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What is chickenpox?
The varicella virus causes the itchy, twitchy and irritating disease known as Chickenpox. Chickenpox is common in newborns and children but does not mean that it cannot affect adults. The condition is spread when a person with the disease sneezes, coughs, and the air droplets are inhaled. The NHS recommends that the best way to prevent the disease from infecting you is to take the Chickenpox Vaccine.
Here are at Westbury Chemist, we have the Chickenpox vaccine available at our Streatham branch.
Chickenpox in newborns
As we know, minor things can impact their mood with newborns. If your newborn has Chickenpox, you may come to learn that they’re experiencing the following symptoms before the spots appear on their body.
Symptoms in newborn babies:
- Fever
- Irritation
- Loss of appetite
- Tiredness
- Drowsiness
- General unwellness.
For newborns, the first few days are usually the toughest. As the rash develops and the spots come through, your baby is in its prime of being irritated and experiencing discomfort. It could take up to two weeks for the Chickenpox to go away.
Typically, the spots form and they’re filled with a fluid that eventually causes these spots to burst. Once dried, the spots will fall off. It could also be the case that the spots are still coming through whilst the existing spots are healing.
If you have other children or you are nearby of your child, it is advised that you wash your clothes separately, sleep separately and prevent yourself from being infected. As mentioned above, the way to avoid Chickenpox is to have the vaccine.
Treatments
There’s no natural cure for Chickenpox. Once your child has been infected with the Chickenpox disease, they need to go through the one-two week cycle before it gets better.
However, there are preventative measures you can put in place to ensure your child is not left in irritation and misery of their skin.
The NHS advises that children take paracetamol to relieve the fever, Aloe Vera cooling gels to ease the itching of the spots, calamine lotion and more.
As a tip for home, you can put some ice in a handkerchief and run it through your child’s body to ensure they’re cool and less irritated too. The techniques mentioned above are not particularly only viable for children, and as adults, you’re able to use these too.
Can I go to work if my child has chickenpox?
It’s safer to let your work know that you have a child at home who has contracted Chickenpox. The disease is infectious and can affect other people around you and your child, and adults are prone to get very sick if they catch it. In addition, your child should not be attending school or nursery if they have Chickenpox as it can infect other children.
Can you get the chickenpox twice?
Although rare, you can get Chickenpox more than once. If you or your child have had the disease before, then it’s likely that you are immune to it going forwards. However, as the condition sits inactive within your nerve tissue, it could reactivate later in your life, causing shingles.
Chickenpox & Shingles
Chickenpox and Shingles are from the same family of viruses. Although they are not the same virus or iteration, they’re formed from the same virus, causing different results.
Chickenpox is a milder illness that affects children, whereas the shingles come long after if the chickenpox virus is reactivated in your nerve tissue. Despite being affected once by Chickenpox in your youth, it does not mean that you cannot contract the shingles at a later time in your life.
