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Diagnosing Rubella
When diagnosing rubella, a doctor usually performs a physical exam and considers a person's symptoms. Because other conditions can have the same signs as rubella, the doctor will check for these and rule them out before making a rubella diagnosis.
In order to make a rubella diagnosis, the doctor will often ask a number of questions about a patient's medical history, including questions about:
- Symptoms
- Current medical conditions
- Current medications
- Family history of medical conditions.
The doctor will also likely perform a physical exam to look for signs or symptoms of rubella. Diagnosing rubella can often be done just based on a person's symptoms and findings on the physical exam. If the doctor is unsure, he or she may order a blood test to look for antibodies to the rubella virus or a throat culture to look for the virus itself.
Several other medical conditions can have signs or symptoms that are similar to those of rubella. The doctor will consider these conditions and rule them out before diagnosing rubella. Some of these conditions include:
- Measles
- Mononucleosis (mono)
- Toxoplasmosis
- Syphilis
- Scarlet fever
- Reaction to medications
- Kawasaki syndrome.
Written by/reviewed by: Arthur Schoenstadt, MD
Last reviewed by: Arthur Schoenstadt, MD