Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsFirst SignsWhat Does It Look Like?ComplicationsHow Long Does a Measles Rash Last?Other InfectionsWhen to Contact a Healthcare Provider?
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
First Signs
What Does It Look Like?
Complications
How Long Does a Measles Rash Last?
Other Infections
When to Contact a Healthcare Provider?
Knowing the early signs ofmeaslesand its rash can help you recognize the illness as early as possible. Prompt treatment can help reduce the risk of severe problems.
This article can help you know what a measles rash looks like so you can contact your healthcare provider as early as possible for the best outcomes.
Povorozniuk Liudmyla / Getty Images
What Happens If You Contract Measles and How Likely Is It?
What Are the First Signs of Measles?
The first signs of measles usually appear 10 to 14 days after exposure to the virus. The incubation period is between your contact with an infected person and the onset of symptoms.
The early symptoms of measles typically occur about one to four days before the characteristic rash breaks out. These symptoms include:
Koplik Spots
Koplik spots are symptoms that are disease-specific to measles. These spots appear as yellow raised spots and bluish-white specks. They are about 2 millimeters (mm) to 3 mm, often on a reddened background. These raised spots develop on the inside of your cheeks near your molars.
Koplik spots typically occur a few days before the measles rash. The spots are considered a key indicator for the early diagnosis of measles. They are present in about 80% of measles cases.
The Measles Rash
This photo contains content that some people may find graphic or disturbing.See PhotoReproduced with permission from © DermNet dermnetnz.org 2023
This photo contains content that some people may find graphic or disturbing.See Photo
This photo contains content that some people may find graphic or disturbing.
Reproduced with permission from © DermNet dermnetnz.org 2023
The measles rash is the most prominent symptom of the disease. It usually appears about three to five days after symptoms start.
While the rash is a common symptom of the disease, the following types of people may not have the rash:
Symptoms of Measles
What Does a Measles Rash Look Like?
The measles rash is distinctive and spreads over three days. It usually begins on your face, forehead, and hairline withlesionsthat are distinctive to the disease.
As it grows, the spots spread downward into a neck rash. It continues to your torso and then to your hands and feet. The spots typically have the following characteristics:
16 Common Skin Rashes in Children
How Long Does It Take a Measles Rash to Heal?
Measles Complications
Measles complications can affect anyone. In the United States, about 1 in 5 unvaccinated people who get measles becomes hospitalized for some type of complication. The following groups are most vulnerable to measles complications:
Common complications from measles can include the following:
Acute otitis media (ear infections)
Ear infectionsare the most common complication of measles in children, affecting 7% to 9% of infected children.
Diarrhea
Diarrhea is a common complication of measles during the acute phase of measles infection. This phase includes the one week before the onset of the disease until four weeks after the appearance of the measles rash. It can lead todehydration.
Pregnancy complications
In pregnant people who have not received the measles vaccine, measles is linked withpremature birth,miscarriage,stillbirth, and low birth weight babies.
Pneumonia
Pneumoniaaffects about 5% of children with measles. This complication is the most common cause of death from measles in children.
Encephalitis
Encephalitis(swelling of the brain) affects about one out of every 1,000 children who get measles. This condition can causeconvulsions. Its effect can result inhearing lossorintellectual disabilityin the affected child.
Vision Problems and Blindness
Measles can cause the following types of vision problems:
Subacute Sclerosing Panencephalitis (SSPE)
SSPEis a rare but deadly complication of the measles virus. It occurs about seven to 10 years after the measles infection despite the appearance of a full recovery from the disease.
SSPE is a progressive, disabling, and deadly brain disorder that causes symptoms such as memory loss, uncontrollable movements, and seizures. This progressive disease causes blindness, the inability to walk, and the eventual deterioration to a persistent vegetative state that leads to death.
Death
Measles is fatal for one to three of every 1,000 children who become infected with the disease. Death typically occurs due to respiratory and neurologic complications.
A measles rash usually starts to improve within one to two days after the eruption of the rash peaks. Healing begins as the rash fades into light brown pigmentation in the sequence of its eruption.
These changes in skin color are usually gone after one to two weeks of shedding of the epidermis in the form of tiny fine scales (branny desquamation).
Other Infections With Rashes
While the measles rash has a distinctive appearance, it can sometimes be hard to distinguish it from other infections with rashes. Some other infections that can present with symptoms and a rash similar to measles include:
German Measles (Rubella)
Up to 50% of people infected with German measles are asymptomatic. People who get sick from German measles have the following problems one to five days before the rash appears:
Roseola (Sixth Disease)
The roseola rash starts on the trunk and spreads to the neck, buttocks, extremities, and face. It usually lasts for one to two days. The following symptoms may occur before the rash:
Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease
Chickenpox
The chickenpox rash typically appears within 10 to 21 days after exposure to an infected person. The rash involves 250 to 500 itchy, fluid-filled blisters that erupt in the following pattern:
Fifth Disease
Symptoms of fifth disease typically progress in the following pattern:
Other symptoms of fifth disease can include:
Scarlet Fever
Scarlet fever includes symptoms that affect your throat, tongue, and neck in the following ways:
A rash with the following features typically appears within a day or two after other symptoms. It can also appear before the illness or up to seven days after other symptoms. A scarlet fever rash can involve:
A Guide to Viral Rashes in Adults and Children
Contact your healthcare provider immediately if you or your child may have measles or have been around someone who has measles. Getting a diagnosis as early as possible is key to preventing complications from measles.
If you or your child have not been vaccinated, a measles vaccine may help prevent disease if you receive it within 72 hours of first exposure. Immune globulin (a blood product containing measles antibodies) may prevent or lessen the severity of measles if you receive it within six days of first exposure.
Contacting a healthcare provider about a measles rash is especially important if any of the following circumstances exist:
Summary
A measles rash is a common symptom of the measles virus. Though quite rare, measles poses serious health risks for anyone who is not vaccinated.
The disease can cause severe results, including death, for children under the age of 5. Adults over age 20, pregnant women, and people with compromised immune systems also have a high risk of complications.
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Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.Measles (rubeola).Mount Sinai.Measles.American Academy of Pediatrics.Measles: What parents need to know.Jayasree P, Ashique KT, Kaliyadan F.Koplik spots.JAMA Dermatology. 2021;157(4):456-456. doi:10.1001/jamadermatol.2020.4397Kimura H, Shirabe K, Takeda M, et al.The association between documentation of Koplik spots and laboratory diagnosis of measles and other rash diseases in a national measles surveillance program in Japan.Front Microbiol. 2019;10:434614. doi:10.3389/fmicb.2019.00269Qi S, Jia C, Yin Y.Measles.Radiology of Infectious Diseases: Volume 1. 2015:515-540. doi:10.1007/978-94-017-9882-2_23Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Complications of measles.Mount Sinai.Measles.Jackson BD, Black RE.Available studies fail to provide strong evidence of increased risk of diarrhea mortality due to measles in the period 4–26 weeks after measles rash onset.BMC Public Health17. 2017;(Suppl 4):783. doi:10.1186/s12889-017-4745-2American Academy of Ophthalmology.Six ways measles can affect the eyes.MedlinePlus.Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis.Nemours KidsHealth.Rubella (German measles).Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Rubella: Signs and symptoms.American Osteopathic College of Dermatology.Roseola infantum.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.How HFMD spreads.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) symptoms.MedlinePlus.Hand-foot-mouth disease.Nemours KidsHealth.Chickenpox.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).Chickenpox (varicella): Signs and symptoms.Penn Medicine.Chickenpox.Nemours KidsHealth.Fifth disease.U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.About Group A strep infection.Nemours KidsHealth.Measles.New Jersey Department of Health.New Jersey department of health vaccine preventable disease program. Exposed to measles?
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.Measles (rubeola).Mount Sinai.Measles.American Academy of Pediatrics.Measles: What parents need to know.Jayasree P, Ashique KT, Kaliyadan F.Koplik spots.JAMA Dermatology. 2021;157(4):456-456. doi:10.1001/jamadermatol.2020.4397Kimura H, Shirabe K, Takeda M, et al.The association between documentation of Koplik spots and laboratory diagnosis of measles and other rash diseases in a national measles surveillance program in Japan.Front Microbiol. 2019;10:434614. doi:10.3389/fmicb.2019.00269Qi S, Jia C, Yin Y.Measles.Radiology of Infectious Diseases: Volume 1. 2015:515-540. doi:10.1007/978-94-017-9882-2_23Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Complications of measles.Mount Sinai.Measles.Jackson BD, Black RE.Available studies fail to provide strong evidence of increased risk of diarrhea mortality due to measles in the period 4–26 weeks after measles rash onset.BMC Public Health17. 2017;(Suppl 4):783. doi:10.1186/s12889-017-4745-2American Academy of Ophthalmology.Six ways measles can affect the eyes.MedlinePlus.Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis.Nemours KidsHealth.Rubella (German measles).Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Rubella: Signs and symptoms.American Osteopathic College of Dermatology.Roseola infantum.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.How HFMD spreads.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) symptoms.MedlinePlus.Hand-foot-mouth disease.Nemours KidsHealth.Chickenpox.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).Chickenpox (varicella): Signs and symptoms.Penn Medicine.Chickenpox.Nemours KidsHealth.Fifth disease.U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.About Group A strep infection.Nemours KidsHealth.Measles.New Jersey Department of Health.New Jersey department of health vaccine preventable disease program. Exposed to measles?
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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Rubella: Signs and symptoms.
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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) symptoms.
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Nemours KidsHealth.Chickenpox.
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