Its going to be spring season soon and with the advent of summer, there will also be an increase in the number of chicken pox cases.
Here are a few facts that need to be kept in mind regarding this disease.
Chicken pox is caused by the varicella virus - a type of a herpes virus.
There are a number of types of herpes viruses known to infect humans and varicella is one of them.
Symptoms are fever and itchy rash.
Rash typically starts with 2-4 days of fever with starts in the face and trunk area and then spreads outwards.
Body ache and fatigue to varying degrees is also a feature.
Rashes then become pus filled blisters which burst and then scab over.
They appear in crops , and it is characteristic to see many different types of rashes at different stages.
Though in most cases in children, chicken pox manifests only mildly as described above, on occasion it can be serious and life threatening as well.
The risk for this is substantially more in adults.
It is spread by droplets - coughing or sneezing from infected persons, and fluid from chicken pox blisters/rashes.
So this can be about a week to ten days before rashes appear and up to ten days after the scabs fall.
Chicken pox can occur more than once.
This is rare though and usually one infection is enough to confer life long immunity.
Prevention Vaccination is a good idea particularly for adults in whom chicken pox runs a more serious course.
Moreover, since it isn't possible to predict who will get a harmless, serious or even fatal form of the disease, it is always better to prevent than to treat now that the vaccine is readily available.
No vaccine is 100 percent effective.
But even if one does land up with the disease, its course is known to be more benign and less complicated than in unvaccinated people.
There are less number of rashes - and fever is less/absent.
Treatment Chicken pox , like most other viral illnesses, is often self limiting.
So treatment would be directed primarily at improving symptoms as long as they last.
It is of primary importance to maintain good hygiene to prevent secondary bacterial infection of the pustules or rashes.
Other lotions / tablets to control itching are also useful.
Traditional practices such as neem compresses are useful.
Paracetamol is used for fever, bodyache etc.
Chicken pox is one condition wherein aspirin absolutely should not be given to children for pain relief since it can result in permanent brain damage.
(In any case, unless specifically recommended by a doctor, aspirin or its derivatives should not be administered to persons less than 16 years old.
) Treatment in the form of specific anti-viral antibiotics is not necessary and is required only in complicated cases or if symptoms are very severe or if the patient is an adult.
Here are a few facts that need to be kept in mind regarding this disease.
Chicken pox is caused by the varicella virus - a type of a herpes virus.
There are a number of types of herpes viruses known to infect humans and varicella is one of them.
Symptoms are fever and itchy rash.
Rash typically starts with 2-4 days of fever with starts in the face and trunk area and then spreads outwards.
Body ache and fatigue to varying degrees is also a feature.
Rashes then become pus filled blisters which burst and then scab over.
They appear in crops , and it is characteristic to see many different types of rashes at different stages.
Though in most cases in children, chicken pox manifests only mildly as described above, on occasion it can be serious and life threatening as well.
The risk for this is substantially more in adults.
It is spread by droplets - coughing or sneezing from infected persons, and fluid from chicken pox blisters/rashes.
So this can be about a week to ten days before rashes appear and up to ten days after the scabs fall.
Chicken pox can occur more than once.
This is rare though and usually one infection is enough to confer life long immunity.
Prevention Vaccination is a good idea particularly for adults in whom chicken pox runs a more serious course.
Moreover, since it isn't possible to predict who will get a harmless, serious or even fatal form of the disease, it is always better to prevent than to treat now that the vaccine is readily available.
No vaccine is 100 percent effective.
But even if one does land up with the disease, its course is known to be more benign and less complicated than in unvaccinated people.
There are less number of rashes - and fever is less/absent.
Treatment Chicken pox , like most other viral illnesses, is often self limiting.
So treatment would be directed primarily at improving symptoms as long as they last.
It is of primary importance to maintain good hygiene to prevent secondary bacterial infection of the pustules or rashes.
Other lotions / tablets to control itching are also useful.
Traditional practices such as neem compresses are useful.
Paracetamol is used for fever, bodyache etc.
Chicken pox is one condition wherein aspirin absolutely should not be given to children for pain relief since it can result in permanent brain damage.
(In any case, unless specifically recommended by a doctor, aspirin or its derivatives should not be administered to persons less than 16 years old.
) Treatment in the form of specific anti-viral antibiotics is not necessary and is required only in complicated cases or if symptoms are very severe or if the patient is an adult.
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