HealthyCanada.com

Roseola, sometimes called "body measles" or "sixth disease", is a contagious but usually mild viral infection that is common in children between the ages of 6 months and 2 years (although it can happen earlier).

Roseola is caused by human herpes virus 6 (HHV-6) and, less commonly by, HHV-7 or other viruses. Children usually get roseola from close contact with family members who are carrying the virus but have no symptoms or from other children with the virus.

Roseola starts out with a persistently high fever and no other symptoms. Your child likely won't even look ill, although he or she may be more irritable than usual. The fever will last for a few days, perhaps a week. As soon as the fever breaks, you'll notice a large rash begin to appear on the child's face and body. The tiny red dots that accompany it will look a bit like the measles. This will go away in a matter of hours or in a couple of days at most.

Treatment

There is no treatment for roseola, although you do need to manage the fever to ensure your child doesn't become dehydrated. This is especially important as roseola can cause fevers high enough that they cause febrile seizures (where a high fever causes a mild seizure) about 10% of the time.

Signs of dehydration in children include:

• dry mouth and tongue
• no tears when crying
• no wet diapers for 3 hours or more
• sunken abdomen, eyes, or cheeks
• high fever
• listlessness or irritability
• skin that does not flatten when pinched and released

Never give aspirin [acetylsalicylic acid (ASA)] to a child or teenager with a fever as this can increase the risk of Reye's syndrome, a rare, but potentially fatal, liver and brain disorder.

Call your doctor of 911 immediately if your child develops seizures.