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Lifestyle and home remedies

By Mayo Clinic staff

If you or your child has measles, keep in touch with your doctor as you monitor the progress of the disease, and watch for complications. Also try these comfort measures:

  • Take it easy. Get rest and avoid busy activities.
  • Sip something. Drink plenty of water, fruit juice and herbal tea to replace fluids lost by fever and sweating.
  • Seek respiratory relief. Use a humidifier to relieve cough and sore throat.
  • Rest your eyes. If you or your child finds bright light bothersome, as do many people with measles, keep the lights low or wear sunglasses. Also, avoid reading or watching television if light from a reading lamp or from the television is bothersome.
References
  1. Measles: Q&A about disease and vaccine. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd-vac/measles/faqs-dis-vac-risks.htm. Accessed March 24, 2009.
  2. Brunell PA. Measles (rubeola virus infection). In: Goldman L, et al. Cecil Medicine. 23rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2007.  http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/127725136-3/820414473/1492/1315.html#4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-2805-5..50395-5_16443. Accessed March 24, 2009.
  3. Fact sheet: Measles. World Health Organization. http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs286/en/index.html. Accessed March 24, 2009.
  4. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Update: Measles-United States, January-July 2008. MMWR. 2008:57:893. http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5733a1.htm. Accessed March 24, 2009.
  5. Barinaga JL, et al. Clinical presentation and diagnosis of measles. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed March 24, 2009.
  6. Facts about measles for adults. National Foundation for Infectious Diseases. http://www.nfid.org/pdf/factsheets/measlesadult.pdf. Accessed March 24, 2009.
  7. Bekhor D, et al. Prevention and treatment of measles. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed March 25, 2009.
  8. Vaccine safety: Measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/concerns/mmr_vaccine.htm. Accessed March 25, 2009.
  9. Rosenow EC (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. April 9, 2009.

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June 2, 2009

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