Chickenpox: symptoms and treatment

What is chickenpox?

Chickenpox is a highly contagious and globally widespread infectious disease that particularly affects infants and children between the ages of three and ten. But even adults are not completely protected against chickenpox. This is usually the case if they did not have chickenpox in their childhood.

The name of the disease goes back to the way it was transmitted. Chickenpox can be transmitted without direct contact with infected people or objects. So the chickenpox virus literally spreads on the “wind”.

cause of chickenpox

Chickenpox is caused by the so-called varicella-zoster virus. This belongs to the herpes virus family and, like other herpes viruses, remains in the body in an inactive form after an illness. Therefore, after an illness, one is usually immune to this virus for life. In very rare cases, chickenpox can also break out a second time. This is especially the case in people whose immune systems are weakened as a result of a primary underlying condition, such as diabetes. The second time the virus occurs, it usually manifests itself in the form of shingles (zoster). This has the same skin rash as chickenpox, but in a kind of belt-like arrangement.

transmission of chickenpox

The highly contagious chickenpox virus can be transmitted in two ways, via the so-called droplet infection or the smear infection . In the former, the viruses are contained in droplets of saliva that are released into the air when speaking, coughing or sneezing and then via the respiratory tract to the mucous membranes of the mouth, nose and throat. Direct contact with saliva or the secretion contained in the blisters characteristic of chickenpox can lead to a smear infection if the pathogens then enter the organism via the mucous membranes or the conjunctiva of the eye.

The period between infection and outbreak of the disease, i.e. the incubation period, is about two to three weeks for chickenpox. However, the disease can be transmitted to other people a few days before the rash appears.

Chickenpox Symptoms

The most common symptoms of chickenpox are as follows:

• Fever
• Rash with red spots, water-containing blisters and finally scabs
• The rash spreads in waves over the whole body, including the hairy scalp and oral mucosa
• Severe itching

course of chickenpox

The first signs of chickenpox are often a slight fever and headache. A day or two later, isolated red spots appear, usually initially on the trunk, which fill with fluid within hours and form severely itchy blisters. The rash spreads very quickly over the entire body and is typically also seen on the hairy scalp and oral mucosa.

Within a few days, the blisters gradually crust over. After another day or two, these crusts usually fall off. For a while you can still see light spots where they sat. After a few weeks, however, these skin symptoms have usually disappeared again.

Chickenpox progresses in phases, so that new red spots appear every day on top of the existing scabs. The fever usually stays low. In rare cases, however, it can also rise very sharply.

Chickenpox: when to see a doctor?

As soon as you suspect that your child has chickenpox, you should consult a doctor and tell him about your suspicions. If you have a high fever, the doctor will prescribe fever suppositories. He can also prescribe special drops, zinc-containing ointments or tinctures against the severe itching. If skin suppuration has developed, an antibiotic ointment should also be applied. If your child shows the above signs of meningitis, it must be treated in the hospital.

The doctor can usually recognize chickenpox by the characteristic skin rash, which is accompanied by blisters and clearly distinguishes chickenpox from other childhood illnesses. In rare cases, an additional blood test is necessary to make a definite diagnosis.

Chickenpox: what can you do?

• Avoid contact with others: If your child has chickenpox, they should avoid contact with others as much as possible so that they do not infect other people. In particular, contact with pregnant women who have never had chickenpox themselves should be avoided at all costs during the infection period. Because a chickenpox infection during pregnancy can lead to deformities in the unborn child or, in the worst case, to a miscarriage.
• Dress the child properly: Your child’s clothes should not be too tight if they have chickenpox. This will prevent the itching from being further aggravated by friction. Clothing that is too warm and your child sweats in it can also aggravate the unpleasant itching.
• Pay attention to cleanliness: Hygiene is very important during an illness with chickenpox, so that your child does not infect other family members or friends with a possible smear infection. Regular hand washing is therefore the top priority. In addition, no dirt should get into the open skin areas of your child so that no infection develops. However, you should refrain from bathing your child until solid crusts have formed everywhere. This way you can reduce the risk of open blisters becoming infected.
• Do not scratch: Make sure that your child does not scratch the blisters. Open spots can easily become inflamed or scarred. Therefore, cut your child’s nails as short as possible and pull cotton gloves, or alternatively small socks, over his hands. The emergence of wounds can be largely prevented.
• Mouthwash solutions: If the oral mucosa is infected, special mouthwash solutions are often helpful. They not only disinfect the mouth and throat, but also relieve pain and any itching. You can buy appropriate solutions in any pharmacy.
• Fever suppositories: Since the itching that is so severe with chickenpox would only be intensified by the damp warmth of a calf compress, you should better avoid such an application. If your child has a long-lasting fever, you can try to bring it down with fever suppositories prescribed by the pediatrician.
  

Home remedies for chickenpox

Chickenpox is primarily treated by relieving the symptoms. Since the fever of a chickenpox infection cannot be reduced on your own with calf wraps, the help is usually limited to relieving the itching.

A tried and tested remedy here is dabbing the blisters with a chamomile solution. This has an anti-inflammatory and antibacterial effect and thus helps to prevent inflammation of the blisters. To make a tincture, put one to two tablespoons of chamomile flowers in a bowl and pour about a liter of boiling water over them. Then let the brew steep for about 15 to 20 minutes and then strain the flowers. After the tincture has cooled down a bit, you can dip a clean cotton cloth in it and dab the bubbles with it. Do not wash the tincture off, but allow it to absorb into the skin.

prevent chickenpox

If you want to prevent your child from getting chickenpox, the only effective way to prevent it is to vaccinate against the viral disease. However, unlike a disease, vaccination does not guarantee lifelong immunity.

How to vaccinate

The Standing Vaccination Committee of the Robert Koch Institute (STIKO) recommends chickenpox vaccination from the age of eleven months. In order to complete the vaccination protection, a second vaccination dose is necessary in the second year of life, but at the earliest six weeks after the first vaccination. For several years, the chickenpox vaccination has also been offered as a combination vaccination, together with the active ingredients against measles, mumps and rubella (MMR-V vaccination).

Catch-up vaccination possible

If your child did not get chickenpox as a baby or toddler and was not vaccinated either, you should consider a catch-up vaccination. This is recommended by the STIKO between the ages of 9 and 17, since chickenpox infections often take a worse course in older children, adolescents and adults than in small children.

Prevent chickenpox outbreak

In the event that an unvaccinated person has contracted chickenpox through contact with an infected person, a so-called incubation vaccination can prevent the outbreak of the disease or at least weaken the course of the disease. The vaccination should then be given within five days of the suspected infection so that it can take effect in good time. You can find detailed information on vaccination against chickenpox in our article on this topic.