Can Adults Get Chicken Pox Again?
Overview
What is chickenpox?
Chickenpox is an infection that causes a peel rash. The disease is acquired by a germ called varicella-zoster virus. (Chickenpox itself is also chosen varicella-zoster.) Most people will become the virus when they're young if they haven't had a chickenpox vaccine.
A child with chickenpox tin can easily give the virus to other children. Chickenpox today is much less common because about children are vaccinated when they are immature. Before the start vaccine against chickenpox was canonical in the U.S. in 1995, almost everyone got chickenpox. Very few had complications.
Once you lot've had chickenpox, you won't catch it once more from another person. If you lot're not vaccinated, you can go chickenpox at whatever age. Adults who get chickenpox may go very ill, so it's better to take chickenpox when you're a child, or prevent getting it past existence vaccinated.
How is chickenpox spread?
Children can get chickenpox at any age. After being exposed to chickenpox, your child may appear to be fine for one to three weeks before feeling sick. Children can spread the virus from ane day before they show signs of illness to nearly five days later on a skin rash appears.
The virus is spread past:
- Coming in contact with someone who has chickenpox.
- Breathing air from an infected person who sneezes or coughs.
- Coming in contact with fluids from an infected child'due south optics, olfactory organ or mouth.
What is the difference between smallpox and chickenpox?
Chickenpox and smallpox are both diseases that produce rashes on the pare, simply they are different. For 1 thing, smallpox is a much more serious illness, causing astringent illness and death. They are caused past different viruses.
While the two diseases both produce rashes, the rashes themselves develop at different times and the rashes expect different. Smallpox pustules expect the same as each other, while the chickenpox rash develops in waves. The individual spots don't look the aforementioned and some form scabs while others are still blistering.
There's another important divergence. A massive global vaccination program has eradicated (wiped out) smallpox.
Symptoms and Causes
What are the signs and symptoms of chickenpox?
Signs of chickenpox are easy to run into. Healthcare providers often can expect at a child's skin and know if he or she has chickenpox. Signs of chickenpox ordinarily happen in the following order:
- Fever.
- Feeling tired.
- Headache.
- A stomachache that lasts for one or two days.
- A peel rash that is very itchy and looks like many small blisters.
- Bumps filled with a liquid that looks like milky water.
- Scabs after the blisters break.
- Skin that looks blotchy.
- Spots that fade away.
Diagnosis and Tests
How is chickenpox diagnosed?
Signs of chickenpox are easy to meet. Healthcare providers often tin look at a child's skin and know if they have chickenpox.
Management and Treatment
How can I help my child with chickenpox?
Brand certain your kid gets plenty of rest and fluids. Chickenpox will go abroad on its own in a week or two. To help your child feel less itchy, y'all tin:
- Press a cool, moist rag on the rash.
- Go on your child cool.
- Encourage your child not to scratch. Trim their fingernails so they can't scratch.
- Put a lotion with antihistamines on the rash. These lotions are bachelor at the drugstore. If you don't know what to buy, ask the pharmacist for help.
- Give your child an over-the-counter (OTC) form of antihistamine. Diphenhydramine (Benadryl®) and cetirizine (Zyrtec®) are two examples of OTC antihistamines.
- Give your child a cool bath or shower every day. You can also give your child an oatmeal bathroom. When y'all're drying them off, don't rub with the towel. Pat your child dry.
Don't give your child aspirin. Aspirin tin damage children who have fevers. If your child needs a pain reliever, use acetaminophen (such every bit Tylenol®). If you're not sure what product to use, ask your healthcare provider or chemist.
To forbid dehydration, requite your child fluids. Cold fluids and a soft banal diet volition help if they have rima oris sores.
What if my baby gets chickenpox?
If your newborn baby (up to age 3 months) gets chickenpox, let your healthcare provider know right away. Chickenpox is more than dangerous to newborns than to other healthy people.
What complications are possible with chickenpox?
Complications from chickenpox are unlikely, only possible. They may include:
- Bacterial infections of the skin, claret, and soft tissues.
- Encephalitis.
- Pneumonia.
- Becoming dehydrated.
- Blood clotting or healing issues.
- Liver problems.
Who is more likely to have complications from chickenpox?
Good for you people who go chickenpox don't commonly have complications. All the same, having a severe case of chickenpox could exist more dangerous for very young babies, teenagers, pregnant people and people with immunity issues, such as transplant patients. This group too includes people with cancer or HIV or people being treated with chemotherapy or steroids.
Can chickenpox be fatal?
It's very unlikely that you will die from chickenpox. Virtually people recover without complications. Even so, people have died from chickenpox. In the U.Southward., that number has dropped to about 20 people per year later mass vaccinations from some 100 deaths per twelvemonth before vaccines were bachelor. Hospitalizations decreased 84% from over 10,000 per year.
Prevention
Can my kid get a shot to prevent chickenpox?
Yeah, there's a vaccine for chickenpox. It's recommended, and so ask your healthcare provider about the vaccine.
What should I know almost the chickenpox vaccine?
Two doses are recommended. When your child is under the historic period of thirteen, they should become one dose betwixt the ages of 12 and15 months, and the second between the ages of 4 and half-dozen years.
If you're 13 or older and never got the vaccine, you should become two doses at least 28 days apart.
In that location is a vaccine that'due south only for chickenpox called Varivax®. In that location is some other called ProQuad® that protects against measles, mumps, rubella and varicella (MMRV).
Vaccination is over 90% constructive at preventing chickenpox.
Who shouldn't get the chickenpox vaccine?
There are people who shouldn't get the chickenpox vaccine. You lot shouldn't become the chickenpox vaccine if you lot:
- Are allergic to the vaccine or to whatever part of the vaccine.
- Are significant or think you might be pregnant.
- Have problems with your immune system.
- Have tuberculosis.
- Aren't feeling well. (Get the vaccine when you feel improve.)
- Recently had a blood transfusion or any other live vaccines.
Talk with your healthcare provider most whether or not you should exist vaccinated.
Outlook / Prognosis
Can adults get chickenpox?
When children get chickenpox, their bodies fight the illness past making a substance chosen antibodies. The antibodies fight the virus and assist the body become well. These antibodies stay in your torso throughout your life. If an developed comes in contact with the virus, the antibodies are there to fight the germ.
What are shingles?
In adults, the chickenpox virus (varicella zoster) can get agile once again. When that happens, information technology causes an illness caused shingles. People "catch" shingles from their own chickenpox virus. People who take shingles can spread chickenpox to people who haven't had chickenpox. Yet, you can't become shingles unless you lot've had chickenpox.
Shingles is also called herpes zoster, simply it's not the aforementioned as genital herpes. Similar chickenpox, it looks like a rash made upwards of small bumps. Shingles can be painful and can accept a while to heal. Information technology will unremarkably go away on its ain in a week or two. There are vaccines to prevent shingles. Talk to your healthcare provider to run across which 1 is right for y'all.
Living With
When should you call your healthcare provider if your child has chickenpox?
Call your healthcare provider if your child:
- Is interim ill and has a severe headache.
- Has sores in their eyes.
- Has sores that get bigger or have pus in them.
- Has difficulty breathing or is animate very fast.
When can my child go back to school?
Your child can go back to school about vii to 10 days after the rash appears. You don't demand to wait for the scabs to heal, just y'all practice need to look until all the blisters take scabbed over. You're contagious while the blisters have fluid.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the three stages of chickenpox?
The 3 stages of chickenpox usually refer to the style the rash looks. Stage 1 is a red and bumpy rash. Stage ii is the fluid-filled blistered rash. Phase 3 is when the blisters break and scab over.
Where does chickenpox commonly start?
You normally start getting chickenpox on your face and trunk (your chest and your back). From in that location, it spreads to the rest of your trunk.
Can I get chicken pox twice?
It's rare for anyone to get chickenpox twice, merely it can happen.
How many days does information technology take to recover from chickenpox?
Chickenpox usually goes abroad afterwards 10 to 14 days.
A note from Cleveland Clinic
Before the vaccine for chickenpox was developed, the infection acquired deaths and hospitalizations. The bachelor vaccine is over xc% effective at preventing this one time-common childhood illness. If you don't get chickenpox, you won't go shingles, a painful condition that happens because the virus that causes chickenpox stays in your trunk long after the rash is gone. While there are home remedies to deal with chickenpox and shingles symptoms, vaccination makes that unnecessary.
Source: https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/4017-chickenpox
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