Pancreatitis and Measles

Pancreatitis and Measles

If you’ve been reading about the recent outbreak of measles at Disney  you may be wondering what all the fuss was about and how concerned you should be for your own health.

The fact is that the virus has been slowly spreading outside of Disney and Doctors are concerned about it.  And you should be too!

Pancreatitis and Measles – The Facts

More than a decade ago the CDC had announced that the virus was eradicated in the U.S. so it’s probably not a virus that you know much about.

After all, Doctors say that the most people will recover from this disease without problems. But anyone who has a compromised immune system, the elderly, or children who are under five are most likely to have complications and require “supportive care.”

Living with pancreatitis can leave you vulnerable since your immune system is probably going to be compromised and you are more likely to be going to the places like hospitals and Doctors offices where there are infectious people.

Symptoms of Measles

Symptoms of Measles will usually begin with relatively minor issues like a cough, nasal congestion, and conjunctivitis – also called pink eye.

This can be followed by a high fever and a rash that starts on the face and travels down the body. Even under normal conditions it can be pretty uncomfortable and usually lasts about a week.

One of the main problems with the disease is that it is one of the most contagious infections that is known and is able to spread relatively easy. If you aren’t immune, either through the vaccine or by having had the disease, there is a nine out of 10 chance that you could catch the disease if you are in close contact with a carrier.

Measles is one of the most infectious diseases on record.

The virus can be transmitted through sneezing, coughing, or even germs on a surface. An those germs on surfaces can linger for up to two hours.

Furthering the problem is the fact that many parents are choosing not to vaccinate their children which means that more people are at risk, and the outbreak could potentially grow larger.

Complications that could happen are pneumonia, croup or diarrhea. The worst complication, which can occur in about one in one thousand cases is encephalitis, which can lead to permanent brain damage or even be fatal.

Another Problem

Another problem with pancreatitis and measles is that the virus can be spread without you even knowing its there.

Before a person even starts to get symptoms you or others could be spreading the disease. The virus is contagious for a full four days before symptoms start to show up and for as long as four days after it’s run its course. In some cases symptoms can take as long as a week to a week and a half to show up after an infection.

Bottom Line: You or someone you know may be transmitting this disease simply because you or they don’t know that you have it.

Getting the Vaccine

There is good news though. The vaccine against measles is very effective, as high as 95% effective. So if you haven’t been vaccinated you should talk to your Doctor and try to avoid Pancreatitis and Measles!

But sadly, just because you get a vaccine shot it doesn’t mean that you are in the clear. There is still that 5% group where the vaccine isn’t effective. Plus, Doctors think that even if you had the shot it could wane over time, making it less effective.

Many Doctors recommend that if you had the vaccine shot as a child and you are an adult now, or if you have a compromised immune system, you might have a higher risk of getting measles.

Bottom Line of Pancreatitis and Measles

But is something that you can do if you’ve had an exposure to the virus whether you’ve been vaccinated or not.

First, if you have been or think that you may have been exposed see your Doctor! Within 72 hours of a known exposure you can get another dose of the vaccine. You can also get immunoglobulin which contains antibodies that could help you fight of the virus.

Pancreatitis and Measles is not something that you should want to play around with having. Pancreatitis is bad enough without Measles so make sure that you talk to your Doctor about whether or not you should be (re)-vaccinated and avoid the problem of Pancreatitis and Measles.