Complete Information on Chicken pox

Chickenpox is caused by a virus called the varicella-zoster virus (varicella is the medical name for chickenpox). Chickenpox spreads in tiny droplets of saliva and nasal mucus, by sneezes and coughs from an infected person. The virus is already in these droplets, which is why it spreads so fast. Chickenpox causes a red, itchy rash on the skin that usually appears first on the abdomen or back and face, and then spreads to almost everywhere else on the body, including the scalp, mouth, nose, ears, and genitals.

The rash begins as dual tiny, crimson bumps that seem like pimples or worm bites. They produce into thin-walled blisters filled with clear-cut fluid, which becomes cloudy. The blister fence breaks, leaving available sores, which eventually crust over to get arid, brown scabs. Chickenpox blisters are normally little than a fourth of an inch wide, have a crimson home, and seem in bouts over 2 to 4 days. Chickenpox is extremely infectious and is scatter through the atmosphere when contaminated folk coughing or sneeze, or through physiological link with fluid from lesions on the rind. Chickenpox is seldom deadly (normally from varicella pneumonia.

With pregnant women and those with a suppressed immune system being more at risk. Chickenpox occurs in approximately three in every 1,000 pregnancies, and can cause serious complications for both you and your child. The most common complication of chicken pox is shingles, this is most frequently a late effect. Chickenpox is a mild illness, but can affect some infants, teens, adults, and people with weak immune systems more severely. Some people can develop serious bacterial infections involving the skin, lungs, bones, joints, and the brain (encephalitis). People with a weak immune system, such as those with acute or chronic leukaemia or HIV.

A chickenpox vaccine can help prevent most cases of chickenpox. If you or your child is in pain, or has a fever, then you can give them a mild painkiller, such as paracetamol or ibuprofen. The antiviral medicine acyclovir may be prescribed for people with chickenpox who are at risk for complications. Avoid scratching the blisters because of the risk of infection. Using cool wet compresses or giving baths in cool or lukewarm water every 3 to 4 hours for the first few days. Never use aspirin to reduce pain or fever in children with chickenpox because aspirin has been associated with the serious disease Reye syndrome.