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Fifth disease is a viral disease that often results in a red rash on the arms, legs, and cheeks. For this reason, it’s also known as “slapped cheek disease.”
It’s fairly common and mild in most children. It can be more severe for pregnant women or anyone with a compromised immune system.
Most doctors advise people with fifth disease to wait out the symptoms. This is because there’s currently no medication that’ll shorten the course of the disease.
However, if you have a weakened immune system, your doctor may need to closely monitor you until the symptoms disappear.
The initial symptoms of fifth disease are very general. They may resemble mild symptoms of the flu. Symptoms often include:
headache
fatigue
low-grade fever
sore throat
nausea
runny nose
stuffy nose
According to the Arthritis Foundation, symptoms tend to appear 4 to 14 days after exposure to the virus.
After a few days of having these symptoms, most young people develop a red rash that first appears on the cheeks. Sometimes the rash is the first sign of the illness that’s noticed.
The rash tends to clear up on one area of the body and then re-appear on another part of the body within a few days.
In addition to the cheeks, the rash will often appear on the:
arms
legs
trunk of the body
The rash may last for weeks. But, by the time you see it, you’re usually no longer contagious.
Children are more likely to get a rash than adults. In fact, the main symptom adults usually experience is joint pain. Joint pain can last for several weeks. It’s usually most noticeable in the:
wrists
ankles
knees