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How long does it take to get a roseola infection?
How long does it take for roseola symptoms to appear?
How is roseola diagnosed?
Jun 29, 2022 · Like most viruses, roseola just needs to run its course. Once the fever subsides, your child will likely feel better soon. Roseola rash is harmless and clears up in 1 to 3 days. No creams or ointments are needed. To treat your child's fever at home, your health care provider may recommend: Plenty of rest.
- Overview
- Roseola symptoms
- Cause of roseola
- How is roseola spread?
- Complications of roseola
- Prevention
- Roseola treatment
- Recovery after roseola
- Vs. measles
- When to see a doctor
Roseola can affect anyone of any age, including adults. Those who have never been infected or are immunocompromised are at higher risk of infection.
Roseola — also known as sixth disease — is a contagious illness caused by a virus. Roseola usually manifests as a fever followed by a distinctive skin rash of pink patches or spots.
Most cases of roseola occur in childhood and are not serious. Adults can still be infected, especially if they didn‘t have roseola as a child. People with a compromised immune system may also experience a reactivated roseola infection.
Roseola treatment is pretty straightforward. It includes resting, taking anti-inflammatory medications, and making sure to drink plenty of water.
Roseola is most often caused by human herpesvirus 6, which has an incubation period of around 9-10 days. However, some children may show symptoms sooner. It’s also possible to be infected with this virus and not develop any symptoms at all.
Per the National Health Service (NHS) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), common symptoms of roseola include:
•high fever
•rash (often not itchy)
•runny nose
•sore throat
Roseola is a viral illness that is usually caused by exposure to the human herpesvirus (HHV) type 6 or 7. Roseola outbreaks can occur at any time of the year, but the most common peaks occur in spring and fall.
Like many other viruses, roseola is commonly spread through small droplets of fluid. These droplets can move from one person to another with a cough, sneeze, or even from talking in close contact.
The incubation period — how long it takes to get sick after exposure — for roseola is usually 9 or 10 days.
This means a child with roseola who hasn‘t yet developed symptoms can easily spread the infection to another child during this time, even if they don’t appear sick.
Roseola is no longer contagious by the time the illness has entered the rash stage, which is almost always after the fever.
Roseola leads to febrile seizures in about 15 percent of children with the infection due to high fever.
According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), signs of febrile seizures can look like:
•twitching or jerking movements
•loss of consciousness
•eyes rolling back into the head
If your child experiences any kind of seizure, they should be evaluated by a doctor right away. Febrile seizures may reoccur but are not known to cause any long-term damage or health issues.
There is no vaccine for roseola, and it spreads like many common colds.
Symptoms can mimic a simple head cold or not appear at all. This makes it difficult to know if someone has the virus and should be avoided and quarantined.
Since most roseola infections occur in young children, it can help to:
•Keep your child home if they are not feeling well.
•Wash you and your child’s hands frequently.
•Teach your child to use tissues and then wash their hands, or cough and sneeze into their elbow.
There’s no special medication for roseola, and in most cases, it will go away on its own without treatment.
However, here are several ways to treat the symptoms:
•Anti-inflammatory medication. Anti-inflammatory medications like acetaminophen or ibuprofen are approved for use in infants and children at lower doses than in adults. They can be purchased over the counter and can help lower fever and treat discomfort. Always consult your doctor before giving a child medication, and follow their instructions exactly.
•Good hydration and adequate nutrition. This is also important in managing viral illnesses like roseola. Cool foods like popsicles may be soothing. Make sure you or your child drinks plenty of water. Dehydration can also be a side effect of a high fever and can contribute to seizures in children.
•Dress your child in cool, breathable clothes. This can help prevent overheating.
•Give your child a lukewarm bath. This can help them relax and regulate body temperature.
A child with roseola can return to normal activities when they are feverless for at least 24 hours without the use of fever medications, and when other symptoms have gone away. Roseola is contagious in the fever phase, but it’s usually not contagious when only a rash is present.
If someone in the household has roseola, it’s important to wash hands frequently to prevent spreading the illness to others. Wearing a medical-grade face mask may also lessen the chance of transmission.
Some people confuse the roseola skin rash with the measles skin rash. However, these rashes both have distinct characteristics:
•The measles rash is red or reddish-brown. It usually starts on the face and works its way down, ultimately covering the entire body with blotches of bumps.
•The roseola rash is pink or “rosy” in color and typically starts on the abdomen before spreading to the face, arms, and legs.
Children with roseola typically feel better once the rash appears. However, a child with measles may still feel ill while they have a rash.
Around 90 percent of roseola infections occur in children under the age of 2.
Call your child’s doctor if they:
•have a fever higher than 103°F (39.4°C)
•have a fever that lasts longer than 5 days
•have a rash that hasn’t improved after 3 days
•stop drinking fluids
Key points about roseola in children. Roseola is a contagious viral illness. It causes a high fever and then a rash that develops as the fever goes away. It most commonly affects children younger than age 2. It may take 5 to 15 days for a child to have symptoms of roseola after being exposed to the virus.
Mar 9, 2021 · When symptoms do appear, the first thing you’ll notice is a sudden, high fever (over 103 F) that lasts or can come and go for 3-7 days. Other than the fever, your child might seem healthy. They ...
May 25, 2022 · FAQs. Summary. Roseola is a common childhood illness caused by the human herpes virus. It is usually mild and can cause fever, runny nose, irritability, fatigue, and rash. Treatment includes rest, hydration, and medications to reduce fever. Roseola typically affects children aged 6 months to 2 years. Healthcare professionals can diagnose ...
Jun 12, 2023 · Antibiotics won’t help since they treat bacterial infections, not viral infections (and roseola is a viral infection). You won’t need to treat the rash because it doesn’t itch or cause pain. Your pediatrician may recommend children’s acetaminophen or ibuprofen to reduce your child’s fever.
