Chicken pox

Chickenpox is a very contagious infection caused by the varicella-zoster virus. It mainly affects kids, but adults can get it, too. The telltale sign of chickenpox is a super-itchy skin rash with red blisters. Over the course of several days, the blisters pop and start to leak. Then they crust and scab over before finally healing. Symptoms appear within 10 to 21 days after you’ve been in contact with someone who has the virus. Most people recover in about 2 weeks. Chickenpox is generally mild, especially in children. But in severe cases, the blisters can spread to your nose, mouth, eyes, and even genitals. Who Gets It? Children under age 2 are most at risk for chickenpox. In fact, 90% of all cases occur in young children. But older kids and adults can get it, too. You’re more at risk for chickenpox if you: • Haven’t had the virus before • Haven’t been vaccinated for it • Work in a school or child care facility • Live with children How Is It Spread? Very easily. You can get the virus by breathing in particles that come from chickenpox blisters or by touching something on which the particles landed. Chickenpox is most contagious from 1 to 2 days before the rash appears until all the blisters are dried and crusted. The best way to prevent the spread of the virus is to get the Complications Adults have a higher risk for developing complications from chickenpox than children. Those with weakened immune systems due to Once you’ve had chickenpox, the varicella-zoster virus stays ...

Overview Shingles is a viral infection that causes a painful rash. Shingles can occur anywhere on your body. It typically looks like a single stripe of blisters that wraps around the left side or the right side of your torso. Shingles is caused by the varicella-zoster virus — the same virus that causes chickenpox. After you've had chickenpox, the virus stays in your body for the rest of your life. Years later, the virus may reactivate as shingles. Shingles isn't life-threatening. But it can be very painful. Vaccines can help lower the risk of shingles. Early treatment may shorten a shingles infection and lessen the chance of complications. The most common complication is postherpetic neuralgia. This is a painful condition that causes shingles pain for a long time after your blisters have cleared. Shingles Shingles is characterized by pain or a tingling sensation in a limited area on one side of the face or torso, followed by a red rash with small, fluid-filled blisters. Shingles symptoms usually affect only a small section on one side of your body. These symptoms may include: • Pain, burning or tingling • Sensitivity to touch • A red rash that begins a few days after the pain • Fluid-filled blisters that break open and crust over • Itching Some people also experience: • Fever • Headache • Sensitivity to light • Fatigue Pain is usually the first symptom of shingles. For some people, the pain can be intense. Depending on the location of the pain, it can sometimes be mistaken...

Share on Pinterest Mixmike/Getty Images Chickenpox most commonly occurs in children and usually causes mild symptoms like: • blistering rash • fever • headache In the 1990s, an average of After a chickenpox infection, the virus remains dormant in your body. Shingles occur when the virus becomes reactivated. Shingles can cause similar symptoms as chickenpox. But a shingles rash usually appears as a cluster of blisters on one side of your body rather than showing up all over. Keep reading as we take a deeper look at the differences between chickenpox and shingles. Chickenpox and shingles are caused by the same virus, but they develop in different ways. Chickenpox Chickenpox is highly contagious and can easily be passed between people. The varicella-zoster virus is found worldwide and can be spread through sneezing or coughing. You can also develop chickenpox after coming into contact with the fluid in the blisters of a person who has shingles. It can take about Shingles After developing chickenpox, the virus can remain undetected in your spinal nerve roots or near where your spinal cord attaches to your skull. The virus can remain in your nervous system indefinitely without causing symptoms, but in about You can’t catch shingles from another person. It’s only possible to develop shingles if you’ve already had chickenpox. It’s possible for somebody who has never had chickenpox to develop chickenpox after coming into contact with the fluid in your shingles rash. Shingles Chick...

Before the chickenpox vaccine, some people held “pox parties” to enable their children to build immunity. Some people still hold chickenpox parties, but this can be risky. Before the Some people continue to hold pox parties as an alternative to receiving the vaccine. However, the This article will discuss chickenpox, some reasons why people might have pox parties, and the risks that these parties entail. It will also discuss chickenpox vaccination. Share on Pinterest Mixmike/Getty Images People can develop chickenpox after having exposure to the varicella-zoster virus. It generally affects children and is usually a mild illness. Chickenpox usually occurs only once. After contracting the virus, a person will have lifetime immunity to it. However, if it affects an adult who does not have immunity to it, it can be more serious. It can also have a severe impact on newborns and children with other health issues. Also, the virus can remain in the body in an inactive, or dormant, form. Later in life, it can reactivate to cause a painful condition called For this reason, it is a good idea to gain immunity from a young age and in a controlled manner. Some people use pox parties as a way to deliberately infect their children with chickenpox. The idea is that the child gets the illness sooner rather than later and builds up a natural immunity to the virus. During a pox party, parents or caregivers encourage children without the virus to play, eat, and interact with a child who curren...

Screening and Early Detection There is no recommended screening for chickenpox. Healthcare providers can usually diagnose it based on the rash and other symptoms. As it is highly contagious, a healthcare provider may provide instructions so as not to expose other people (such as not entering a shared waiting room). • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. • Immunization Action Coalition. • Florida Health. • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. • Louisiana Office of Public Health. • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. By Steph Coelho is a freelance health and wellness writer and editor with nearly a decade of experience working on content related to health, wellness, mental health, chronic illness, fitness, sexual wellness, and health-related tech.She's written extensively about chronic conditions, telehealth, aging, CBD, and mental health. Her work has appeared in Insider, Healthline, WebMD, Greatist, Medical News Today, and more.

What is chickenpox? Chickenpox, also called varicella, is characterized by itchy red blisters that appear all over the body. A virus causes this condition. It often affects children, and was so common it was considered a childhood rite of passage. It’s very rare to have the chickenpox infection more than once. And since the chickenpox vaccine was introduced in the mid-1990s, cases have declined. Share on Pinterest An itchy rash is the most common symptom of chickenpox. The infection will have to be in your body for around seven to 21 days before the rash and other symptoms develop. You start to be contagious to those around you up to 48 hours before the skin rash starts to occur. The non-rash symptoms may last a few days and include: • • • loss of appetite One or two days after you experience these symptoms, the classic rash will begin to develop. The rash goes through three phases before you recover. These include: • You develop red or pink bumps all over your body. • The bumps become blisters filled with fluid that leaks. • The bumps become crusty, scab over, and begin to heal. The bumps on your body will not all be in the same phase at the same time. New bumps will continuously appear throughout your infection. The rash may be very itchy, especially before it scabs over with a crust. You are still contagious until all the blisters on your body have scabbed over. The crusty scabbed areas eventually fall off. It takes seven to 14 days to disappear completely. Varicella-zo...