If an adult develops chickenpox, the illness may be more severe. After a person has had chickenpox, the varicella-zoster virus can remain inactive in the body for many years. Herpes zoster shingles occurs when the virus becomes active again. Chickenpox first occurs as a blister-like skin rash and fever. It takes from days after exposure for someone to develop chickenpox. The sores commonly occur in batches with different stages bumps, blisters, and sores present at the same time.
The blisters usually scab over in 5 days. A person with chickenpox is contagious days before the rash appears and until all blisters have formed scabs. Children with weakened immune systems may have blisters occurring for a prolonged time period. Adults can develop severe pneumonia and other serious complications. In adults, chickenpox is more severe and the risk of complications increases with age. We could also see a significant increase in cases of shingles in adults.
A number of private travel clinics offer chickenpox vaccinations. I'm not sure if I had chickenpox as a child.
How can I check? The first thing you can do is ask your parents. If you spent your childhood in England, it's very likely that you had chickenpox as a child. Your GP may have noted that you had chickenpox in your medical records. If people in 'at-risk' groups cannot have the vaccine, what treatments are available if they're exposed to chickenpox? I recently had the chickenpox vaccine and have just found out I'm pregnant.
Your doctor can also prescribe medications to lessen the severity of chickenpox and treat complications, if necessary. To avoid infecting others in the waiting room, call ahead for an appointment and mention that you think you or your child may have chickenpox. Chickenpox infection is caused by the varicella-zoster virus. It can spread through direct contact with the rash.
It can also spread when a person with the chickenpox coughs or sneezes and you inhale the air droplets. Your risk of becoming infected with the varicella-zoster virus that causes chickenpox is higher if you haven't already had chickenpox or if you haven't had the chickenpox vaccine. It's especially important for people who work in child care or school settings to be vaccinated.
Most people who have had chickenpox or have been vaccinated against chickenpox are immune to chickenpox. A few people can get chickenpox more than once, but this is rare.
If you've been vaccinated and still get chickenpox, symptoms are often milder, with fewer blisters and mild or no fever. Chickenpox is normally a mild disease. But it can be serious and can lead to complications including:. Low birth weight and limb abnormalities are more common among babies born to women who are infected with chickenpox early in their pregnancy. When a mother is infected with chickenpox in the week before birth or within a couple of days after giving birth, her baby has a higher risk of developing a serious, life-threatening infection.
If you're pregnant and not immune to chickenpox, talk to your doctor about the risks to you and your unborn child. If you've had chickenpox, you're at risk of a complication called shingles. The varicella-zoster virus remains in your nerve cells after the skin infection has healed. Many years later, the virus can reactivate and resurface as shingles — a painful cluster of short-lived blisters. The virus is more likely to reappear in older adults and people who have weakened immune systems.
The pain of shingles can last long after the blisters disappear. This is called postherpetic neuralgia and can be severe. Possible mild effects are tenderness and redness where the shot was given, fever, tiredness, and a varicella-like illness. There is a very small chance of an allergic reaction with any vaccine. A rash can happen up to 1 month after the injection. It may last for several days but will disappear on its own without treatment. There is a very small risk of febrile seizures after vaccination with MMRV.
Check with your doctor to see if you can give either acetaminophen or ibuprofen for pain or fever and to find out the right dose. Your Child's Immunizations: Chickenpox Vaccine. Larger text size Large text size Regular text size.
0コメント