What Really Happens When You're Infected With Measles

02/05/2015 08:14 am ET | Updated Feb 05, 2015

While some may dismiss the measles as a common childhood virus, it also happens to be the deadliest childhood rash and fever illness. To make matters worse, about 30 percent of reported measles cases have at least one complication, especially among children younger than 5 years old or adults over 20.

But measles, while highly contagious, is also a completely preventable disease thanks to vaccines. Doctors recommend that children receive a vaccination (in the form of a bundled measles, mumps and rubella shot) twice: the first between ages 12 to 15 months, and the second between 4 and 6 years old.

Below, you can see the painful and distressing symptoms measles causes, as well as the complications that arise from the illness. For those who have the stomach for it, head over to Buzzfeed for historical photos that reveal just how devastating diseases like polio and smallpox were before vaccines eradicated those viruses.

Graphics by Alissa Scheller for The Huffington Post.

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