on the edge of the lower eyelid, are extremely helpful in diagnosing measles.

3. Some cases may have some non-specific symptoms, such as general discomfort, loss of appetite, lack of energy, etc. Infants may have digestive symptoms.

Rash period

At this stage, rashes will begin to appear on the body around the fourth day of the fever, and this condition will last for 3-5 days. The rash first appears behind the ears and along the hairline, then gradually spreads to the face and neck, and then to the chest, abdomen, back, limbs, and finally to the palms and soles of the feet. In addition to the rash on the body, the child will have a persistent high fever during the peak period of the rash, and the body temperature may suddenly rise to 40-40.5℃. In severe cases, lung lesions and mild enlargement of the liver and spleen may also occur.

Recovery period

3-5 days after the rash appears, the body temperature will gradually drop and systemic symptoms will begin to ease. The rash will also subside in the order of the previous rash, but it will leave light brown spots and peeling. This phase will last approximately 1-2 weeks.