Chickenpox, also called varicella, is a common, generally mild, contagious disease of children. The attack may be so mild that it is not recognized. However, chickenpox may kill children receiving radiation or drug treatment for leukemia or other forms of cancer.
The first sign of the disease is a kind of skin rash. Fever and a general feeling of discomfort often accompany the rash. Red blotches appear first on the skin of the back or chest. They change into pimples after a few hours, and then into blisters that enlarge and may become filled with a milky liquid. The blisters dry up in a few days and are covered with scabs (dried tissue). The skin rash appears in crops (groups). New blotches form while old ones change to blisters and dry up.
The incubation period (time between exposure to the disease and the appearance of symptoms) ranges from 11 to 20 days. Chickenpox is caused by the varicella-zoster virus, which is one of the herpesviruses. This same virus causes shingles. A child who has had chickenpox usually does not get it again. Adults may get the disease if they did not have it as a child. However, they are more likely to develop shingles. In a small number of patients, secondary infections follow the chickenpox. An uncommon but serious complication is Reye’s syndrome.
In otherwise healthy children, treatment is limited to relieving the symptoms, especially itching. Also, the patient’s fingernails should be kept short and clean to lessen the risk of infection from scratching. Aspirin should not be given to children with chickenpox because of the possible link to Reye’s syndrome. In 1995, the United States Food and Drug Administration approved a vaccine for chickenpox. Children should be vaccinated after they reach 12 months of age.
