Chickenpox is a disease caused by the varicella zoster virus, which is a member of the herpes virus family. Chickenpox is generally considered a childhood disease, but since the chickenpox vaccine was launched, the infection rate of the disease has fallen sharply. However, both you and your child can get chickenpox. In order to identify chickenpox, first identify the symptoms.
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Method 1 of 5: Identifying Chicken Pox
Step 1. Watch for marks on the skin
About a day or two after a runny nose and sneezing, you may notice red patches on your skin. The patches usually appear on the chest, face, and back, are often itchy, and quickly spread throughout the body.
- The red patches will become red bumps and then become small blisters (bubbles). These tiny blisters contain a virus and are highly contagious. The blisters will harden within a few days. After hardening, the patient is no longer contagious.
- Insect bites, itchy skin and rashes, viral rashes, impetigo, and syphilis can look like chickenpox.
Step 2. Watch out for flu symptoms
In the early stages, chickenpox can look like a mild flu with a runny nose, sneezing, and coughing. You may also have a fever of up to 38 degrees Celsius. If an infected person is exposed to someone with chickenpox or breakthrough chickenpox (mild chickenpox in people who have been vaccinated), mild flu symptoms may be an early symptom of chickenpox.
Step 3. Recognize the early symptoms to reduce the risk of harm
Chickenpox is highly contagious and endangers those with compromised immune systems, such as those undergoing chemotherapy to treat cancer or those with HIV, and infants, because infants are not vaccinated against chickenpox until 12 months of age.
Method 2 of 5: Understanding Viruses
Step 1. Understand how the virus is transmitted
The chickenpox virus is transmitted through the air or by direct contact, generally as a result of unclean sneezing or coughing. Viruses are transmitted through fluids (eg saliva or mucus).
- Touching an open wound caused by the virus or breathing it in (such as kissing someone who has chickenpox) can also infect you.
- If you meet someone who is positive for chickenpox, this will help you identify the symptoms you are experiencing.
Step 2. Know the incubation period
The chickenpox virus does not immediately cause symptoms. It generally takes 10 to 21 days after exposure to the virus for obvious symptoms to appear. The maculopapular rash will persist for several days and the blisters will heal within a few days. This means you may get a rash of papules, blisters and blisters that harden at the same time.
About 90% of those closest to who are susceptible and who have not been vaccinated will become infected after exposure
Step 3. Realize that adolescents and adults are more at risk for complications
Although the disease is not malignant, chickenpox can cause hospitalization, death and complications for the elderly and adults. Rashes and blisters may appear in the mouth, anus, and vagina.
Step 4. Call the doctor if the chickenpox patient has the potential to get worse
Children over the age of 12, pregnant women or people with compromised immune systems (including the use of steroids that are harmful to the immune system) or people with asthma or eczema are at greater risk for more severe symptoms.
Step 5. Call the doctor if the chickenpox patient has these symptoms:
- Fever for more than 4 days or more than 38 degrees Celsius
- The area of the rash becomes hot, red, sore or starts to pus which means a secondary bacterial infection has occurred
- Difficulty getting out of bed or getting confused
- Stiff neck or difficulty walking
- Frequent vomiting
- Severe cough
- Difficult to breathe
Method 3 of 5: Treating Chickenpox
Step 1. Talk to your doctor about treatment if you have severe chickenpox or are at risk of it getting worse
Treatment for chickenpox is not the same for everyone. In most cases, doctors don't prescribe harsh medications for children unless the infection appears to be turning into pneumonia or other serious illness.
- For best results, antiviral treatment should be given within the first 24 hours of the rash appearing.
- If you have skin problems such as eczema, lung problems such as asthma, have recently been on steroid treatment or have immune problems, you should consider taking antiviral drugs.
- Some pregnant women may also qualify for antiviral treatment.
Step 2. Don't take aspirin or ibuprofen
Children should not take both and infants under six months of age should not take ibuprofen at all. Aspirin is associated with the serious condition Reyes syndrome and Ibuprofen can cause secondary infections. Instead, take acetaminophen (Tylenol) to treat a headache or other illness or fever from chickenpox.
Step 3. Do not scratch the blister or lift the scab
Even if the blisters and scabs cause itching, you should never remove the scabs or scratch the rash. Removing the scab causes the chickenpox to scar and the itching increases the risk of getting a bacterial infection. Trim your child's nails if the child can't stop scratching the blister.
Step 4. Cool the blisters
Place the compress over the blister. Take a cold shower. A low temperature will help relieve the itching and fever that may accompany chickenpox.
Step 5. Apply calamine lotion to relieve itching
Take a cold shower with baking soda or colloidal oatmeal or apply calamine lotion to reduce itching. If the itching does not subside, see a doctor for further treatment. Bath herbs and calamine lotion will relieve the itching (reducing its level) but nothing will completely eliminate it until the blisters heal.
Calamine lotion can be purchased at convenience stores or pharmacies
Method 4 of 5: Preventing Chickenpox
Step 1. Consult a doctor about the chickenpox vaccine
This vaccine is safe and given to children before contracting the disease. The first injection is given when the child is 15 months old and the second injection is given between the ages of 4 and 6 years.
Getting the chickenpox vaccine is much safer than getting the disease. Most people who get the vaccine have no problems afterward. However, like other medicines, vaccines can also cause serious problems such as severe allergic reactions. The number of chickenpox vaccines that cause harmful effects or death is very small
Step 2. Expose your child to chickenpox early if not vaccinated
Make sure you have consulted with your doctor about this. Vaccination is a parent's personal choice. However, the older the child gets when he gets chickenpox, the more uncomfortable it will be for them. If you decide not to vaccinate or your child is allergic to the vaccine, expose your child to the disease after the age of three but before the age of 10 to reduce symptoms and relieve the condition.
Step 3. Watch out for breakthrough chickenpox
Children who have been vaccinated against chickenpox can contract the disease to a lesser extent. They may get about 50 spots and blisters that are not severe. This makes the disease difficult to diagnose. However, they are just as contagious as unvaccinated people with chickenpox.
- Adults are at risk for more severe disease and a higher rate of complications.
- So far, vaccination is more popular than “pox parties”, which is when parents intentionally let their children get chickenpox. Although vaccination can cause mild chickenpox, having a pox party increases the chances that you or your child will get severe chickenpox which can cause pneumonia and other dangerous conditions. If so, you don't want to have a pox party.
Method 5 of 5: Beware of Complications
Step 1. Watch out for children who have skin problems like eczema
Children with a history of skin problems can develop blisters in large numbers. This is painful and increases the risk of scarring. Use the treatment suggestions above to reduce itching and talk to your doctor about over-the-counter and oral medications to reduce discomfort and pain.
Step 2. Watch out for secondary bacterial infections
The area around the blister can become infected with bacteria. The blisters may become hot, red, painful to the touch and also ooze pus. The pus is darker in color and not as clear as the liquid in the bubble. Call your doctor if you notice any changes in the skin area. Bacterial infections should be treated with antibiotics.
- A bacterial infection that can affect other body tissues, bones, joints and even the bloodstream is called sepsis.
- Any infection is dangerous and must be treated immediately.
- Common symptoms of infection in the bones, joints or bloodstream are:
- Heat above 38 degrees Celsius
- The area of infection is warm and painful to the touch (bones, joints, tissues)
- Joints hurt when you move
- Difficult to breathe
- Chest pain
- Severe cough
- Common symptoms of severe illness. Most children have fevers that occur at the onset of smallpox and even if they have the flu, children can still play, laugh and want to go for walks. Children who suffer from septic (infection in the blood) become less agile, often sleepy, fever above 38 degrees Celsius, increased heart rate and shortness of breath (more than 20 breaths per minute).
Step 3. Be on the lookout for serious complications from chickenpox
Although rare, complications can be very dangerous and result in death.
- Dehydration occurs when the body does not get enough fluids to function properly. The first to be affected are the brain, blood, and kidneys. The characteristics of dehydration are little and thickened urine, easily tired, weak, dizzy, or increased heart rate
- Pneumonia accompanied by severe coughing, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, or chest pain
- Bleeding
- Infection or inflammation of the brain. Children are not agile, sleepy easily and complain of headaches. They may also become dazed or have difficulty getting out of bed.
- Toxic shock syndrome
Step 4. Watch out for shingles in adults, especially those over the age of 40, who had chickenpox as a child
Shingles causes a painful, blistering rash that occurs on one side of the body, the torso or face can cause numbness and is triggered by the virus that causes chickenpox. The virus stays in the body until years later when the immune system decreases. Pain, often burning, and numbness often last for several weeks but long-term damage can occur to the eye and other infected organs. Post-herpes infection pain is a difficult-to-treat nerve pain that is the result of shingles.
