Chickenpox, or in a simple way -chickenpox, many kids are not stingy, endows with a mass of pouring out itchy vesicles. This infectious-viral disease is much easier to tolerate in childhood, rather than in adolescents, and even more so in adulthood.
Moms have different feelings about the disease of chickenpox in their children, some are afraid and worried, while others, on the contrary, are happy that their karapuza will now have a strong immunity to a similar kind of virus.
Varicella is caused by the Varicella-Zoster virus (VVZ), which was discovered back in 1958. It can affect a person at any age. But, as we have already said, the earlier a person gets sick, the better. By the way, see the photos of chickenpox below. Also, the drive has four videos with recommendations for the treatment of Dr. Komarovsky E. ABOUT.
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Chicken pox - chickenpox: what is it?
Reading the name of the disease, it is easy to guess that its causative agent freely flies in the air and can freely enter the respiratory tract of any person who had the misfortune to be in the area of the virus.
Chickenpox is an extremely contagious disease, caused by the herpes virus. Once in the body of a person, he settles in it for life. Therefore, more than one and a half million people get chickenpox every year, 90% of which are children up to the age of twelve.
Small children most often pick up this viral infection in children's institutions, when among the children appears at least one carrier of VVZ. Avoiding infection in the acute stage of the disease is very difficult.
Chickenpox in children: how is the infection
In fact, the main source of infection are droplets of mucus from the nasopharynx of a sick child, not bubbles. Therefore, unnoticed, two days before the appearance of rashes on the skin, an infected child begins to infect others.
This happens not only during conversation, during joint games, but also simply when you are in the same room. The virus easily enters the air and settles on the mucous membrane of the mouth, pharynx, nose of the sick child around the child.
Then within one to three weeks, the causative agent of the chickenpox does not show itself and does not bother the infected child. This time interval is called the incubation period of the VVZ.
You understand that the virus is very easy to spread, so you can get infected through the ventilation ducts in the apartment building. And the source of infection can be an adult person who suffers from shingles. After all, the causative agent of such depriving and chicken pox is one and the same - the herpes virus (VVZ).
Chickenpox in children: stages of the course and symptoms
Chickenpox in any child proceeds in several stages, characterized by characteristic features:
The first stage (stage). The incubation periodfrom 1 to 3 weeks - there is a multiplication and accumulation of the virus without external manifestations.
The second stage. The prodromal period- in small children, it may be absent or may occur with insignificant manifestations. This stage lasts about a day or slightly more and can manifest itself as an ordinary cold:
- increase in temperature, usually not too much;
- headache, weakness;
- loss of appetite, nausea;
- sore throat;
- a brief occurrence of reddish spots on some parts of the body is possible.
The third stage. Rash period- as a rule, accompanied by a sharp rise in temperature to 39-39.5 degrees. Observations show that, the higher the reading of the thermometer on the first day, the more rashes and more severe the course of the disease will be. Sometimes, with mild form, the disease proceeds with a slight rise in temperature, or even without it, and the only symptom of chickenpox is a rash.
Chickenpox in a child: how it looks on the photo
In order not to be mistaken with a diagnosis, not to miss the first emerging symptoms, it is very important to know what an unpleasant disease looks like.
This is how the baby's skin looks on the first day of the disease - the pimples look like bites of annoying insects.
Spots quickly turn into bubbles filled with transparent liquid, bordered by reddish skin. Gradually, their contents become cloudy, and they burst.
When the bubbles dry up, a crust is formed, which under no circumstances can be ripped off.
At the same time, you can observe all stages of the development of rashes - specks, filled with bubbles, crusts.
What a rash with chicken pox in children, features
The very first reddish spots remind mosquito bites and appear on the body. However, the rash swiftly conquers new positions, spreading to the arms and legs, then passes over to the face and scalp.
Appearance of skin rashes quickly changes - the red dots turn into fluid-filled vesicles, which burst after 8-10 hours and cause unbearable itching. After a while, they dry up and become crusted, but there are all new ones that go through the same cycle.
In any part of the body, you can simultaneously see all the stages of the development of the rashes, and each of the following causes a temperature jump. Vesicles, the number of which reaches several hundred and even thousands, can affect the mucous membranes of the mouth, genital organs, eyes, and in severe cases, cover even the soles and palms.
The period of rashes lasts from 4 to 8 days, after which recovery begins. Appearing in place of the bubbles, yellow-brown crusts fall off about a week, leaving no trace. But this is only if the mother helped the child survive a period of severe itching - did not allow combing and getting into the wound infection.
Remember that premature ripping of the cortical layer can lead to the appearance of a "pockmark", which can remain for life.
Five days after the appearance of the last bubble the baby is considered not infectious, and it can be taken for a walk.
Treatment of chickenpox in children, which is possible
Specific treatment for varicella is absent, the virus of herpes simplex virus does not respond to antibiotics and antibacterial drugs. The help to the kid who has picked up an unpleasant virus, consists in struggle against symptoms of an illness:
Just remember that you can not give Aspirin with chicken pox! Aspirin and chickenpox are incompatible!
- if the column of the thermometer, quickly and confidently, rises above the level of 38 degrees, the child should be given antipyretics - ibuprofen or paracetamol;
- not to force the baby to eat by force, but to provide copious drinking;
- carefully monitor the appearance of new vesicles and prevent them from combing;
- You can use a green that slightly damps the rashes and allows you to control the appearance of new vesicles. The same action has an aqueous solution of potassium permanganate or 2-3% tincture of iodine;
- If the child suffers from too much itching, ask the doctor to prescribe antiallergic drugs;
- For the period with symptoms of fever and intoxication, bed rest is desirable.
Treatment of chickenpox in children is at home, only if there are any complications the doctor can offer hospitalization. Parents should help the kid to cope with an unpleasant condition, relieve the suffering from the itchy rash. Specialists give useful recommendations, which are not difficult at all:
- The apartment should be cool, while sweating, the itching intensifies.
- It is extremely necessary to bathe a baby with chickenpox - cool water will help it not to itch, so you can arrange bathing several times during the day. It is very effective to add a little soda or a weak solution of potassium permanganate to the water - the first will relieve the itching, and the second will dry the wounds. Be careful with wiping, the skin is better to gently blot with a soft towel.
- Clothing should be made of natural materials and not adhere to the calf. Change it, like bed linen, you need every day.
- Lightweight gloves at night protect the damaged skin of a sick child from scratching. If an infection gets into the wound, an inflammatory process may occur and, as a consequence, a pockmark of the wound will last for life. The same result expects from the forcible ripping of the crusts formed - they must fall off on their own.
- If the doctor recommended antihistamine ointment - use it gently, applying only directly to the blister. This will help avoid a dangerous overdose.
On the sixth day after the appearance of the last bubble with the baby, you can go for a walk. He is no longer a danger to others, but still very weak. It is better to delay with the return of the little martyr to the kindergarten, giving him the opportunity to regain strength and grow stronger.
Prevention of varicella in children, methods
Of course, the most reliable way to protect against chicken pox is vaccination, but it is carried out at the request of the parents. After vaccination, the child is protected for ten years - he or she generally avoids infection, or the disease proceeds in a very mild manner.
Many mothers believe that instead of vaccination it is better to let the baby get infected at the preschool age. In this case, they say, the ailment will take place in an easy form, and the beloved child will receive guaranteed protection for life.
However, the opinions of experts on this issue are divided. Opponents of such a method argue their position quite logically: there is a real danger of complications during the illness of toddlers, and the herpes virus that has settled in the child's organism is able to cause shingles in the future. So the parents will have to make the right decision, after carefully weighing all the pros and cons.
Add to the note mothers: studies convincingly testify: out of 100 vaccinated children, 90-95% do not develop chickenpox and have very little chance of contracting shingles in the future. The remaining 5-10% can be ill, but in very light form. The duration of the vaccine is 10-20 years.
Attention! If there is a contact of the child with a sick chicken pox, the mother has 96 hours to decide on an urgent vaccination. Later, the vaccine will not help, and the baby is almost guaranteed to get sick.
In children's institutions, quarantine for chicken pox is announced for 21 days.
What Dr. Komarovsky says about chicken pox in children
The most frequent question asked by the troubled parents is the effect of green on the disease of children with chicken pox.
The answer of Yevgeny Komarovsky is unambiguous - there is no curative effect from such an action, zelenok serves only as an indicator of the period of infectiousness. Every day, lubricating bubbles with a colored solution, one day Mom notices that there are no new rashes. From this moment begins the countdown of the last five days, when the baby can be dangerous for others.
The doctor draws the parents' attention to the fact that the virus infection, which is chicken pox in children, is not subject to the influence of antibiotics and does not require special preparations during the usual course of the disease.
Only in adolescence, when the disease is too difficult, doctors prescribe anti-herpetic drugs. The main advice that Dr. Komarovsky gives to mothers who have fallen ill is:
- avoid overheating, increasing itching;
- shortly cut nails, if necessary, put on gloves, in every possible way to distract the baby from scratching the bubbles;
- Do not give aspirin to avoid causing complications from the liver;
- combing of the vesicles leads to bacterial infection and the probability of traces for life;
- chickenpox quite strongly depresses immunity, so after the disease it is necessary to refrain from visiting the kindergarten and spend more time walking.
Concerning vaccinations, Komarovsky considers, sensible parents should not have any discussions. However, he reminds that vaccination against varicella is voluntary, therefore the mothers and dads will have to take responsibility for it.
Source: editorial of the article by Irina Silenko from the sitehttp://zhenskoe-mnenie.ru/themes/maternity/chickenpox-in-children-the-incubation-period-early-signs-and-major-symptoms-photo-what-are-the-stages-and-how- to-treat-chickenpox-in-children /
