How do symptoms of chickenpox differ from hand, foot and mouth disease. What are the main treatment approaches for each condition. Can these viral infections lead to complications. How to distinguish between chickenpox and hand, foot and mouth disease in children.

Understanding Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease

Hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) is a highly contagious viral infection that primarily affects young children but can also occur in adults. It is caused by viruses from the enterovirus genus, most commonly the coxsackievirus. The disease spreads through close personal contact, respiratory droplets, and contact with contaminated surfaces.

Symptoms of Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease

The initial symptoms of HFMD typically include:

• Sore throat
• Fever
• Loss of appetite
• Stomach aches
• Flu-like symptoms (e.g., aching limbs)

After a few days, the characteristic signs of HFMD appear:

• Spots and blisters on hands, feet, and face
• Mouth ulcers
• Rash (which may appear elsewhere on the body)

These sores can be painful or itchy and eventually crust over. The infected person remains contagious until all spots have crusted over.

Treatment for Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease

HFMD is usually a self-limiting condition that can be managed at home. Here are some treatment approaches:

1. Ensure adequate fluid intake to prevent dehydration
2. Use over-the-counter pain relievers like acetaminophen for fever and discomfort
3. Apply teething gels to soothe mouth ulcers in babies
4. Use topical creams or lotions like Virasoothe or calamine to relieve itching
5. Offer cold foods like yogurt to ease painful mouth ulcers

If symptoms worsen or complications arise, it’s essential to seek medical advice.

Exploring Chickenpox: Causes and Symptoms

Chickenpox is a common viral infection caused by the varicella-zoster virus. It is highly contagious and can spread through respiratory droplets or contact with fluid from blisters. While it primarily affects children under ten, it can occur at any age.

Recognizing Chickenpox Symptoms

The main symptoms of chickenpox include:

• A characteristic rash of flat or slightly raised red spots that turn into fluid-filled blisters
• High temperature
• Aches and pains
• Headache
• Sore throat
• Loss of appetite

The rash typically spreads across the entire body, distinguishing it from HFMD, where lesions are mostly confined to hands, feet, and face.

Managing Chickenpox at Home

Like HFMD, chickenpox can usually be managed at home. Here are some treatment strategies:

1. Ensure adequate fluid intake
2. Administer liquid paracetamol for pain and fever relief
3. Encourage rest
4. Prevent scratching to avoid infection (wearing smooth, cotton fabrics and mittens for young children can help)
5. Use antihistamines like chlorphenamine (Piriton) to relieve itching in adults

It’s crucial to avoid ibuprofen during chickenpox, as it can lead to serious complications. If fever persists despite these measures, seek medical advice.

Comparing Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease with Chickenpox

While both HFMD and chickenpox are viral infections that cause rashes, there are several key differences:

• Causative agent: HFMD is caused by enteroviruses, while chickenpox is caused by the varicella-zoster virus
• Rash distribution: HFMD lesions are mostly on hands, feet, and face, while chickenpox rash spreads across the entire body
• Rash appearance: HFMD causes spots, blisters, and mouth ulcers, while chickenpox produces a distinctive rash that progresses from spots to fluid-filled blisters
• Age of onset: HFMD is more common in young children but can affect adults, while chickenpox primarily affects children under ten but can occur at any age

Distinguishing between these conditions can be challenging, especially in milder cases. The diagnosis often relies on recent exposure history and the specific characteristics of the outbreak.

Potential Complications of Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease

While HFMD is generally a mild illness, it can lead to complications in some cases:

Dehydration

Painful mouth ulcers can make drinking difficult, potentially leading to dehydration. How can you prevent dehydration in children with HFMD? Offer small, frequent sips of water or clear fluids, and use straws to bypass painful areas in the mouth.

Secondary Bacterial Infections

If blisters become infected, antibiotics may be necessary. What signs indicate a secondary bacterial infection? Look for increased redness, swelling, warmth, or pus around the blisters.

Rare Neurological Complications

In rare cases, HFMD can lead to more serious neurological complications:

• Viral meningitis: inflammation of the lining around the brain and spinal cord
• Encephalitis: inflammation of the brain

These complications are extremely rare but require immediate medical attention. What symptoms should prompt immediate medical care? Severe headache, stiff neck, confusion, or seizures warrant urgent medical evaluation.

Severe Forms of HFMD

Enterovirus 71 can occasionally cause a more severe form of HFMD, although this is uncommon in the UK. How does this severe form differ from typical HFMD? It may involve more widespread rash, higher fever, and a greater risk of neurological complications.

Complications Associated with Chickenpox

While chickenpox is often considered a mild childhood illness, it can lead to various complications:

Skin Infections

Scratching chickenpox blisters can lead to bacterial skin infections. How can you prevent skin infections in chickenpox? Keep nails short, discourage scratching, and consider using mittens for young children at night.

Pneumonia

Chickenpox can occasionally lead to pneumonia, particularly in adults. What symptoms suggest pneumonia in chickenpox? Persistent cough, chest pain, and difficulty breathing require prompt medical attention.

Encephalitis

In rare cases, chickenpox can cause inflammation of the brain. What are the signs of encephalitis in chickenpox? Severe headache, confusion, seizures, or changes in behavior warrant immediate medical care.

Risks for Specific Groups

Chickenpox can be more severe in certain populations:

• Pregnant women
• Newborns
• People with weakened immune systems

These groups should seek medical advice promptly if exposed to or infected with chickenpox.

Prevention Strategies for HFMD and Chickenpox

While both HFMD and chickenpox are highly contagious, there are strategies to reduce transmission:

Hand Hygiene

Regular handwashing is crucial in preventing the spread of both infections. How often should hands be washed? Wash hands frequently, especially after using the bathroom, changing diapers, and before preparing or eating food.

Isolation

Keeping infected individuals away from others can help contain the spread. How long should isolation last? For both conditions, isolation should continue until all lesions have crusted over, typically about 5-6 days.

Environmental Cleaning

Disinfecting surfaces and shared items can reduce transmission. What should be cleaned? Focus on frequently touched surfaces, toys, and personal items of the infected person.

Vaccination

While there is no vaccine for HFMD, a chickenpox vaccine is available. Why isn’t the chickenpox vaccine routinely offered on the NHS? Chickenpox is often viewed as a mild, necessary part of childhood, and there are concerns about potential shifts in disease patterns with widespread vaccination.

When to Seek Medical Attention

While both HFMD and chickenpox can usually be managed at home, certain situations warrant medical attention:

For Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease

• Signs of dehydration (dry mouth, decreased urination, lethargy)
• High fever that doesn’t respond to over-the-counter medications
• Severe mouth sores that interfere with drinking
• Signs of secondary bacterial infection
• Neurological symptoms (severe headache, stiff neck, confusion)

For Chickenpox

• High fever that persists or returns after initial improvement
• Signs of skin infection (increased redness, swelling, warmth around blisters)
• Difficulty breathing or persistent cough
• Severe headache or confusion
• Chickenpox in pregnant women, newborns, or immunocompromised individuals

When in doubt, it’s always best to consult with a healthcare provider for personalized advice.

Long-term Health Implications

While both HFMD and chickenpox are typically acute illnesses, they can have long-term health implications in some cases:

Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease

HFMD rarely has long-term consequences, but in some cases:

• Nail loss: Some children may experience temporary nail loss weeks after the infection
• Recurrence: While uncommon, some individuals may experience recurrent HFMD infections

Does HFMD provide long-term immunity? While infection provides some immunity, it’s possible to contract HFMD multiple times due to different causative viruses.

Chickenpox

Chickenpox can have more significant long-term implications:

• Shingles: The varicella-zoster virus remains dormant in nerve cells and can reactivate later in life as shingles
• Scarring: Severe cases or secondary infections can lead to permanent scarring
• Pneumonia: In rare cases, chickenpox pneumonia can cause long-term lung damage

Does chickenpox provide lifelong immunity? While chickenpox typically confers lifelong immunity, rare cases of reinfection have been reported, particularly in immunocompromised individuals.

Understanding these potential long-term effects underscores the importance of proper management and prevention strategies for both HFMD and chickenpox.

What is the difference between hand, foot and mouth disease and chickenpox?

Nurseries make natural places for coughs, colds and other viruses to spread easily between children. Illnesses such as chickenpox and hand, foot and mouth disease are common viral infections and have similar symptoms – so how can you tell the difference between them?

What’s the difference between hand, foot and mouth disease and chickenpox?

What is hand, foot and mouth disease?

Hand, foot, and mouth disease is a highly contagious infection that is common in children but can also affect adults. It’s caused by viruses from the enterovirus genus – viruses that cause a number of infectious illnesses which are usually mild – most commonly the coxsackievirus. It spreads via coughs, sneezes, poo and the fluid filled in the blisters.

What is chickenpox?

Chickenpox is a common infection caused by the varicella zoster virus. You can catch it by being in the same room as someone with it, but it is also spread by touching things that have fluid from the blisters on them. Children under ten are most likely to catch chickenpox, but you can be affected at any age.

Hand, foot and mouth vs chickenpox

It can be very difficult to know whether someone has hand, foot and mouth or chickenpox; especially if they have milder forms of chickenpox. Essentially it may be based on who you have been in contact with and what the outbreak is to know for sure – but usually it is a best guess. Both illnesses can be treated similarly – stay away from people until all the lesions are crusted over – which is usually at about five to six days.

Why isn’t the chickenpox vaccine available on the NHS?

Chickenpox is sometimes seen as a necessary part of childhood. However, whilst the condition is …

What are the symptoms of chickenpox vs. hand foot and mouth disease, how to treat it and the complications.

Hand, foot, and mouth disease symptoms

The first signs of hand, foot and mouth disease are a sore throat, fever, loss of appetite, stomach aches, or flu-like symptoms such as aching limbs.

After a few days, spots, blisters, mouth ulcers or a rash will appear. Often these sores appear on the hands, feet, on the face and in the mouth, but they can appear elsewhere too. They can be painful or itchy and will eventually crust over.

In hand, foot and mouth disease, the spots are mostly confined to the hands, feet and face. However, the rash caused by chickenpox often spreads across the body. Your child will remain infectious until all the spots have crusted over.

How to treat hand, foot and mouth disease

Hand, foot and mouth disease can usually be managed at home. Make sure your child drinks plenty of fluids to prevent dehydration and if they have a high temperature, calpol can help.

Teething gels can help soothe mouth ulcers in babies. Topical gels and creams such as Virasoothe and calamine lotion can help soothe itchy rashes. Cold foods like yoghurts can help painful mouth ulcers. However, if your child becomes more unwell, contact your GP or 111 for advice.

Can hand, foot and mouth cause complications?

Dehydration can occur because blisters in your mouth can make drinking hurt. If the blisters become infected, your child may need antibiotics.

In rare cases, people with hand, foot, and mouth disease get viral meningitis – inflammation of the lining around your brain and spinal cord – or encephalitis, an inflammation of the brain¹. Another virus called enterovirus 71 can occasionally cause a more severe form of hand, foot and mouth disease, but it is uncommon in the UK².

Chickenpox symptoms

Chickenpox causes a rash, which consists of flat or slightly raised red spots. These gradually turn into blisters. Chickenpox can also cause a high temperature, aches and pains, headache, sore throat and a loss of appetite.

How to treat chickenpox

Most of the time, liquid paracetamol, rest and time is the only way to get a child through a bout of illness. If a young child has chickenpox, you’ll usually be able to manage the symptoms at home, without seeking medical help.

It’s important to drink enough fluids and to avoid scratching the spots, as they can become infected. Wearing smooth, cotton fabrics can help and young children might benefit from wearing mittens overnight to reduce scratching.

Paracetamol can help relieve pain and fever in children. In adults, painkillers such as paracetamol can also help. The antihistamine chlorphenamine – often sold as Piriton – can help relieve itching in adults. However, they’re not suitable for children under the age of one.

Ibuprofen should never be given during a bout of chickenpox as there can be very serious complications. If the fever is not going down using simple measures or with paracetamol, contact your doctor or 111.

Can chickenpox cause complications?

Chickenpox spots can become infected from scratching. Signs include a high temperature and redness and pain around the spots. It’s important to seek urgent medical help if you or your child develop these symptoms. Chickenpox can be more serious in adults, newborns, those who are pregnant, the elderly and in people who have a weakened immune system.

If you’ve had chickenpox, the virus will stay in your body for the rest of your life, which can provide you with immunity. Sometimes, however, the virus can ‘wake up’ and trigger shingles, an infection that causes a painful rash. You can catch chickenpox from someone with shingles if you haven’t already had chickenpox, but not the other way round.

Rare complications of chickenpox can include pneumonia (lung infection), hepatitis (liver infection) and encephalitis³.

If a fever lasts more than five days, this can indicate a bacterial infection or other complications to do with chicken pox and people should be seen at their nearest emergency department.

Further reading

1. Guerra et al: Hand, foot and mouth disease

2. Nayak et al: Global emergence of Enterovirus 71: A systematic review.

3. National Institute for Health and Care Excellence: Chickenpox: What are the complications?

Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease: Symptoms and Treatment

How to wash your hands effectively in 20 seconds

How to wash your hands effectively in 20 seconds to help prevent viruses from spreading.

View transcript

Step 1: Wet your hands under warm running water.

Step 2: Apply a small amount of liquid soap to your hands.

Step 3: Rub your hands together vigorously. Make sure you apply soap and water to all surfaces of your hands for at least 20 seconds, and up to one minute. Make sure you rub your palms, the backs of your hands, between your fingers, your fingertips, thumbs, wrists and nails.

Step 4: Then rinse your hands under running water.

Step 5: Dry your hands thoroughly using a hand dryer or disposable paper towel.

Step 6: Turn the tap off using a disposable paper towel or your elbow. This is to avoid re-contaminating your hands with any lingering germs.

Once your hands are clean and feeling dry you can use a moisturising cream. Stick to using your own moisturising cream on clean hands, and avoid sharing it with others.

Hand, foot and mouth disease is a common childhood viral illness, especially in children under 10 and those under four. But people of any age can get it, including adults.

It causes blisters on your hands and feet, and ulcers in your mouth. But, it is generally mild and you usually recover within a week or two.

Hand, foot and mouth disease is usually caused by a group of viruses called the coxsackieviruses. These viruses are very easily spread from one person to another through coughing or sneezing, or from direct contact with fluid from blisters. The viruses are also present in an infected person’s poo, and can spread the illness if they don’t wash their hands properly after going to the toilet.

See our Causes of hand, foot and mouth disease section for more information.

With hand, foot and mouth disease, you tend to get blisters on your hands and feet, and blisters or ulcers in your mouth.

With chickenpox, you’ll usually get spots all over your body, face, scalp, arms and legs. The spots gradually progress to blisters – and then eventually crust over. They’re also very itchy, whereas the blisters you get with hand, foot and mouth disease don’t tend to itch as much.

Children should only stay home if they are unwell. Official guidance is that they don’t need to be kept away from nursery or school if they feel well. Different child-care providers may have their own rules though, so you should check with your child’s nursery or school.

It’s possible, although most adults are immune to the viruses that most commonly cause the disease.

However, there are several different viruses that cause hand, foot and mouth disease. Even if you’re immune to one, you could become infected with another – and you may then develop hand, foot and mouth disease again.

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• Hand, foot and mouth disease. NICE Clinical Knowledge Summary. cks.nice.org.uk, last updated November 2015
• Hand-foot-and-mouth disease. BMJ Best Practice. bestpractice.bmj.com, last reviewed September 2020
• Oxford Handbook of General Practice (5th edition) Oxford Medicine Online. oxfordmedicine.com, published June 2020
• Dentinox teething gel. Electronic Medicines Compendium. medicines.org.uk, last updated September 2018
• Hand, foot and mouth disease. Patient patient.info, last updated July 2015
• Benzydamine hydrochloride. Nice British National Formulary for Children. bnfc.nice.org.uk, accessed October 2020
• Choline salicylate. Nice British National Formulary for Children. bnfc.nice.org.uk, accessed October 2020
• Chickenpox. NICE Clinical Knowledge Summary. cks.nice.org.uk, last updated August 2018
• Hand, foot, and mouth disease. Center for Disease Control and Prevention. cdc.gov, last reviewed July 2015
• Factsheet on hand, foot and mouth. Public Health England. nationalarchives.gov.uk, last reviewed August 2013

Reviewed by Liz Woolf, Freelance Health Editor and Marcella McEvoy, Health Content Team, November 2020
Expert reviewer, Dr Adrian Raby, General Practitioner
Next review due November 2023

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Do you have a rash or itching? Recognizing Monkeypox

• Michelle Roberts
• BBC

25 May 2022

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Image copyright Getty Images

Skin rashes and bumps can have many causes. Monkeypox is one of them, but this condition is extremely rare.

We have collected the main signs of the disease and advice on how to behave in this situation.

Could it be monkeypox?

First of all, ask yourself what is the probability that you could be infected. This requires very close and long contact with an infected person.

Very few people in the world have been diagnosed with this disease at the moment, and the chances of encountering one of them are minimal.

Even in remote areas of a number of African countries, where outbreaks of monkeypox occur periodically, people are extremely rarely infected.

But if you do get infected, the first symptoms will be like those of the flu – fatigue, fever, and a general shaky state. Doctors call this the “invasive period” of the disease, when the infection takes hold in the cells of the body.

The immune system is activated, causing the patient’s tonsils to become inflamed.

And only after that a rash appears, which goes through several stages. At first, red spots appear on the skin, but the skin itself remains smooth. Then the rash becomes voluminous, the spots turn into blisters (papules), and then into scabs.

Image copyright, UKHSA

Image caption,

Monkeypox rash looks very similar to chickenpox or syphilis. It also goes through various stages until it turns into a scab.

As Dr. Rosamund Lewis of the United Nations Emergency Program explains, in the papular stage, the lesions resemble pustules, filling with a cloudy white liquid.

Then they begin to dry out and become covered with crusts, which fall off when completely healed.

“It’s easy to confuse this process with chickenpox,” says Lewis.

• Monkeypox: virus did not mutate, WHO says
• Monkeypox has been identified in Israel and Switzerland. There are already 15 such countries in total

Monkeypox usually first affects the face and in some cases the oral cavity, then the arms, legs, hands, feet, and lastly the body.

In some recent cases, lesions have also been observed in the genital area.

Dr. Lewis warns that in such places the rash may not always be visible, as it is hidden under the hair. Also, its color depends on the skin tone of the infected person.

It should be remembered that with certain rashes, the infection is transmitted through the bedding and clothing of the patient.

“It’s not easy to recognize the different types of rashes. Therefore, if you have the slightest suspicion, see a doctor and follow his advice,” urges Tanya Blaker, President of the UK Dermatology Association.

What else could a rash be?

There are many options, but the most common ones have certain characteristics.

Chicken pox

Image copyright Getty Images

This kind of rash is usually very itchy. It goes through the usual stages – from speck to scab. Although such cases are rare, an adult can get chickenpox again, even if he had it in childhood. True, the reactivation of the varicella-zoster virus does not provoke chickenpox as such, but shingles. It also causes a rash, which is usually very painful.

Scabies

Photo credit, SPL

Scabies is caused by mites that lay eggs on the skin. This causes intense itching and redness. The rash can appear anywhere on the body, but more often starts between the fingers. With scabies on the skin, you can notice the grooves that the tick makes. However, this disease is not dangerous, it is highly contagious and requires treatment.

Bed bugs or insect bites

Image copyright, Getty Images

Bed bugs can be found in bedding or in the mattress you sleep on. The bugs themselves are tiny, so you might not notice them. Their bites, like those of many other insects, are red and itchy. More often they are located in a line, but sometimes – as a cluster of red dots.

Sexually transmitted infections such as syphilis or genital herpes

Image copyright Getty Images

Image caption,

Herpes can affect the lips and mouth

Syphilis is a bacterial infection, while herpes is a viral infection. Both are sexually transmitted. The first sign of both diseases is blisters. If you suspect that you have one of the sexually transmitted diseases, it is important to get tested and start treatment as soon as possible.

Urticaria/Allergy

Image copyright, Getty Images

This itchy, burning red rash is a skin reaction to something the body considers a threat. Sometimes the causative agent cannot be identified, but usually the cause of such a rash is the consumption of certain foods, medicines, or contact with certain plants or chemicals.

Mollusk

Image copyright Getty Images

This is a common viral infection often seen in children. It is harmless, but can spread throughout the body in the form of seals with a depression in the middle, which are very itchy. Their accumulations, as a rule, occur in the armpit, under the knees or in the groin. Infection usually occurs by contact with the skin of an infected person or by touching contaminated objects such as towels.

FMD of the hands, feet and mouth

Image copyright Getty Images

This acute viral disease is spread by airborne droplets and objects touched by an infected person, such as eating utensils. The first symptoms are similar to the flu, then the damage to the mucous membranes of the mouth and nose begins, after which the virus spreads to the palms and feet. Usually the disease goes away on its own.

Impetigo

Image copyright Getty Images

This highly contagious bacterial infection usually attacks already broken skin, causing ulcers and weeping, crusted blisters – often on the face. Although the appearance of this disease can be frightening, it is easily treated with an antibiotic cream.

Chickenpox

Chickenpox is a contagious infectious disease caused by a virus that most often occurs in children, sometimes among previously ill adults. After the infection, stable lifelong immunity is developed.

How does the virus enter the body?

The virus enters the body through the upper respiratory tract and invades the epithelial cells of the mucous membrane. Then the virus penetrates into the blood and is fixed in the skin, causing a pathological process in its surface layer: limited expansion of capillaries (stain), serous edema (papule), detachment of the epidermis (vesicle).

How quickly do symptoms of the disease appear after infection?

The incubation period (the period of infection before the onset of clinical manifestations of the disease) in chickenpox lasts up to 21 days. An infected person becomes contagious 2-3 days before the first rash appears on the body. The patient remains contagious until the new eruptions stop and all the old ones have crusted over.

What are the symptoms of chickenpox?

The disease often begins with trembling, fever, abdominal pain, headache and general malaise. Rashes appear on the face, scalp and are very similar to small pimples, which after a while turn into small bubbles. Later, the bubbles burst and tighten with a crust. Pimples, vesicles, and crusts can be present on the body of a sick person at the same time. A typical location of the rash is the chest and skin of the abdomen, arms and legs, face and even the scalp. Sometimes rashes appear on the mucous membrane of the mouth, eyelids, in the genital area and anus. The body temperature rises, which stabilizes for 3-5 days. Rashes differ in frequency and last 3-4 days. As a rule, the crusts that form at the sites of the vesicles fall off on the 7-14th day from the moment the first rash appears.

In children 7 to 15 years of age and adults, the rash appears 1 to 2 days later than in children and may be more severe. The crusts are rejected much later. In most patients, the vesicles turn into pustules with purulent or purulent-hemorrhagic contents. Symptoms of the disease are characteristic: more pronounced intoxication and fever, which lasts longer. Combing the blisters contributes to the formation of depressions on the skin, which do not heal well and form chickenpox scars – smallpox.

How does the disease progress and what should be done about it?

In children, chickenpox is usually mild, but it is much more serious than a simple runny nose and cough. With a mild form, the temperature rises to 37.5-38.5 ° C, symptoms of intoxication are practically absent, rashes are not plentiful.

In the moderate form, the body temperature reaches 39°C, the symptoms of intoxication are moderate, rashes are plentiful, including on the mucous membranes. With this form, the disease does not cause complications.

In the smallest, who constantly scratch the vesicles (vesicles), thereby introducing microbes into the scratched wounds, a secondary pustular infection may join, which happens often. To speed up the healing process of wounds and prevent infection, certain rules and recommendations should be followed. From the first day of the appearance of rashes, you can take baths with a weak solution of potassium permanganate. It is necessary to change underwear and bed linen daily. To prevent scratching the bubbles, the baby should cut his nails in time and periodically wash his hands with soap, at night you can put thin cotton mittens or gloves on his hands. It is impossible to remove the crusts on your own, as rough and ugly scars on the skin may remain.

A severe course is observed in newborns, in people taking hormonal drugs, suffering from severe somatic diseases (diabetes mellitus, immunodeficiency states, bronchial asthma, peptic ulcer, etc.). In severe cases, internal organs can be affected, body temperature rises to higher numbers (up to 40 ° C), which, in turn, can lead to convulsions and rashes with hemorrhages. This can even lead to death.

What are the possible complications?

Chickenpox complications are more common in adolescents and adults, including pregnant women. As a complication of the disease, pneumonia, brain damage (headache, confusion, increased sensitivity to light, nausea), heart, kidney, eye, up to loss of vision, etc. can develop. Sometimes chickenpox is complicated by inflammation of the joints and muscle pain, continuing throughout the entire period of the rash. Very rarely, chickenpox is complicated by inflammation of the optic nerve or spinal cord.

In the first trimester of pregnancy, chickenpox is dangerously high risk of fetal damage (more than 25%). Chicken pox is also dangerous for newborns if, shortly before the birth, the pregnant woman had chicken pox or up to one month after the birth.

What should I do if I have symptoms of illness?

If you develop any signs of illness, you should contact your doctor immediately. In severe general condition and severe skin manifestations, hospitalization may be required. It is necessary to drink cool liquids, for mouth ulcers, eat a sparing diet, avoid eating salty foods, as well as citrus fruits and juices.

Do not take aspirin if you have a fever! If the temperature is above 38 degrees for more than 4 days, you need to re-consult a doctor.

What measures are available to prevent chickenpox?

In children’s institutions, a sick child is isolated from the first days of the disease until recovery at home. Children who were in close contact with the patient are observed by health workers 21 days after the last case of the disease. If the date of contact with a person diagnosed with chickenpox is set accurately, children under 7 years of age are admitted to preschool education within 10 calendar days, from 11 to 21 days, isolation at home is provided.

At home, the patient’s room should be ventilated frequently and wet cleaned with detergent.

However, the most reliable and effective way of prevention is vaccination, which can be given to children older than 1 year old at the children’s clinic at the place of residence on a paid basis. Vaccination is also recommended for persons who have not previously had chickenpox, but who have been in contact with patients. If you want your child not to get sick, then vaccinate him!

Author: Petrovich I.