Common Contagious Diseases
Source: Pearson Allyn Bacon Prentice Hall
Topics: Common Childhood Infections, Physical Health, Childhood Infections
Keeping your child healthy is very important for his or her learning and development. Use the table below as a reference guide for the most common contagious diseases.
| Disease | Incubation Period | When It Is "Catching" | Symptoms | Rash | Length of Illness | Prevention |
| Chicken pox | 4-21 days | 1 day before rash and 6 days after rash |
|
Individual spots begin as water blisters, spread over whole body, form crusts by fourth day | 7-10 days | Varicella |
| German measles | 14-21 days | 2 days before symptoms and 3 days after |
|
First day: reddish-purple Second day: Scarlet |
3-5 days | M.M.R. vaccine |
| Measles | 10-14 days | 1 day before fever and until rash disappears |
|
Reddish-purple spots running into each other, from head downward | 7-10 days | M.M.R. vaccine |
| Mumps | 12-24 days | 1 day before swelling and as long as swelling lasts |
|
None | 7-10 days | M.M.R. vaccine |
| Scarlet fever | 2-7 days | From first symptoms until 7 days later |
|
Pinpoint scarlet rash on body, not on face | 7-10 days | None |
| Whooping cough | 7-14 days | From beginning of cough for 3-4 weeks |
|
None | 4-6 weeks | D.P.T. vaccine |
Excerpted From:
Excerpt from All About Child Care and Early Education A Comprehensive Resource for Child Care Professionals , by M. Segal & B. Bardige & M.J. Woika & J. Leinfelder, 2006 edition, p. 39.
© 2006, Merrill, an imprint of Pearson Education Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Take Action
- this article with friends and family.
- Have a question about Common Childhood Infections? Ask it here.
- Publish your work on education.com.
