Routine Care & Wellness
Chickenpox
Chickenpox, also known as varicella, is a very contagious viral disease. Infected people spread it easily through the air when they sneeze or cough. The disease also spreads through contact with an infected person's chickenpox blisters. Just being in the room can infect people who have never had chickenpox with someone who has the disease. Some people who have had chickenpox may develop shingles later in life. Shingles--a common illness that strikes 1 in 5 Americans--is caused by a reactivation of the same virus that produces chickenpox.
Prevention
There is a vaccine to protect against chickenpox. Two doses of the vaccine are recommended for people 13 years and older who have not had chickenpox. Studies are underway to test whether the vaccine can help prevent the development and/or lessen the severity of shingles.
Symptoms
Early symptoms may include:
- aching
- fever
- tiredness
- irritability
- sore throat
An itchy, blister-like rash then appears which can develop into as many as 250-500 blisters. The rash may even spread into the mouth or other internal parts of the body. In people who become infected, symptoms appear between 10 and 21 days after exposure.
Vaccine Safety
Research has shown chickenpox vaccine to be safe and 80-90% effective for preventing disease and 95-100% effective in preventing severe disease. Varicella vaccine is very safe. The most common side effects are mild and may include pain and redness at the injection site. A rash may develop. As with any medicine, there are very small risks those serious problems, even death, could occur after getting a vaccine. However, the risks from the disease are much greater than the risks from the vaccine.
Who should get chickenpox vaccine?
Adolescents and adults who have not had chickenpox already, including:
- Health care workers
- College students
- Susceptible household contacts of immuno-compromised persons
- Residents and staff in institutional settings
- Inmates and staff of correctional institutions
- International travelers
- Military personnel
- Non-pregnant women of childbearing age
- Teachers and day care workers
Facts about chickenpox
- Chickenpox is contagious 1 to 2 days before the rash appears.
- Varicella vaccine can be given at the same time as the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine.
- Chickenpox (varicella) can be prevented with a vaccine.
- Less than 5% of adults are susceptible to infection with the chickenpox virus. Younger adults are more likely to be susceptible.
- Following infection, it usually takes 2 to 3 weeks before the symptoms of chickenpox begin to appear.
- Chickenpox poses a significant threat to immuno-compromised patients. The best way to prevent infection in each patient is by immunizing susceptible family members and close contacts.
- Adults are 25 times more likely to die from chickenpox than children are.
- One in fifty adults who develop chickenpox are hospitalized. Reasons for hospitalization include pneumonia, bacterial infections, and brain inflammation (encephalitis).
These facts about chicken pox are courtesy of the
National Coalition of Adult Immunization
to reach their organization, please click here for more information.
