Brief Answer:
no pictures...

Detailed Answer:
Hello,

I'm afraid there are no pictures attached to your question. If you intended to do so, please do by posting a follow-up question or uploading the pictures somewhere and sending me the link.

Let me first clarify that we wouldn't expect a child to get any of these diseases if it has been properly vaccinated. If your children have not received the vaccines then they are likely to get these diseases.

The evolution of symptoms (and the rash of course) may differentiated between the type of infection.
Measles starts with fever, cough, irritated conjunctiva, runny nose, etc. The first visible sign of measles is Koplik's spots inside the mouth which may develop during the 2nd or 3rd day and conclude the first stage of this disease. The second stage evolves with very high fever and the rash, starting from the area behind the ears and moving to the face, torso and the extremities. 4-5 days after the rash, the fever goes down and the rash disappears. During the course of the this disease enlargement of the lymph nodes is expected.
Chickenpox starts with mild fever and red spots (macules) that evolve into raised spots (papules) and then to vesicles containing clear fluid at first and turbid fluid later (pustules). The pustules will rupture and then a crust will form. The evolution from macules to crusts is fast. It may take only a few hours. New lesions appear continuously and you may spot lesions of various types (macules, papules, etc) on the same patient.

The rash of chickenpox is more distinctive than measles' rash and the doctor (and most patients) usually won't have a hard time distinguishing between them. If you could upload good quality pictures and give me the details of your children symptoms (how they evolved) you could help me get a better idea of their condition.

I hope you find my comments helpful!
Please get back to me if you'd like more information or any clarification. If you'd like to upload pictures or more details, I'll be glad to provide more insight.

Kind Regards!

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Brief Answer:
not clear but here are some tips...

Detailed Answer:
I downloaded the pictures and tried to zoom in to have a closer look but I can't be sure because zooming blurred the picture. Here are some tips to help you distinguish between measles and chickenpox.

- the prodromal stage: a child with measles will start with symptoms of a respiratory tract disease (fever, cough, sneezing, runny nose, etc). The appears 4-5 days later. On the contrary chickenpox starts with fever and rash from day 1.

- the type of rash: measles causes flat or raised spots that start behind the ears and neck area and move downwards (and they disappear in the same order a few days later). Chickenpox starts from the torso and spreads to the head and extremities. Except for the first few days the rash will have variable appearance (macules, papules, vesicles, pustules, crusts) in the case of chickenpox. The rash of measles may only evolve into coalescing lesions.

- Fever: measles starts with moderate fever and continues with high fever (39-40 degrees of Celsius). Chickenpox usually causes low to moderate fever throughout its course.

Itchiness is much more common in chickenpox than in measles.

I have to say that although I can't reach any conclusions with the pictures provided, the rash does not remind me of either disease! Be warned though that the rash itself is not always diagnostic particularly when its characteristic features are missing. The evolution of the patient's symptoms are crucial for the diagnosis. Other common diseases that may cause such a rash include german measles (low grade fever, swollen lymph nodes behind the ear and mostly macular rash), molluscum contagiosum (a dimple in the center of the lesion is a characteristic finding), the fifth disease (slapped cheeks appearance), etc. Trying to come to a conclusion, let me finish with this: the lack of other symptoms makes measles an unlikely diagnosis. Early chickenpox and german measles (particularly sensitive nodes behind their ears are present) sound more likely. The itching also suggest those two diseases.

I'm sure you have at least one more follow up question. If you'd like to use it, it would be helpful to know whether your children have been vaccinated or not and the timeline of events (when did the fever start - if they have fever- when did the rash start, how the rash spread, etc).

Best wishes for a fast recovery!

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