Chicken-pox is an infecto-contagious condition caused by the virus varicella-zoster and spread by droplets in the cough or sneeze of an infected person. The incubation period of the virus lasts from 10 to 21 days until the first actual symptoms occur. Patients infected with the virus are contagious even before the rash appears and remain able to transmit the disease until the last lesions disappear from the skin.



The main symptoms of the infection with varicella-zoster are fever, chills, headaches, abdominal pain and general weakness. The fever is usually higher after the rash appears. The rash consists out of small bumps turning in a few days in blisters filled with fluid. The common localization is on the trunk, face, legs, scalp and back but it can also be inside the patient's mouth, on the eyelids or in the genital area. The number of lesions varies from patient to patient.

The blisters become crusted in a few days and scab in about 7-10 days without leaving any scars if no scratching was done. New lesions may appear so all development stages can be present at the same time on the skin. Chicken-pox is usually seen only once in the life of one patient as the immune system develops antibodies after the contact with the virus. Some secondary reactivations occur in elder persons as herpes-zoster forms known as shingles.

Small children and teenagers may remain with scars after the infection especially the first 6 months until the infectional agent is completely out of the body or inactivated. Chicken-pox can become a serious condition as it can develop complications like pneumonia, cellulites and encephalitis, all three very serious life threatening diseases.

A proper urgent medication or immunization with the immune globulin anti varicella-zoster can prevent the disease from occurring in persons who have had direct contact with infected patients. Infected people should remain at home and avoid contact with healthy persons while being infectious. Inside a household it is almost impossible to prevent the virus from spreading. If you want to take the child to a doctor you must announce first that you suspect chicken-pox so the hospital can prevent other intern patients from catching the virus. The varicella vaccine is now recommended for all children in order to prevent them from developing the disease.

If you have a case of chicken-pox in you care you must know how to care for it. Administrate the patient with cold fluids and acetaminophen to decrease fever, prepare soft diets to help cure the mouth ulcers, use antibacterial soaps and ointments, children must be kept cool and quiet but do not have to stay in bed. They can return to school when fever is gone and all lesions are crusted over.

The urge to scratch can be reduced by cool baths, oatmeal bath products, nonaspirin products, wash hands and keep the fingernails cut short and wear cotton gloves to prevent the night scratching during sleep.