Measles, also called rubeola, is a highly contagious respiratory infection that's

caused by a virus. It causes a total-body skin rash and flu-like symptoms, including a fever, cough, and runny nose. Though rare in the United States, 20 million cases occur worldwide every year. Since measles is caused by a virus, there is no specific medical treatment and the virus has to run its course. But a child who is sick should be sure to receive plenty of fluids and rest, and be kept from spreading the infection to others. Signs and Symptoms While measles is probably best known for its full-body rash, the first symptoms of the infection are usually a hacking cough, runny nose, high fever, and red eyes. A characteristic marker of measles are Koplik's spots, small red spots with blue-white centers that appear inside the mouth. The measles rash typically has a red or reddish brown blotchy appearance, and first usually shows up on the forehead, then spreads downward over the face, neck, and body, then down to the arms and feet. Measles is highly contagious 90% of people who haven't been vaccinated for measles will get it if they live in the same household as an infected person. Measles is spread when someone comes in direct contact with infected droplets or when someone with measles sneezes or coughs and spreads virus droplets through the air. A person with measles is contagious from 1 to 2 days before symptoms start until about 4 days after the rash appears. Recent Outbreaks Measles is very rare in the United States. Due to widespread immunizations, the number of U.S. measles cases has declined in the last 50 years. Before measles vaccination became available in the 1960s, more than 500,000 cases of measles were reported every year. From 2000 to 2007, just an average of 63 cases per year was reported.

However, in 2008 the United States saw an increase in measles cases and outbreaks (three or more linked cases), with 131 cases reported between January and July. More than 90% of those infected were not immunized or their immunization status was unknown. The most important thing you can do to protect kids from measles is to have them vaccinated according to the schedule prescribed by your doctor. Prevention Infants are generally protected from measles for 6 months after birth due to immunity passed on from their mothers. Older kids are usually immunized against measles according to state and school health regulations. For most kids, the measles vaccine is part of the measles-mumps-rubella immunization (MMR) or measles-mumps-rubella-varicella immunization (MMRV) given at 12 to 15 months of age and again at 4 to 6 years of age. Measles vaccine is not usually given to infants younger than 12 months old. But if there's a measles outbreak, the vaccine may be given when a child is 6-11 months old, followed by the usual MMR immunization at 12-15 months and 4-6 years. As with all immunization schedules, there are important exceptions and special circumstances. Your doctor will have the most current information regarding recommendations about the measles immunization. The measles vaccine should not be given to these at-risk groups: pregnant women kids with untreated tuberculosis, leukemia, or other cancers people whose immune systems are suppressed for any reason kids who have a history of severe allergic reaction to gelatin or to the antibiotic neomycin, as they are at risk for serious reactions During a measles outbreak, an injection of measles antibodies called immune globulin can help protect people who have not been immunized (especially those at risk of serious infection, such as pregnant women, infants, or kids with weakened immune systems) if it's given within 6 days of exposure. These antibodies can either prevent measles or make symptoms less severe.For women who are not pregnant and people

not in one of the other at-risk groups mentioned above, the measles vaccine may offer some protection if given within 72 hours of measles exposure. Vaccine Side Effects The measles vaccine occasionally causes side effects in kids who don't have underlying health problems. The most common reactions are fever 6-12 days after vaccination (in about 5%-15% of kids vaccinated) and a measles-like rash, which isn't contagious and fades on its own (in about about 5% of vaccinated kids). Treatment There is no specific medical treatment for measles. To help manage symptoms, which usually last for about 2 weeks, give your child plenty of fluids and encourage extra rest. If fever is making your child uncomfortable, you may want to give a non-aspirin fever medication such as acetaminophen or ibuprofen. Remember, you should never give aspirin to a child who has a viral illness since the use of aspirin in such cases has been associated with the development of Reye syndrome. Kids with measles should be closely watched. In some cases, measles can lead to other complications, such as otitis media,croup, diarrhea, pneumonia, and encephalitis (a serious brain infection), which may require antibiotics or hospitalization. In developing countries, vitamin A has been found to decrease complications and death associated with measles infections. In the U.S., vitamin A supplementation should be considered for children between 6 months and 2 years old who are hospitalized with measles and its complications. Also, all kids over 6 months old with certain risk factors such as vitamin A deficiency, a weakened immune system, or malnutrition might benefit from vitamin A supplementation. When to Call the Doctor Call the doctor immediately if you suspect that your child has measles. Also, it's important to get medical care following measles exposure, especially if your child:

is an infant is taking medicines that suppress the immune system has tuberculosis, cancer, or a disease that affects the immune system.

Remember that measles, a once common childhood disease, is preventable through routine childhood immunization.

Chickenpox is caused by a virus called varicella zoster. People who get the
virus often develop a rash of spots that look like blisters all over their bodies. The blisters are small and sit on an area of red skin that can be anywhere from the size of a pencil eraser to the size of a dime. You've probably heard that chickenpox are itchy. It's true. The illness also may come along with a runny nose and cough. But the good news is that chickenpox is a common illness for kids, and most get better by resting just like you do with a cold or the flu. And the really good news is that, thanks to the chickenpoxvaccine, lots of kids don't get chickenpox at all. Kids who do get it after they've gotten the shot often get less severe cases, which means they get better quicker. What Happens When You Have Chickenpox? Chickenpox may start out seeming like a cold: You might have a runny or stuffy nose, sneezing, and a cough. But 1 to 2 days later, the rash begins, often in bunches of spots on the chest and face. From there it can spread out quickly over the entire body sometimes the rash is even in a person's ears and mouth. The number of pox is different for everyone. Some people get just a few bumps; others are covered from head to toe. At first, the rash looks like pinkish dots that quickly develop a small blister on top (a blister is a bump on your skin that fills up with fluid). After about 24 to 48 hours, the fluid in the blisters gets cloudy and the blisters begin to crust over. Chickenpox blisters show up in waves, so after some begin to crust over, a new group of spots might appear. New chickenpox usually stop appearing by the seventh day, though they may stop as early as the third day. It usually takes 10-14 days for all the blisters to be scabbed over and then you are no longer contagious. Besides the rash, someone with chickenpox might also have astomachache, a fever, and may just not feel well.

How Does Chickenpox Spread? Chickenpox is contagious, meaning that someone who has it can easily spread it to someone else. Someone who has chickenpox is most contagious during the first 2 to 5 days of being sick. That's usually about 1 to 2 days before the rash shows up. So you could be spreading around chickenpox without even knowing it! A person who has chickenpox can pass it to someone else by coughing or sneezing. When he or she coughs, sneezes, laughs, and even talks, tiny drops come out of the mouth and nose. These drops are full of the chickenpox virus. It's easy for others to breathe in these drops or get them on their hands. Before you know it, the chickenpox virus has infected someone new. Itchy-Itchy, Scratchy-Scratchy If you are that unlucky person, how do you keep your chickenpox from driving you crazy? They itch, but you're not supposed to scratch them. These tips can help you feel less itchy:

Keep cool because heat and sweat will make you itch more. You might want to put a cool, wet washcloth on the really bad areas. Trim your fingernails, so if you do scratch, you won't tear your skin. Soak in a lukewarm bath. Adding some oatmeal to your bath water can help relieve the itching. Have your mom or dad help you apply calamine lotion, which soothes itching.

Scratching the blisters can tear your skin and leave scars. Scratching also can let germs in, and the blisters could get infected. If your fever goes higher and an area of your skin gets really red, warm, and painful, tell an adult right away. You'll need to see a doctor because you could have a skin infection. While you have the chickenpox, a pain reliever likeacetaminophen might help you feel better, but let your parents help you with this.

Do not take aspirin because it can cause a rare but serious illness in kids calledReye syndrome. Medicines and creams that may stop the itch can also be helpful. It doesn't usually happen, but let your parents know if you feel especially bad. Sometimes, chickenpox leads to other, more serious illnesses. Most kids don't have any major problems and get better in a week or two. And when all the blisters have scabs, you're not contagious anymore and you can go back to school! In a few days, the scabs will fall off. And once you've had chickenpox, it's unlikely you'll ever get it again. Get a Shot, Avoid the Dots! Not long ago, 3 million people got chickenpox each year in the United States. But now that kids receive the shot, fewer and fewer people get chickenpox. Have you had the chickenpox vaccine? You might not remember because it's often given at age 1. But you can get it when you're older, too. Ask your mom or dad if you've had yours. You'll be glad that you did if chickenpox starts making its way around your school!

Dyslexia (say: dis-lek-see-uh) is a learning problem some kids have. Dyslexia

makes it tough to read and spell. The problem is inside the brain, but it doesn't mean the person is dumb. Plenty of smart and talented people struggle with dyslexia. But dyslexia doesn't have to keep a kid down. With some help and a lot of hard work, a kid who has dyslexia can learn to read and spell. How Does Reading Happen? To understand dyslexia, it helps to understand reading. Reading is a real workout for your brain. You need to do the following steps and all at once: 1. Understand the way speech sounds make up words. 2. Focus on printed marks (letters and words). 3. Connect speech sounds to letters. 4. Blend letter sounds smoothly into words. 5. Control eye movements across the page. 6. Build images and ideas. 7. Compare new ideas with what is already known. 8. Store the ideas in memory. Phew! Kids who have dyslexia struggle with the beginning steps, so that makes doing the rest of the steps even harder. It's no surprise, then, that trying to read and dealing with dyslexia makes a kid's brain really tired really fast.

How Kids Become Readers Most kids start learning to read by learning how speech sounds make up words. Then they connect those sounds to alphabet letters. For example, they learn that the letter "b" makes a "buh" sound. Then kids learn to blend those sounds into words. They learn that "b" and "at" makes "bat." Eventually, most kids don't have to sound words out and can instantly recognize words they've seen many times before. But it's tougher for kids who have dyslexia. They may struggle to remember simple words they have seen many times and to sound out longer words. Why is it so hard? Dyslexia means that a person's brain has trouble processing letters and sounds. That makes it tough to break words into separate speech sounds, like b-a-t for bat. When it's hard to do that, it's really hard to connect speech sounds to different letters, like "buh" for b, and blend them into words. So a kid who has dyslexia will read slowly and might make a lot of mistakes. Sometimes he or she will mix up letters in a word, such as reading the word "was" as "saw." Words may blend together wrong and look like this:

What's It Like to Have Dyslexia? Even before kindergarten, a kid who has dyslexia usually has trouble with letters and sounds. Later, a teacher might say that the kid is smart, but doesn't seem to be getting the hang of reading. Other times, it's a parent who notices the kid is struggling. The best thing to do is to go to a specialist who can help figure out what's wrong. A specialist in learning disabilities knows a lot about learning problems that kids have and what to do about them. During a visit with a specialist, a kid might take some tests. But the idea isn't to get a good grade; it's to spot problems. Discovering a learning disability is the first step toward getting help that will make it easier for the kid to learn.

Making Reading Easier Most kids with dyslexia can learn to read with the right kind of teaching. They might learn new ways for remembering sounds. For example, "p" and "b" are called brother sounds because they're both "lip poppers." You have to press your lips together to make the sound. Thinking about the way the mouth needs to move to make sounds can help kids read more easily. Learning specialists know lots of special activities like this to teach reading to kids who have dyslexia. Kids with dyslexia also might use flash cards or tape classroom lessons and homework assignments instead of taking notes about them. They may need parents and tutors to help them stay caught up. Extra time for tests is really important, so kids with dyslexia have enough time to finish and show their teacher how much they have learned. Computers help a lot, too. You can get programs that "read" books out loud from the computer or even download recorded books to an iPod! How Do Kids With Dyslexia Feel? Kids who have dyslexia might get frustrated, angry, or sad because reading and spelling are so hard. They may not like being in a different reading group than their friends or having to see a special reading tutor. But getting this help is so important and will help them go on to do great things in life. Some of the most creative and successful people have dyslexia, but it didn't stop them from chasing their dreams!

Assignment in M.A.P.E.

Submitted by: Ian C. Gantuangco Year II John