General discussion about chickenpox
- By:groshan fabiola
Chickenpox is a very common infection among children. It is also called varicella because it is caused by the varicella-zoster virus. This affection is seen mostly in children and the symptoms are usually mild. Though, for adults it can mean serious complications.
The most affected persons are people with problems of the immune system. Among these persons we have to remember those that suffer of leukemia, or the persons that take drugs which weaken the immune system.
The most common symptoms of chickenpox are fever, and a rash that sometimes can get very itchy. The rash occurs as small red spots that turn into fluid-filled blisters. Depending on the person, the blisters may occur numerously or in some cases only a few. In each case the blisters dry and form scabs in 4 or 5 days.
It is also known that chickenpox is a very easy to spread disease and it is highly contagious especially one day before the rash appears.
There are many ways of spreading the virus. Chickenpox spreads after direct contact with the infected person or through air as well. You can also get chickenpox after touching a blister or the liquid from a blister. Another way of spreading chickenpox is from a pregnant mother to her unborn child.
The only effective way of stopping the infection to spread is to prevent infected people from sharing the same room or house with the others. It is also good to know that chickenpox cannot be spread through indirect contact.
People often wonder if there is a chickenpox vaccine. The answer is positive and it is recommended to be administrated for all healthy children that have passed 12 months.
A similar condition to chickenpox is shingles. Shingles or zoster looks like chicken pox and it is caused by the same virus. The difference between these two conditions is that shingles occurs on one part of the body unlike chickenpox. It is also good to remember that shingles occurs in persons that have already got chickenpox and after a few years.
In most of the cases chickenpox does not occur the second time. This is called life-long immunity, but there are known some cases of persons that have caught chickenpox the second time.
If your child gets chickenpox it is not recommended the usage of aspirin or any other product containing it. Taking aspirin increases the risk of developing Reye’s syndrome. If you want to control this condition you should use acetaminophen.About the author:
For more information about chicken pox or even about treatment for chicken pox please review this page http://www.chicken-pox-center.com/