Chicken Pox: Overview, Causes ,Treatments And Preventions

Overview

‘I got rashes, stay away’. We hear this often when our friends, adults or even we suffer from this illness called chicken pox. We get red spots, rashes, that irritating itchy feeling is nothing but this common illness chicken pox. It is very common in children and moreover people suffer from this illness if they haven’t taken the vaccine, which is a must. It is advisable by doctors to take the vaccine so that one does not suffer from it. Chicken pox also takes place to people who never had it before. It happens once to people who didn’t get it before. Fighting from chicken pox is a task for people having a weak immune system, pregnant women, new-born and adults. Chicken pox isn’t a serious problem but children suffering from chicken pox should stay at home. As said earlier once you get chicken pox you won’t get it again but if the virus stay in your body for a longer period of time and if this virus becomes active again you can get a painful viral infection termed as shingles.

Types Of Chicken Pox

Some types of chicken pox are:

Shingles
Postherpetic neuralgia
Reyes syndrome

Symptoms

Noted symptoms of chicken pox are headache and a sore throat. You may tend to feel very hungry and feel sick. These rashes appear most probably about one or two days after you get those first symptoms. There are many times when children may get those chicken pox rashes without even getting those early symptoms or fever. It would normally take 14 to 16 days to get the symptoms of this illness after you have been around with the virus. This is termed as the incubation period. After you get those red spots it normally takes 1 to 2 days for those red spots to go through all the stages. It includes blistering, bursting, drying and crusting. But this is not the end to this itchy illness as new red spots will appear up to 5 – 7 days.

After the red spots after have crusted over, you or your child, your relatives can go to work, home or school but before that it is advisable not to go out when you are still infected from the disease as it is contagious and others can get infected. You may come across many other illnesses that may have symptoms similar to chicken pox. But you should not get confused that you are again suffering from chicken pox, it may be symptoms of some other illness.

Causes

Many of us may not be aware of the fact that chicken pox is caused due to varicella-zoster virus. You can easily get chicken pox from a person who sneezes, coughs, shares food with you or drinks. You should never touch a person infected from chicken pox or touch the fluid from a chicken pox blister. You can get infected and you probably stand chances of getting those red spots, rashes and that itchy feeling.

You may get chicken pox if you did not take the vaccine so be sure to take the vaccine and do your bit. If someone you live with gets chicken pox you stand a higher chance of getting it because of the close contact.

Diagnosis

The doctor you visit will ask you about the symptoms of your illness and after examining you the doctor will have enough information to find out what you suffer from and the stage of chicken pox you are suffering from. Pregnant women should consult a doctor as in the early stages of your illness consulting would be the best option, or else it could lead to early birth defects.

Treatments

Many a times it is not necessary to visit a doctor; you can use home remedies and cure yourself. You can soak yourself in oat meals bath to help with itching. But adult women, pregnant women should visit a doctor to avoid any complications. Home treatment includes rest taking, using Neem leaves, taking your medicines on time to cure the itching and rashes at a faster rate. People who are already suffering from severe health problems need more and regular treatment. They may need immunoglobulin treatment (IG) or antiviral medicine. Soon after you are exposed to the virus you doctor may give you a better treatment which can help you recover soon.

Prevention

The chicken pox vaccine available at your chemist should be taken as advised the doctors. This vaccine protects you against infection against 70 to 90 percent to all those who are infected. The varicella vaccine can be used by adults but not children as it contains a live virus and children have a compromised immune system so it is not recommended for children. This vaccine should also be not given to children who are already suffering from some kind of allergy to gelatine pregnant women should not use varicella vaccine if they have an allergy to gelatine. Adults and children who are above 12 years and can have two doses of varicella vaccine.

Home Remedies

People suffering from chicken pox can have an oatmeal bath. It is considered to be the most effective treatment for chicken pox found so far. Blend some oats until they turn into powder and then put them into the tub of warm water and soak your body into it for better effective results.

Oatmeal lotion can also be applied on your body which will help to soothe and naturally control the eczema thereby help you to recover gradually.

Precautions During Chicken Pox

Have a proper balanced and nourishing diet rich in vitamins and proteins as this will help in reducing the weakness that you feel during recovery period. Please avoid scratching the red spots and blisters that appear on your body as it will lead to more infection and scars. Avoid exposure to patients suffering from tuberculosis and other infectious diseases.

Questions That You Could Ask Your Doctor

People suffering from chicken pox can ask doctors questions like