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Medical Author:

John Mersch, MD, FAAP

John Mersch, MD, FAAP

Dr. Mersch received his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, San Diego, and prior to entering the University Of Southern California School Of Medicine, was a graduate student (attaining PhD candidate status) in Experimental Pathology at USC. He attended internship and residency at Children's Hospital Los Angeles.

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Medical Editor:

William C. Shiel Jr., MD, FACP, FACR

William C. Shiel Jr., MD, FACP, FACR

Dr. Shiel received a Bachelor of Science degree with honors from the University of Notre Dame. There he was involved in research in radiation biology and received the Huisking Scholarship. After graduating from St. Louis University School of Medicine, he completed his Internal Medicine residency and Rheumatology fellowship at the University of California, Irvine. He is board-certified in Internal Medicine and Rheumatology.

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In this Article

• What is roseola?
• What virus causes roseola?
• How is roseola spread?
• What are roseola symptoms and signs?
• How high can the fever go with roseola?
• What is the treatment for the fever of roseola?
• Can the fever cause a seizure?
• Is a seizure due to fever dangerous?
• What should I do if my child with roseola has a seizure?
• Is there a rash with roseola?
• What is most remarkable characteristic of roseola?
• What is the course of roseola?
• Are there any complications of roseola?
• Should I take my child to the doctor with roseola?
• When can the child return to child care?
• Are there other names for roseola?
• Roseola At A Glance
• Patient Comments: Roseola - Symptoms
• Patient Comments: Roseola - Describe Your Experience
• Find a local Pediatrician in your town
• Roseola Index

Complications are rare with roseola except in children with suppressed immune systems. Individuals with healthy immune systems generally develop lifelong immunity to HHV-6 (or HHV-7).

Yes, that is a good idea. A child with a fever and a rash should not go back to child care until evaluated by a health-care provider.

A child with just the rash of roseola and no fever can usually return to child care.

Roseola is referred to by a number of other names. It was formally called roseola infantum or roseola infantilis. Because the rash appears so suddenly (right after the fever dramatically departs), the disease is commonly called exanthem subitum.

To distinguish roseola from other childhood diseases featuring skin rashes, it was once dubbed "sixth disease" (because it was the sixth disease young children typically developed, and it lasted about six days), but that name has largely been forgotten.

• Roseola is a mild illness caused by a virus infection, and it affects young children.
• A sudden high fever that lasts for three to five days is an early feature of roseola.
• When the fever disappears, a rash appears. The rash is not contagious.
• Roseola usually resolves without any treatment.

REFERENCE:

American Academy of Pediatrics. Pickering, L.K., C.J. Baker, D.W. Kimberlin, and S.S. Long, eds. Red Book: 2009 Report of the Committee on Infectious Diseases. 28th ed. Elk Grove Village, IL: American Academy of Pediatrics, 2009.