US CDC issues measles travel guidance: Know the early symptoms to protect yourself

The CDC just issued travel guidance about measles, and if you've been thinking about traveling internationally anytime soon, you should probably pay attention. The CDC wants people to actually know what they're looking for so they don't accidentally bring it back home with them.


Measles almost disappeared from the US. Like, we're talking about a disease that was basically eliminated in 2000. But globally, it's still around, and in some countries, outbreaks are happening. If you travel to certain regions and you're not vaccinated or don't have immunity, you could get exposed. And if you come back without realizing you've got measles, you could spread it to other people especially kids who are too young to be vaccinated or people with weakened immune systems.


The CDC's travel guidance is basically saying: check your vaccination status before you go. Make sure you're protected. And know what measles actually looks like so you don't confuse it with something else and accidentally expose a bunch of people.

Measles: The early symptoms everyone gets wrong

The early symptoms of measles are so generic that most people don't realize what they have until it's too late. It starts like a regular cold or flu. You get a fever. Your nose runs. You cough. Your eyes might feel irritated and watery. You feel tired.


But then comes something specific to measles that doctors actually look for: Koplik spots. These are tiny white spots that show up inside your mouth, on the inside of your cheeks. They look like grains of salt on a red background. If you see these, that's actually a pretty good sign it's measles and not just a regular cold. Most people miss them because they're small and they show up before the rash does.


After a few days, that's when the rash appears. And this is important, it doesn't show up all over your body at once. It starts on your face, usually near the hairline or behind your ears. Then it spreads down your neck and onto your body. The rash looks like little red spots that sometimes blend together. It can be itchy. It usually lasts about a week.


The weird part about measles is that you're contagious before you even know you have it. You can spread it through coughing or sneezing, through respiratory droplets that hang in the air. So if you caught measles while traveling and spent three days thinking you just had a cold, you've already potentially exposed people on your flight, people at the airport, people at work or school when you got back.

What you actually need to do

Get vaccinated before you travel. That's the real answer. The MMR vaccine protects against measles, and it works. If you don't know whether you've been vaccinated, ask your doctor. Get your records checked. It's not complicated.


If you do travel and you get sick—fever, cough, runny nose, that whole thing—and especially if you develop a rash, don't ignore it. Go see a doctor. Tell them where you traveled. Let them figure out what you've got. And if it is measles, stay home. Don't spread it around.


The CDC's guidance isn't about preventing you from traveling. It's about making sure you're protected and making sure you don't accidentally bring a preventable disease back home with you. That's just being responsible.