Chickenpox is a common childhood disease that is caused by the varicella-zoster virus. Most cases are mild if the child has been vacinated. Learn the signs and symptoms of chickenpox, when it can be treated at home and when you need to seek professional medical care.
What is Chickenpox?
Chickenpox is a common disease of childhood that’s caused by the varicella-zoster virus. It is in the herpes family and has nothing whatsoever to do with genital herpes. There are hundreds of viruses in this family; chickenpox is one of them.
Chickenpox Facts
Chickenpox is more prevalent in the early spring and winter. It is highly contagious and if your child is exposed and has never had the disease, chances are he will come down with it within approximately two weeks. There’s also an eighty percent chance that all family members who have never had chickenpox will contact the disease. The varicella-zoster virus is easily spread by spores that become airborne when the infected person coughs or sneezes, or when there is contact with the fluid that seeps from the blisters.
Who is Affected?
Chickenpox is very common in children who are under the age of fifteen. However, anyone of any culture, age or race can get chickenpox; usually only one bout of chickenpox is experienced in a lifetime, though very rarely they can appear a second time. In older people, the varicella-zoster virus can cause an episode of shingles, because the virus lies dormant in the nerve endings for years.
Chickenpox Signs and Symptoms
Chickenpox is a viral infection that’s accompanied by a red rash that is extremely itchy. The rash begins as multiple red bumps on the skin of the abdomen, face and back. Once the rash breaks out, it spreads to the ears, mouth, nose, genitals and scalp. The rash may appear to be insect bits or pimples, but then they turn into blisters that fill with a clear fluid that turns a milky color. When the blisters break, they leave sores and then form a crusty, brownish scab. These blisters can be at different stages at the same time, or the virus may progress at the same rate of speed.
Chickenpox blisters are usually between a quarter and a half inch across. The base is red and the blisters break out over a period of two to four days. Some children have only a few blisters while others are covered from head to toe. The blisters can overlap and are often more severe in children who suffer from skin disorders, such as eczema or psoriasis.
Other symptoms may be abdominal pain, fever and nausea. The child’s fever will range from 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.7 Celsius) to 102 degrees Fahrenheit (38.8 Celsius,) and can be at times higher. Fever and symptoms are usually milder in young children and they often have fewer blisters than adults or older children.