Measles doesn’t just give your kid a rash. It hijacks their entire immune system, shreds it, and leaves them vulnerable to dying from things they used to be immune to.
When a child gets measles, it starts with a fever. Not a mild one. We’re talking 104 to 105 degrees. Their body burns like it’s trying to incinerate the virus from the inside out. Their eyes become red and swollen, photophobic, leaking tears even in dim light. They develop a hacking, suffocating cough that sounds like it’s tearing their throat apart. Their nose runs non-stop. And then the rash hits.
The measles rash isn’t just some pink dots like people think. It’s a wave of angry, red, raised welts that erupt from their hairline and roll down across their face, neck, chest, and limbs like a firestorm. Their skin feels like it’s been scalded. Some kids are so sensitive they can’t wear clothes because every touch burns.
Inside, the virus is going nuclear. It doesn’t just live in the lungs. It spreads through the bloodstream. It enters the brain in some cases, causing swelling known as encephalitis. If that happens, your child might start having seizures. They might lose consciousness. Some of them die right there. Others survive with permanent brain damage, hearing loss, or developmental regression. It’s like someone pulled the plug on parts of their brain.
And even if your child “recovers,” the damage isn’t done. Measles wipes out their immune memory. That’s called immune amnesia. It deletes the protection they had from other diseases. Everything they were vaccinated against or fought off before is gone. Their body forgets how to fight it. For up to three years, they’re a sitting duck for every bug that comes their way.
Kids who survive measles are at higher risk of dying from pneumonia, ear infections, or diarrhea later. Not from measles itself, but from the destruction it left behind.
In some cases, years later, they can develop SSPE. That’s a rare, fatal brain disease caused by the measles virus lying dormant and then reactivating. It begins with behavioral changes, then seizures, then coma. Then death. Slowly. Irreversibly. After you thought they were safe.
Measles isn’t just a childhood illness. It’s a biological wrecking ball. And it’s entirely preventable.
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Chuck Todd
@chucktodd
Heckuva job, Bobby politicalwire.com/2025/06/26/mea