$Unique_ID{PAR00036}
$Pretitle{}
$Title{Medical Advice:  Chicken Pox}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{
Editors of Consumer Guide
Chasnoff, Ira J}
$Subject{Chicken Pox Rash blisters blister pocks Fever steroids tender lymph
nodes bruise bruises broken blood vessels scab scabs contagious virus viruses
vaccine vaccines spot spots pock insect bite bites skin scalp mucous membranes
mouth genitals anus eyelids itchy calamine lotion phenol Aspirin Encephalitis
prostration collapse headache vomiting convulsions newborns}
$Log{}

Your Child:  A Medical Guide


Chicken Pox


     Quick Reference

     SYMPTOMS
     - Rash with blisters (pocks)
     - Fever
     - Mild cold symptoms

     HOME CARE
     - Isolate the child.
     - Cut the child's fingernails to lessen scratching.
     - Bathe the child in lukewarm water with cornstarch added.
     - Apply calamine lotion--without phenol--to the skin with a soft cloth.
     - Give acetaminophen--not aspirin--for fever or pain.

     PRECAUTIONS
     - Do not give aspirin to a child with chicken pox.
     - If a high fever, prostration (collapse), headache, vomiting, or
       convulsions develop, see your doctor immediately.
     - If an infant is exposed to chicken pox or develops it, call your
       doctor.
     - If a child who is taking steroids or similar drugs or who has unusually
       low resistance to disease is exposed to chicken pox, call your doctor.
     - If the pocks become infected (show increasing redness, soreness, and
       pus), call your doctor.
     - If lymph nodes become red and tender, call your doctor.
     - If bruises or broken blood vessels appear under the skin (but there has
       been no injury), see your doctor.
     - Avoid breaking the blisters or disturbing the scabs, since scarring can
       occur.


     Chicken pox is caused by a highly contagious virus.  The chicken pox
virus is transmitted by contact with a person who has the disease or via
droplets or airborne particles from such a person.  Symptoms may appear within
12 to 21 days after being exposed to a person with chicken pox.  One attack of
chicken pox makes a person immune for life, unless the attack is extremely
mild.  A vaccine to prevent chicken pox has recently been developed but is not
available for general use.

SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS

     Chicken pox may start with the symptoms of a mild cold, but often a rash
is the first sign.  The rash worsens for three to four days and then heals in
three to four days.  The child is contagious from 24 hours before the rash
appears until all blisters of the rash have dried.  Fever can be low or as
high as 105 degrees_F; fever is the worst on the third or fourth day after the
appearance of the rash.
     The key symptom of chicken pox is the rash.  Each new spot, or pock,
resembles an insect bite.  Within hours the pock develops a small clear
blister in the center, which may be hard to see without good light.  Most
blisters break and are replaced by a brown scab.  The rash usually begins on
the trunk and moves outward to the limbs and face.  However, the rash may
appear anywhere on the skin, including the scalp and the mucous membranes of
the mouth, genitals, anus, and eyelids.  It becomes quite itchy.  The pocks
never appear in bunches or groups.  New pocks continue to appear for three to
four days.

HOME CARE

     Bed rest is not necessary, but your child should be isolated from other
people.  Cut the child's fingernails to lessen scratching.  To reduce the
itching, bathe your child in lukewarm water with cornstarch added, or apply
calamine lotion (without phenol) to the skin.  Give acetaminophen--not
aspirin--for fever or pain.

PRECAUTIONS

  -  Do not give aspirin to a child with chicken pox.  Aspirin use during
     chicken pox may be a factor causing Reye's syndrome, which is a
     life-threatening illness.
  -  Encephalitis (inflammation of the brain) is a rare complication of
     chicken pox.  If high fever, prostration (collapse), headache, vomiting,
     or convulsions occur, see your doctor immediately.
  -  Chicken pox can be dangerous to newborns.  If a young infant is exposed
     to chicken pox or develops chicken pox, call your doctor.
  -  Chicken pox is also dangerous to persons taking steroids or other
     immunosuppressant drugs and to children with immune mechanism
     deficiencies, which hinder the child's ability to fight infectious
     diseases.  If such a child develops chicken pox or is exposed to it, call
     your doctor.
  -  Even if a child has already been exposed to someone with chicken pox,
     prevent any further exposure.  The longer the exposure is, the more
     severe the case of chicken pox will be.
  -  If the pocks become infected (characterized by increasing redness,
     soreness, and formation of pus), call your doctor.
  -  The lymph nodes of the neck, armpits, groin, and back of the skull
     ordinarily swell with chicken pox; however, if they become red and
     tender, they may be infected.  Report this to your doctor.
  -  Do not apply calamine lotion with phenol.
  -  When your child is bathed, pat the skin dry without breaking the blisters
     or disturbing the scabs to avoid scarring.
  -  If spontaneous bruises (bruises not caused by injuries) appear, or if
     ruptured blood vessels appear under the skin, see your doctor.

MEDICAL TREATMENT

     If pocks have become infected, your doctor will usually culture material
from the infected pocks and will treat your child with oral antibiotics for
five to ten days.  (Antibiotics do not influence the course of chicken pox,
however; they work only against the secondary infection.)  If there are signs
of encephalitis, your child will probably be hospitalized for tests and
treatment.  Spontaneous bleeding under the skin may be treated with oral
medications, or your doctor may order hospitalization.
     If a child at high risk is exposed to chicken pox, your doctor will
probably give him or her an injection of zoster immune globulin.

RELATED TOPICS:  Bruises; Encephalitis; Rashes; Reye's syndrome