Doctor, Doctor...
By Dave Hall
For all you hypochondriacs out there, Dave Hall continues his regular look at a some of the more unusual medical conditions, as well as some you thought you knew all about.
This week: MEASLES.
|
Condition – A now fairly rare respiratory disease caused by a virus, specifically a paramyxovirus. Once caught, the incubation period (with usually no associated symptoms) usually lasts for 4–12 days. The condition causes a total body rash and flu-like symptoms, including a fever, cough, and runny nose. The characteristic rash has a red blotchy appearance, and usually first appears on the forehead, before spreading to the face, neck, and body. Reports of measles go back as far as 600 BC, and the Persian doctor Ibn Razi (860-932) even published a book called "The Book of Smallpox and Measles" at the time.
|
||||
|
Contagion – Highly contagious - 90% of people without immunity sharing a house with an infected person will catch it. That’s going to fly round the school in no time! Infected people stay contagious from the appearance of the first symptoms until 3–5 days after the rash appears.
|
 |
|||
| Danger of death – Depends where you live. In the developed world, there is approximately 1 death per thousand cases – very rare. There is a vaccine, but in the last 150 years or so, measles has killed an estimated 200 million people around the world. |
 |
|||
|
Incurability? – Most kid in developed countries are vaccinated at the age of about 18 months as part of the MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine.
|
|
|||
|
Likelihood of getting time off work – Very high – especially if you are in danger of spreading it to the rest of the office/school. The red spots will help your cause too. 7-10 days off work is the norm here.
|
 |
|||
| Brag-ability – Not very much of that sadly, your mates will keep well clear of you as soon as they know you’re contagious. Rightly so! |
 |
|||
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ----------------------- | |||
 |
Overall ridiculousness – Not as common in the western world as it used to be, but a lot of you would have had it at some point! Still nasty and very itchy. |
 |
||
More conditions to come soon:
Hypertricosis, Winged scapula and more.
Find more curious conditions in Doctor Doctor. If you can't wait for the next Doctor Doctor, then why not find a Phunny Phobia to keep you going?
Photo: Optigan13/CDC
Share this
