Treatment and Prevention
As with the measles and most other viral illnesses, there's no cure for
rubella. You can only wait for it to go away. Analgesics can control fever
and headache, but children should not be given aspirin, which may cause Reye's
syndrome (a serious disease that can occur if a child with a viral infection
is given aspirin). Instead, children should be given acetaminophen* for fever
and headache.
For couples planning families, both partners should be vaccinated if they
haven't done so already. A person is fully immune one month after inoculation.
Women of childbearing age are routinely given a blood test to determine if they're
immune.
Once a woman's pregnant, it's too late for her to be vaccinated, as the vaccine
contains a live (though weakened) virus that could harm the baby. In fact, women
should not be vaccinated in the three months before they conceive. If a woman
is pregnant and not immune, and she's exposed to an infected person, she will
need an injection with serum containing antibodies from an immune person's blood.
This may stop the disease from developing.
Although the vaccine apparently doesn't offer 100% protection, it's believed
to last for life. It is important to be vaccinated if you've never had the
disease. Rubella symptoms tend to be slightly more severe in adults than in
children, so it's worth a shot to avoid it.
Currently, there are high rates of rubella in the Mexican states of Chihuahua
and Tamaulipas on the eastern Texas border. Anyone thinking of traveling to
these destinations should get the MMR vaccination at least one month before
departure.
*All medications have both common (generic) and brand names. The brand name
is what a specific manufacturer calls the product (e.g., Tylenol®).
The common name is the medical name for the medication (e.g., acetaminophen).
A medication may have many brand names, but only one common name. This article
lists medications by their common names. For more information on brand names,
speak with your doctor or pharmacist.