Supervisor Elham AbolFateh
Editor in Chief Mohamed Wadie

Chickenpox


Sat 14 Sep 2019 | 08:42 AM
opinion .

Chickenpox , also known as varicella,is an acute, highly contagious infection caused by the varicella zoster virus,a type of herpes virus. It is a common disease of children, with most cases occurring during the winter and spring. In temperate climates, most cases occur before the age of 10 years. Varicella has an incubation period of 10-21 days. It is often a mild illness,characterized by an itchy rash on the face, scalp and trunk with pink spots and tiny fluid-filled blisters that dry and become scabs four to five days later. How is Chickenpox Spread?The highly contagious nature of varicella-zoster virus underlies the epidemics that spread quickly through schools. It is mainly spread through the air. The virus can survive in the air for several hours. It can be caught by being in a room with an infected person or in a room where someone with chickenpox has been recently.

The infection spreads in a similar way to colds and flu. It is transmitted from person to person by directly touching the blisters, saliva or mucus of an infected person. The virus can also be transmitted through the air by coughing and sneezing. Chickenpox can be spread indirectly by touching contaminated items freshly soiled, such as clothing, from an infected person. Direct contact with the blisters of a person with shingles can cause chickenpox in a person who has never had chickenpox and has not been vaccinated. Blisters that are dry and crusted are no longer able to spread chickenpox.The virus enters the body by the nose or mouth. It usually develops 2 to 3 weeks after contact with an infected person.The virus can spread from 2 days before the rash appears; it often spreads without anyone knowing. Symptoms The hallmark symptom of chickenpox is a rash. There is a blister-like rash, which first appears on the face and trunk, and then spreads throughout the body. Before the rash appears, there will be a general feeling of being unwell, fever, which is usually worse in adults than children, aching muscles, loss of appetite and in some cases a feeling ofnausea. The rash varies from a few spots to a rash that covers the whole body. The spots develop in clusters and generally appear on the face, limbs, chest, and stomach. They tend to be small, red, anditchy. Blisters can develop on the top of the spots. These can become very itchy. Within about 48 hours, the blisters cloud over and start drying out. Within about 10 days, the crusts fall off on their own.The patient might have different clusters of spots at varying stages of itchiness, dryness, and crustiness. Chickenpox and Pregnancy During pregnancy, there is a slightly higher risk of developing pneumonia with chickenpox. There is also a danger of passing the infection on to the fetus.Congenital varicella syndrome is an extremely rare disorder in which affected infants have distinctive abnormalities at birth  due to the mother's infection with chickenpox early during pregnancy (i.e., up to 20 weeks gestation). Affected newborns may have a low birth weight and characteristic abnormalities of the skin, brain,eyes, the arms, legs, hands, and/or feet, and/or, in rare cases,other areas of the body. If the infection happens later in pregnancy, the varicella may be transmitted directly to the fetus and the baby can be born with varicella. Complications Adults are more susceptible to complications than children, but even in adults, they are rare. Most people who develop complications will make a full recovery. If the skin around the spot sand blisters becomes red and tender or sore, they may be infected.   If the blisters become infected with bacteria, the risk of complications is greater. Pregnant women, newborns, and infants up to 4 weeks old, as well as any person with a weakened immune system may have an increased risk of developing a severe form of chickenpox or shingles. Newborn children whose mothers are not immune may suffer severe, prolonged chickenpox. Reye syndrome is an unusual complication of chickenpox that is linked to children who take aspirin or aspirin-containing products during the illness. Reye Syndrome is a severe disease affecting all organ systems, but, most seriously the brain and live rand may be fatal. Aspirin or aspirin-containing products should never be given to children under 18 years of age with chickenpox. Varicella pneumonia, although rare,is the most serious complication that commonly affects adults. Between 5% and15% of cases of adult chickenpox will produce some form of pulmonary illness.Progression to pneumonia risk factors include pregnancy, age, smoking, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and immunosuppression. What's Shingles?Shingles (also called herpes zoster)is caused by the varicella zoster virus, the same virus that causes chickenpox.The virus stays inactive in the body for life and can reactivate years, or even decades later, causing shingles.Shingles can affect anyone who ha shad chickenpox at any time, however, it is more severe in those age 60 year sand older. Shingles is associated with normal aging and anything that weakens the immune system such as certain medications, cancers, or infections, but it can also occur in healthy children and younger persons. Shingles is not passed from person to person.Shingles causes a painful rash that can be severe. The shingles rash usually develops on one side of the face or body.

The virus can cause nerve pain that can last for months or even years.Long-term nerve pain has been described as burning, stabbing, throbbing, or shooting. Shingles can also develop in the eyes. Other symptoms include fever,headache, chills, upset stomach, muscle weakness, skin infection, scarring, and decrease or loss of vision or hearing. Maternal herpes zoster,constitutes little risk of neonatal complications or congenital varicella syndrome probably because of established circulating maternal antibodies. Prevention of the Spread of Chickenpox You can help prevent the spread of chickenpox by practicing good hygiene and washing your hands frequently. To prevent further spread of chickenpox, people infected with the disease should remain home and avoid exposing others who are susceptible. Infected persons should remain home until the blisters become dry and crusted.A vaccine is available for varicella. For children, 2 doses of the varicella vaccine are given, one at 12 to 15 months and one at age 4 to 6 years. These are 90 percent effective at preventing chickenpox. In the United States, the chickenpox vaccine is routinely given to children. Varicella vaccination is recommended for outbreak control. During an outbreak, persons who do not have adequate evidence of immunity should receive their first or second dose as appropriate.There are some groups who shouldn't receive the chickenpox vaccine. They include: people who’ve had a severe allergic reaction to a previous dose of the chickenpox vaccine or to one of its components, women who are pregnant or may be pregnant and inpiduals with a weakened immune system Controlling the Itch The rash of chickenpox may be very uncomfortable. All people with chickenpox need to minimize scratching the rash to prevent infection from bacteria under the fingernails or on the skin of the hand sand scarring.Warm to cool baths can help relieve itching. Take baths for 20 to 30 minutes as often as needed to stay clean and soothe the itchy skin. Do not use soap, or use only a mild soap. Blot the skin dry after bathing. Don't rub the skin.You can apply cool compresses twitchy areas. Wet the cloth with cool water and apply the cool compress directly to the skin. You can apply soothing lotions that can help dry chickenpox blisters. Wear loose-fitting cotton clothing.Change clothes and bed sheets on a regular basis. Use a mild laundry detergent if clothes or linens seem to be irritating the skin. Avoid getting hot and sweating, because these trigger itching. Stay out of sunlight.