Chickenpox infection in children

We discuss the effects of the Varicella zoster virus, which can occasionally cause chickenpox infection in children as well as adults. Rapid spread is its characteristic. Both children and adults are susceptible, but children are more common. Direct contact, as well as airborne sneezes or coughs, can transmit the virus. Usually, the chickenpox rash in children is intense and itchy. A few days later, the blisters broke down and started to leak. Before healing, they harden and develop scabs. Chickenpox infection in children is usually mild.

Causes of Chickenpox in children
Touching someone who is infected is the most common way to get one. One to two days before your child gets blisters, the virus can infect everyone in close proximity. Until every blister has closed, VZV can infect more people. Here are several likely routes of transmission:

saliva
coughing
sneezing
contact with fluid from the blisters

You should keep your child home and let them rest until the rash goes away and all the spots dry up. Most of the time, it takes about a week. Check with your child’s doctor before sending them back to school.

Who is at risk of developing chickenpox?
It quickly and easily spreads from one sick person to another. Children younger than ten are more likely to get chickenpox. Chickenpox in children can get severe and may also be more likely to cause problems in others, like:

Infants
Adolescents
Adults
People who are pregnant
People with weakened immune systems (body’s ability to fight germs and sickness) caused by disease or medication.

If a pregnant mother has never had chickenpox before becoming pregnant, her child may also contract it. Effective transmission of chickenpox occurs one to two days before the first signs appear, until all the sores have crusted over.

Signs and Symptoms

Early-stage chickenpox

A mild case of chickenpox has recognizable symptoms. Because of the blisters, it’s easy to identify chickenpox symptoms. If a child has chickenpox, a doctor usually knows by checking their skin. The following noticeable symptoms of chickenpox can appear several days before the rash:

Body aches

A low-level fever

Feeling very tired
Loss of appetite
Headache

Chickenpox rash
Rashes that grow quickly and cause itching are the most common side effect of chickenpox. However your child’s spots or rashes may appear anywhere on their body, they usually begin on the face, chest, and back.

In the worst situations, they may develop in the eyes, lips, or other private parts.

Stage 1: A red face and a quick temper. This might keep going for a few days.
Stage 2: The skin develops a liquid-filled, itchy rash. The sores will burst in a day or two.
Stage 3: The blisters will scab over. This stage also lasts a few days.

At times, your child may have all three disease stages. This means that some bumps may be getting bigger, while others may have already started to open up. The overall recklessness can persist for a period of ten days.

Complications

The chickenpox infection in children is usually mild. However, sometimes it leads to major effects and can cause various health concerns, such as:

Bacterial infections of the skin, soft tissues, bones, joints, or circulation.
Pneumonia, which attacks one or both lungs
Encephalitis, a condition known as swelling of brain.
Reye’s syndrome, which causes enlargement in the liver and brain. Children and teenagers who take aspirin for chickenpox may experience this.

When to seek immediate medical care?

If your kid suffers any of the following side effects or develops a chicken pox rash, make sure to see a doctor:

Feeling dizzy and disoriented
Muscle tremors or soreness
Rash that has spread to the eye
Increased heart rate
Worse cough
Sore throat

How to manage your child infection at home?

The following tips are provided by dermatologists to assist you in caring to a child who has chickenpox:

Give the child some space. As chickenpox in children is infectious, you should keep your child at homes and restrict their contact with others until all of their blisters have healed and no new blisters appear. The blisters take a week or two to become scabs.
Make baths with colloidal oatmeal. Colloidal cereal, available online and at your neighborhood pharmacy, helps reduce itching to some extent. Fill the tub with cold, not hot, water and then add the colloidal oatmeal under the tap.
Apply an odorless calamine lotion, petrol jelly, or products that relive itching. Since chickenpox is a viral illness, applying an anti-infection ointment or therapy to your child’s skin is not advised unless advised by a professional doctor.
Reduce the body temperature. Consider taking paracetamol, a medication that doesn’t treat headaches. Do not give the drug mentioned below to a child who has chickenpox in order to lower fever:

pain relievers or products that contain aspirin
ibuprofen

A child may develop Reye’s syndrome, a rare disorder that can harm or even kill the brain and liver, if they have chickenpox and take headache medication. Ibuprofen use carries the danger of potentially deadly skin infection.

Reduce itching. Give your child an over the counter (OTC) allergy medication especially prepared for children that is meant to be taken orally. Use the amount that is mentioned by doctor and follow the label’s instructions at all times. It is important to avoid giving your child topical allergy medication, as this might result in an adverse effect.
Check that your child’s fingernails are short. This will lessen the chance of picking at the blisters and any resultant skin diseases. Cover children’s hands with mittens or gloves to so that they can be avoided from scratching themselves. Make sure that your child doesn’t scratch their chickenpox otherwise this will leave scars.
Make sure your children are getting sufficient water to drink. Make sure your child drinks enough of water to help in the body’s faster removal of the illness. Moreover, it will protect the body from dehydration.

Prevention
There is a vaccine against chickenpox. The vaccine is given in two doses for chickenpox infection in children. When your child is less than 13 years old, they should receive a single portion between the ages of one year and fifteen months. The child then receives the second dose between the ages of four and six. Chickenpox vaccination is also given in combination with other vaccines. It may also work as a standalone vaccine.
These children who have never had chickenpox should also get the vaccine. If your child is 13 years old or older and has never had the vaccine, you should get two doses with a gap of about 28 days. Immunization Work with 90% success rate against chickenpox.