Chicken pox throat: Chickenpox in Your Mouth: Symptoms and Treatment

01.08.202327.06.2023 by alexxlab

Chickenpox in Your Mouth: Symptoms and Treatment

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Medically reviewed by Karen Gill, M. D. — By Scott Frothingham — Updated on April 14, 2018

What is chickenpox?

Chickenpox is a highly contagious viral infection caused by the varicella-zoster virus. Along with flu-like symptoms like headache and fatigue, its most recognizable symptom is an inflamed, itchy, red rash that turns into fluid-filled blisters. The rash and blisters typically start on the face, chest, and back. They ultimately spread and cover the entire body.

In some cases, the rash may spread to the mucous membranes in your mouth. Chickenpox sores in your mouth, however, don’t look like the chickenpox blisters on your body. These sores look like raised bumps that last about a day. They then transform into ulcers that are shallow and yellow or gray in color. They also don’t crust over.

Chickenpox usually lasts less than two weeks. The majority of people who have had chickenpox are immune to having chickenpox again. There’s also a vaccine that’s considered to be about 94 percent effective, according to Vaccines. gov.

The general treatment for chickenpox is letting the disease run its course. But you can relieve symptoms by using the following:

Antihistamines such as diphenhydramine (Benadryl) can ease itchiness.
Nonaspirin pain relievers such as acetaminophen (Tylenol) can relieve fever.
Over-the-counter topical lotions or creams, such as calamine lotion, can soothe itching.
A prescription antibiotic ointment can help treat infected blisters.

Warning
Don’t give children under 18 aspirin, especially if they have a viral infection like chickenpox. The combination of viral infections and aspirin has been associated with Reye’s syndrome, a rare yet potentially deadly condition.

Treatment if it spreads to the mouth

If chickenpox blisters spread to your mouth and tongue, it will add to your discomfort. But it isn’t usually considered serious.

If you have chickenpox in your mouth, your doctor will most likely recommend one or a combination of these regimens for treatment:

Bland diet. Avoiding hot beverages and spicy, salty, and acidic foods can limit the irritation and discomfort in your mouth.
Local anesthetics. Applying a doctor-recommended local anesthetic on the interior surface of your mouth and on your tongue can block the pain caused by oral sores.
Cold food. Consuming cold drinks and foods can help numb any discomfort.
Hydration. Drinking plenty of fluids — especially water — fights off dehydration. Dehydration can worsen your symptoms.
Oral hygiene. Keeping your mouth and tongue clean with a mild toothpaste and flossing regularly will help prevent a secondary bacterial infection. Gargling with plain water will also help by washing away bacteria and debris.

Treatment if the condition is serious

If your doctor feels you have a more severe case of chickenpox, they may prescribe an antiviral medication such as acyclovir (Zovirax) or valacyclovir (Valtrex).

There’s no cure for chickenpox. But once the disease has run its course, most people are immune to chickenpox for the rest of their lives. However, the varicella-zoster virus will live on in nerve tissue.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about 1 in 3 Americans will develop another rash driven by the same chickenpox virus, called shingles. Shingles is a painful and itchy rash that typically lasts about a month.

With the highly effective chickenpox vaccine released in 1995 and aggressive vaccination program, chances are you’re in the clear. It’s becoming increasingly less likely for you to be exposed to or contract the disease.

If you do suspect that you may have been exposed to chickenpox and are worried that you’ve contracted the virus, see your doctor. They can make a quick and easy diagnosis and recommend a course of treatment.

Last medically reviewed on April 13, 2018

How we reviewed this article:

Healthline has strict sourcing guidelines and relies on peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions, and medical associations. We avoid using tertiary references. You can learn more about how we ensure our content is accurate and current by reading our editorial policy.

Chickenpox. (n.d.).
hopkinsmedicine.org/healthlibrary/conditions/infectious_diseases/chickenpox_varicella_85,P00619
Chickenpox. (2018).
medlineplus.gov/chickenpox.html
Chickenpox (varicella). (2016).
cdc.gov/chickenpox/index.html
Chickenpox (varicella). (2018).
vaccines.gov/diseases/chickenpox/index.html
Facts about chickenpox. (2015).
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2722564/
Mayo Clinic Staff. (2018). Chickenpox.
mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/chickenpox/symptoms-causes/syc-20351282
Monitoring vaccine impact of varicella vaccination. (2016).
https://www.cdc.gov/chickenpox/surveillance/monitoring-varicella.html
Shingles (herpes zoster). (2018).
cdc. gov/shingles/about/overview.html

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Medically reviewed by Karen Gill, M.D. — By Scott Frothingham — Updated on April 14, 2018

Chickenpox – Signs Of Chickenpox

What is chickenpox?

Chickenpox is a highly contagious disease caused by a virus. It is most common in children. The classic symptom is an itchy rash of red spots all over the body. Your child could have as many as 250 to 500 red spots before the virus runs its course in 5 to 7 days.

Chickenpox used to be a common childhood disease. Then a vaccine was invented to prevent it. Now there are many fewer cases.

Symptoms of chickenpox

You may not know your child has chickenpox at first. They may have flu-like symptoms to start off with. These include:

fever
drowsiness
poor appetite
headache
sore throat
stomachache

Several days later, the rash appears. It usually starts on the child’s stomach, back, and face before spreading to his or her entire body. In more severe cases, the spots can move inside your child’s throat, eyes, bottom, and vagina. The spots begin as raised bumps, turn into fluid-filled blisters, and end as scabs. They are extremely itchy. Scratching causes the blisters to break open. This can lead to infection and scars.

Most cases of chickenpox are mild. Symptoms last 5 to 7 days.

What causes chickenpox?

Chickenpox is caused by a virus called the varicella-zoster virus. You can catch it by coming in contact with someone who is infected. It is spread through touching or breathing in virus particles that have come from the blisters.

A person with chickenpox is contagious from 1 to 2 days before they develop the rash. The can pass on the disease until all of their blisters have formed scabs. This usually takes 5 to 7 days.

The varicella-zoster virus also causes a disease called shingles. This is a painful skin condition that lays dormant until you get older. It also appears as an itchy, sore rash with blisters. If you have never had chickenpox or received the chickenpox vaccine, you can catch chickenpox from someone with shingles.

How is chickenpox diagnosed?

Your doctor can generally tell if the rash is chickenpox just by looking at it. He or she may check for other flu-like symptoms. They also can test blood or test a small sample from one of the blisters.

You should call your doctor if your child:

Has difficulty breathing.
Has a fever that lasts for more than 4 days or spikes beyond 102°.
Has blisters with yellow fluid coming out from the sores.
Has blisters that feel warm or look swollen.
Has a severe headache.
Is unusually sleepy or has difficulty waking up.
Is bothered by bright lights.
Has trouble walking.
Is confused.
Is vomiting, is extremely nauseated, or has a stiff neck.

Can chickenpox be prevented or avoided?

The best way to prevent chickenpox is to get the vaccine. Children should receive the vaccination when they are 12 to 15 months old. They should get a booster vaccination between ages 4 and 6. The vaccine is 99 percent effective in protecting against the virus. On rare occasions, children who get the vaccine may still get chickenpox. But their case is usually milder than if they hadn’t gotten the vaccine.

Chickenpox is an airborne virus. It can also be spread through mucus, saliva, or by touching the fluid from the blisters. If you know a child who has chickenpox or was recently exposed to the virus, keep your child away from that friend or classmate. Keep your child home once you know he or she has chickenpox. This minimizes spreading it to others.

Adults who escaped chickenpox as a child, but have not gotten the vaccine, are at risk for getting the virus. Getting chickenpox puts you at a higher risk of getting shingles. If you’ve never had chickenpox or the vaccine, talk to your doctor. You can still get vaccinated, even as an adult.

Chickenpox treatment

A virus causes chickenpox. That means antibiotics won’t help in treating it. Doctors might prescribe an antibiotic if the spots become infected from scratching. This will depend on the age and health of your child. It will also depend on how bad the chickenpox have become in a 5-to-7-day period.

Some people with chickenpox may need antiviral medicine. Your doctor may recommend antiviral medicine if you:

Are over the age of 12.
Have chronic skin or lung disease.
Receive steroid therapy.
Are pregnant.

In most cases, the best your doctor can offer is solutions to treat the symptoms. For itching, your doctor may suggest applying a cool, wet cloth to the blisters. Do not rub the sores or they will break open. Cool or lukewarm baths also may help. Many people find that lotions and bathing products made with oatmeal help relieve itching. Using calamine lotion on areas below the face also can provide relief from itching.

If your child has mouth blisters, avoid causing the blisters to break open. Give him or her foods and drinks that are cold, soft, and bland. Topical pain relief creams approved by your doctor also can help. Keeping your child from scratching the sores will be a big challenge. Have them wear mittens or socks on their hands. This will reduce the damage from scratching with their fingernails.

If your child is experiencing pain, you can give them over-the-counter pain medicine. Do not give your child aspirin. It can cause Reye syndrome, which can cause liver failure and death. Acetaminophen (1 brand name: Tylenol) is an acceptable oral pain relief medication.

Living with chickenpox

For the short time you have chickenpox, there’s little you can do other than make yourself as comfortable as possible. Follow the guidelines in the treatment section. Limit your exposure to others.

In most cases, once you have chickenpox, you will not have it again in your lifetime. Rarely, someone may get it more than once.

Some people are at higher risk of developing serious complications from chickenpox. They include those who:

Are pregnant.
Have a weakened immune system.
Are under 1 year old.
Are over 12 years old.

Complications can include:

Pneumonia
Infection or inflammation of the brain
Bleeding problems
Infection of the blood (sepsis)
Bacterial infections of the skin
Dehydration

Some people get so sick from chickenpox that they need to stay in the hospital. In rare cases, chickenpox can cause death.

Questions to ask your doctor

How do I keep myself and others from catching chickenpox if we haven’t had a vaccine or the virus?
Can a hot shower or bath irritate the sores?
Can you catch chickenpox more than once?
Who should not receive the chickenpox vaccine?
What should I do if I think my child has been exposed to chickenpox?

Resources

U. S. National Library of Medicine, Chickenpox

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Chickenpox

Chicken pox: what you need to know?

Therapy

Chicken pox is a disease of viral origin, the causative agent of which is a specific virus with the beautiful name varicella-zoster. This virus is easily transmitted from one person (sick) to another with particles of saliva and mucus, with exhaled air vapor, i.e. by airborne droplets. The disease is referred to as the so-called “children’s” infections, but this does not mean that an adult cannot get chickenpox.

Symptoms of chickenpox

The disease begins when viruses enter the bloodstream. Suddenly, symptoms strongly resembling the flu appear, the temperature rises sharply and a rash appears – first on the scalp and on the face, and then quickly spreading throughout the body, capturing not only the skin, but also the mucous membranes: “pimples” appear in the mouth, in nose, genitals.
The rash first appears as red spots, slightly raised above the surface of the skin. Very quickly, these spots turn into bubbles filled with a clear liquid. Some romantic doctors of the last century compared them to dew drops. Soon (most often after 2 days), the integrity of the vesicles is broken, a liquid containing billions of viruses flows out of them, and an ulcer forms in place of the vesicle. The sore is covered with a crust, which later (after 6-8 days) disappears. The rash is accompanied by itching, sometimes very severe.
At the same time, it should be noted that throughout the course of the disease, more and more spots and vesicles are formed, the so-called “sprinkling”.

How to treat chickenpox?

The treatment of this disease today is not much different from past years and consists in alleviating its symptoms. It is worth noting that taking antibiotics is pointless, since they do not act on viruses. At a high temperature – above 38 – 38.5 degrees, as well as in cases where patients are prone to convulsions, doctors prescribe antipyretic drugs (paracetamol). Antihistamine (antiallergic) drugs, such as suprastin, tavegil, diphenhydramine, which reduce itching and somewhat neutralize the effect of the virus on the body, can also be prescribed. And of course, the treatment must be supplemented with the intake of multivitamin preparations, because vitamins are the few that can help children’s immunity in the fight against infection.
But the “main” medicine for chickenpox is brilliant green. She needs to process the bubbles 2 times a day. This is done in order to prevent the attachment of a bacterial infection and suppuration of skin rashes. If you don’t like brilliant green, any other antimicrobial drugs will do: methylene blue (“blue”), rivanol (yellow), fukortsin (red liquid). Rashes on the mucous membranes should be treated with a weak (pale pink) solution of potassium permanganate.

Advice for a person with chickenpox:

Frequent change of bed and underwear.
When sick, it is best to wear cotton clothing.
Bed rest.
Do not take a bath.
Plentiful drink (tea, compotes, juices, rosehip decoction, etc.).

Smallpox affects most people only once in a lifetime . After an illness, we get antibodies, thanks to which we do not have to worry about it in the future. If there are no complications, the disease usually lasts from eight days to two weeks. Traces of the disease may disappear over a longer period of time. The incubation period for smallpox is 10 to 22 days.

How to avoid scarring?

All scabs will fall off on their own and leave no residue unless a bacterial infection occurs. It is important to know that in no case should the resulting crusts be torn off.
In fairness, it should be noted that there are cases of such a severe course of the disease that scars still remain for life. To date, it is impossible to eliminate them in the future. Even the most modern cosmetology tools, such as chemical peeling, dermabrasion and others, cannot cope with this.

Category: Therapy

how to treat than gargle, photo

Contents

Causes of chickenpox in the throat
Symptoms
How to treat
Can there be complications?

When a patient has chickenpox, the body is covered with a characteristic rash – vesicles, which are distributed with varying frequency over the entire surface of the skin. This is the typical course of the disease that all patients with chickenpox expect. The appearance of chickenpox in the throat of a child and an adult raises many questions, primarily related to the treatment of a rash in hard-to-reach places.

Causes of chickenpox in the throat

Causes of chickenpox in the throat do not differ from those that provoke a rash all over the body – this is the activation of the third type of herpes virus, called Varicella-Zoster. The disease is transmitted by airborne droplets, after which the pathogen hides in the nerve endings for a while.

Varicella rash always begins on the skin – this is a classic variant of the development of the clinical manifestations of the disease. Usually chickenpox ends with this, but with a severe course of the disease in adults and children, chickenpox rashes in the throat can be found.

The appearance of a rash in the throat during chickenpox is a sign of weak immunity, since the mucous membranes are not a typical localization of the chickenpox rash. The occurrence of inflammation in the throat is a marker that the body is weakened. On average, the course of the disease in children and adults can reach three weeks.

Symptoms

The symptoms of chickenpox in the throat have their own characteristics, they are associated primarily with the specifics of the surface on which the rash appears. The mucous membrane in the oral cavity is much thinner, it is equipped with a large number of receptors, nerve endings and blood vessels.

A rash in the throat with chickenpox mainly affects the palatine area, the mucous membrane from the side of the cheeks, lips, tongue, and gums. On closer examination, as well as examination with a laryngoscope, you can see that the chickenpox rash appears deep in the throat, affecting the larynx and tonsils. With the defeat of the tonsils, the throat with chickenpox hurts the most.

Chickenpox in the throat goes through almost all stages of development. At the initial stage, patients complain of discomfort and even then they can be found in the place of redness in the throat – small red spots are randomly scattered throughout the mucous membrane. They are hyperemic, edematous, itch and hurt when touched. Already within a day, vesicles ripen on these spots – pimples in the throat, filled with transparent contents.

Chickenpox rash in throat

1 2

After some time, pimples change their appearance – the liquid inside them becomes from transparent to cloudy yellow, which means the body is fighting pathogens. Pimples with chickenpox that have already passed this stage burst, but unlike a rash on the body, when the vesicles heal in the oral cavity, crusts do not form. This is a feature of the course of the disease in the oral cavity – the crustal stage in this form of pathology is not typical, ulcers remain on the mucosa after bursting.

The surface of the mucous membrane after bursting of the bubbles is a bright red zone, devoid of epithelium. After some time, the mucous epithelializes and no scars or scars from the disease remain on its surface. The recovery time of the mucosa is individual and depends on the general condition of the body, but if you treat the throat with chickenpox, then healing will be faster.

How to treat

The treatment of chickenpox in the throat is somewhat difficult, because it is extremely inconvenient to handle the vesicles. Used for treatment are mainly solutions that gargle, as well as ointments for lubricating vesicles. It is worth noting that not only local treatment plays an important role, but also general antiviral therapy, which is carried out in case of a disease.

How to rinse

Gargling is the main form of care for a patient with a rash in the oral cavity. Rinsing will not help to eliminate the rash with chickenpox, since the vesicles that have arisen go through their stages of development, and it is no longer possible to stop the pathological process. However, rinse solutions will keep the oral mucosa and vesicles clean.

This significantly reduces the risk of bacterial infection and avoids the development of serious complications. Also, the use of local solutions can reduce inflammation and alleviate the course of the disease.

That is why rinsing solutions mainly have an antiseptic effect, have an anti-inflammatory effect. They can be used by both adults and children. It is recommended to gargle with such means:

Solution “Furacilin” – the active substance is the drug nitrofural. One tablet of the drug is diluted in half a glass of hot water until completely dissolved. When the particles no longer remain, the solution must be cooled and rinsed with the oral cavity. Rinsing can be used three times a day, alternating with the treatment of the rash in other ways.
Oil solution “Chlorophyllipt” – the main active ingredient is the essential oil of eucalyptus cineol. Cineole is an effective herbal antiseptic. For use in chickenpox in the oral cavity, a few drops of oil (how much has accumulated in the pipette) are diluted in half a glass of warm water, cooled and gargled four to five times a day.
Calendula tincture is an alcoholic preparation based on marigold flowers and calyxes. This is an effective folk remedy for rinsing. It has a powerful anti-inflammatory effect and helps to cope with unpleasant, painful sensations in the oropharynx. You can use the finished product purchased at the pharmacy. Two teaspoons of the drug are diluted in a glass of warm water and rinse the mouth and larynx well with this remedy.

Application of ointments

You can treat the throat with chickenpox not only by rinsing, but also by ointments. Mostly ointments help to heal the mucous membrane after the bubbles burst. Doctors recommend using the following products:

“Solcoseryl” – the main active ingredient is deproteinized hemoderivat, which helps to speed up the regeneration process. With the help of the drug, tissue trophism is maintained in the affected areas, cell proliferation is stimulated. You need to lubricate the rash every six hours, alternating with rinses.
“Kalgel” – the main substance is lidocaine hydrochloride and celpyridinium chloride. The tool has an analgesic effect, so it is used mainly at the stage when the bubbles are especially sensitive, or have already burst, exposing the mucous membrane. It is necessary to lubricate the surface of the vesicles several times a day.

Solcoseryl and Calgel

1 2

Can there be complications?

Complications of chickenpox in the oral cavity are quite rare. In most cases, they are associated with the addition of a bacterial infection.

Chicken pox throat: Chickenpox in Your Mouth: Symptoms and Treatment

Chickenpox in Your Mouth: Symptoms and Treatment

Treatment if it spreads to the mouth

Treatment if the condition is serious

How we reviewed this article:

Read this next

Chickenpox – Signs Of Chickenpox

What is chickenpox?

Symptoms of chickenpox

What causes chickenpox?

How is chickenpox diagnosed?

Can chickenpox be prevented or avoided?

Chickenpox treatment

Living with chickenpox

Questions to ask your doctor

Resources

Chicken pox: what you need to know?

Symptoms of chickenpox

How to treat chickenpox?

How to avoid scarring?

how to treat than gargle, photo

Causes of chickenpox in the throat

Symptoms

How to treat

How to rinse

Application of ointments

Can there be complications?

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