Chickenpox in children and adults: symptoms, treatment, prevention of chickenpox virus infection

Among the most common infections affecting the child's body is chickenpox. In order for her to get sick, it is enough to make contact with a sick person. Zoster herpes virus provokes the disease. In the zone of greatest risk are children of preschool age, and therefore many believe that this is exclusively a childhood infection. This opinion is incorrect. Why? We’ll try to figure it out.

Causes of chickenpox in adults and children

As already noted, the main cause of the disease is a virus from the herpes family. A person is quite susceptible to the disease, therefore, as statistics show, about 70 - 90% of the population tolerate it in childhood or adolescence. The main source of the disease is an infected person.

The virus in the environment is unstable, it dies, being outside the human body. That is why it is possible to get infected exclusively from a patient in whom the disease is in an active stage.

How chickenpox begins

The first symptoms of chickenpox virus are similar to the first stages of the flu. A person's general health worsens. In adults, intoxication is much more pronounced. In a baby, a couple - three days before the rash appears, changes in behavior can be observed.He behaves capriciously, refuses to play with his favorite toys, complains of pain in the stomach. With such symptoms, it is hardly possible to avoid the disease.

In addition, the following symptoms may appear:

• heat;
• fever;
• headache;
• lack of appetite.

Children may have cold hands and feet, redness appears around the vesicles, and breathing becomes difficult. In this case, you must immediately consult a doctor, treatment may be prescribed in a hospital setting.

Incubation period

How quickly can I catch chickenpox virus? Perhaps this question has repeatedly arisen in every healthy person.

• The latent period lasts from 7 to 21 days - this is how much the infection does not appear in any way and does not cause concern.
• The most dangerous for a healthy person is the period two days before the onset of the rash.
• The virus enters the inactive phase only a few days after the last blisters were noticed on the skin. During this period, the infection ceases to spread, the blisters begin to dry out and heal, the child is recovering.

As a rule, during the incubation period, the child continues to behave actively. He plays his favorite games and feels great.

But despite the fact that there are no signs of the disease, the infected person is already a threat, as it acts as a source of infection.

Symptoms and signs of the disease

Almost everyone knows what chickenpox looks like, since it is quite common in young children.

The disease is accompanied by certain symptoms:

• High body temperature, often indicators reach 39 degrees.
• Headaches and muscle pains, discomfort in the limbs.
• Weakness, apathy, crying in a baby, irritability.
• Sleep disturbance.
• Lack of appetite, in some cases even refusal of food.
• Bubbles and spots appear throughout the body, accompanied by severe itching.

The period of the appearance of vesicles lasts from 4 to 8 days, then the patient begins to recover. The blisters are covered with a crust, which should fall away after a week, and nothing will remain in its place. But this is provided that during a period of severe itching, the vesicles were not damaged, and the infection did not get into them.

Itching is the most insidious sign of the disease. During formation and growth, the vesicles are very itchy, and it is sometimes impossible for a small child to explain why they should not be touched.

If you allow active combing, then a vicious circle will be observed:

1. The infected person actively scratches the bubbles.
2. The liquid from the wounds spills out.
3. The virus infects uninfected areas.
4. The infection continues to spread.

Often the number of such blisters reaches more than a hundred.

It is not only possible to combat itching, but also necessary. If the child constantly scratches the crusts, then in their place will remain deep scars, most of which will not disappear even after many years.

Diagnostic measures

In most cases, the diagnosis is established on the basis of the patient’s complaints and with a visual examination of his skin.

In rare cases, there are contentious issues that require additional diagnosis:

1. Virological diagnosis. Diagnosis is aimed at determining the pathogen.
2. RIF method. Detects viral antibodies.
3. IFA. The method allows you to determine specific antibodies.
4. General blood analysis. It is carried out to determine the level of white blood cells.

How many days does chickenpox last in adults, in children

After the infection is in the body, the incubation period begins. As a rule, this is 10 to 21 days. The patient begins to spread the infection about 2 days before the rash. At this time, adults often ignore the child’s capricious behavior and continue to take him to kindergarten, where he infects the rest of the children.

The rash itself remains on the body for about 1 to 2 weeks.If the child was once vaccinated against the disease, then he tolerates infections more easily. If there was no vaccination, then the disease will last longer. Chickenpox in adults, as in children, lasts about the same length.

Chickenpox virus treatment

Symptoms of chickenpox in children require an emergency response from adults, and treatment should be started immediately. This is the only way to alleviate the patient’s condition and avoid serious consequences.

Drug therapy

In order to get rid of headaches and fever in children, you can use paracetamol. In no case give the baby aspirin - this can lead to serious consequences and complications.

The treatment is based on skin care, the essence of which is to reduce severe itching.

To do this, the bubbles must be treated with special creams, lotions, suspensions or the most common green stuff. You can apply compresses of gauze soaked in a solution of baking soda. If the itching is very severe, the doctor may prescribe antihistamines, including Tsetrin, Caritin, Fenistil, Tavegil, and so on.

With severe chickenpox, hospitalization is prescribed, during which the patient will be treated with antiviral drugs.

Folk remedies

Please note that traditional medicine does not affect the virus itself. They are designed to strengthen the immune system, increase the tone of the whole body and help remove toxins. Some help to dry rashes and reduce itching.

• Take in equal quantities the fruits of raspberries, inflorescences of linden, anise, willow bark. Grind them and mix. Two tablespoons of the collection is poured with half a liter of boiling water and insisted for half an hour. Have a drink throughout the day.
• In equal quantities, mix chamomile, string and calendula. For 6 tablespoons of the mixture, add a liter of boiling water and let the composition brew for half an hour. Take 0.1 liter about 4 to 5 times a day.
• 10 tablets of mummy dissolved in 0.1 liter of water. Drink in the morning on an empty stomach. The tool will help strengthen the immune system.

Hygiene rules

With chickenpox, it is very important to adhere to basic hygiene rules:

1. Change bedding and underwear daily.
2. Wash your hands more often with soap and cut your nails. This will help to prevent scratching at least a little.
3. Rinse your mouth after each meal. You can use soda, a solution of furatsilina or herbal infusions.
4. Rashes on the genitals can be washed with a weak solution of potassium permanganate.

Possible complications and consequences

If chickenpox proceeds in severe form, then it can lead to the following complications:

• otitis;
• inflammatory processes in the joints and muscles;
• pneumonia
• stomatitis;
• infections of the skin;
• hepatitis.

Vaccinations

To reduce the risk of the disease, experts advise vaccination. The first vaccination against chickenpox is done at the age of 12 to 18 months, the second - from 4 to 6 years. For the older generation, the vaccine is also administered in two stages. After the first vaccination, 60 days should pass, after which a second dose is administered.

Before you get vaccinated, you need to donate blood to determine the level of protection against herpes. With a single vaccination, the risk of infection remains at the level of 10 - 30%, after re-vaccination it decreases to 2%.

People who have already had chickenpox have no sense in getting vaccinated, as they have already developed immunity to infection.

Contraindications to vaccination:

1. The period of bearing a child and breastfeeding.
2. Infant age (up to a year).
3. Diagnosed immunodeficiency.
4. Allergy to gelatin and the antibiotic neomycin.

Disease prevention

An infection can only be infected if it has not been ill in childhood. However, in practice, relapses of the disease were noted in people whose immunity is greatly weakened.If the Zoster virus enters the body, then it remains there forever (mainly on the nerve endings).

Adults who have not yet had to deal with the disease must adhere to the following measures:

1. Place the patient in a separate isolated room.
2. If possible, quartz this room, which will reduce the risk of the spread of the virus.
3. It is imperative to wear a medical mask during an epidemic.
4. The patient is strictly forbidden to use common household items with healthy people.
5. Washing the patient’s things is done separately. After they have dried, they should be ironed.
6. Use multivitamins, try to eat balanced.
7. Arrange regular airing of rooms, do wet cleaning more often.

After the blisters are covered with a brown crust, the infected person becomes harmless to others.

As for the child, it is better for him not to contact a sick person at all. In the midst of the chickenpox epidemic in educational institutions, the baby is best left at home. Experts do not advise providing strong protection for the child from the virus, since it is much easier for the child’s body to transfer this disease than for the mature one. It is believed that until the age of 10, the disease is transmitted without serious consequences, since the immune system exhibits greater resistance to the virus.