Measles? That Sounds About Right

I’m finally feeling better, so is Dave. It took over a week, has been one of the worst colds/flus I have ever had and it even reduced me to googling measles symptoms since nothing seemed to be getting better. There’s currently a measles outbreak in Wales and in reading about it I got nervous that I was exhibiting measles symptoms. Now mind you, I haven’t been to Wales. But it’s close enough so I figured it’s possible that I could have been sitting on the bus next to a Welsh measles carrier. In addition, I am pretty darn sure I had the MMR vaccine at some point in my life. Surely I must have. But that didn’t reassure me and led me to investigate whether the vaccine loses its effectiveness. Maybe I needed a booster? Was I not immune anymore? Did I miss a key adult vaccination? 

When reading the symptoms I immediately identified a few that I was currently suffering through. Red eyes? Yes. Cold-like symptoms? Yes! Fever? Well I was achy the first day, so surely I had been feverish. Cough? Hell yes, in fact I had to stop my research for five minutes to cough violently. Tiredness, irritability and lack of energy? Sounds like me. Aches and pains? See: fever. Check, check, check, it had to be measles, that’s why I wasn’t getting better. Except…I was missing oh, just the measles RASH. And the white bumps in the mouth. And sensitivity to light. But in my sickened state that seemed neither here nor there. For about two minutes the other day I had measles, I was convinced. Then I came to my senses and realized how ridiculous that sounded. I think. Now that I am finally getting better I am pretty much, almost entirely, 99% sure I am measles free. But don’t think I didn’t check the back of my neck and ears for any sign of the rash. I don’t often look back there; any rash could have been hiding from view. The NHS website says the rash develops within two to four days of getting sick and I was on day seven during my googling extravaganza, had I been living with a rash for five days? Alas, no rash and most likely no measles, so I can go about my normal life, away from WebMD.

Moral of the story? Don’t self diagnose via the interwebs.