Varicella or commonly known as chickenpox is a disease caused by the Varicella zoster virus.
Although in general this disease is suffered when you are young, there are many facts about chickenpox that are not widely known.
Many years ago, chickenpox was considered a benign and inevitable childhood disease.
“However, chickenpox is now much less common thanks to a vaccine for the disease that was introduced in America in 1995,” explains physician Mary Anne Jackson, MD, director of the division of infectious diseases at Children’s Mercy Hospitals and Clinics in Kansas City, Missouri, and a member of the American Academy. of Pediatrics (AAP) committee on infectious diseases.
Chickenpox Facts
Although this disease is usually mild in most children, chickenpox can also be a serious illness in some children, adolescents, and adults.
Then, what are the facts that parents need to understand about this disease?
1. It is a communicable disease
Citing the Mayo Clinic, chickenpox is a highly contagious disease and can be spread easily through the air by an infected person when they sneeze or cough.
The disease is also spread through contact with the chickenpox blisters of an infected person.
Because chickenpox is highly contagious, people who have never had chickenpox or received the chickenpox vaccine can get it.
Even when he was just in the room with someone with chickenpox.
2. Symptoms can spread throughout the body
Initially, chickenpox appears as a red rash that is very itchy and turns into blisters that usually start on the face before eventually spreading to the rest of the body. Blisters can appear anywhere, including on a child’s mouth, eyelids, and genital area.
The chickenpox rash progresses from red bumps to fluid-filled blisters to scabies.
Other symptoms that can also be experienced include fever, headache, and fatigue.
3. Creepy Children’s Diseases for Adults
“In general, many infectious diseases are worse in adults than in children. Adults may have more severe complications and may require hospitalization,” says doctor Amesh A. Adalja, MD, senior associate at the Johns Hopkins Center. for Health Security.
If a person who is an adult has never had chickenpox and has never been vaccinated, he is at high risk of developing various complications from chickenpox.
In the Meningitis Research Foundation, some complications that can occur such as pneumonia and meningitis or encephalitis (infection of the brain).
4. Can Be Prevented With Vaccines
The surest way to protect your child from chickenpox is to vaccinate them.
“We have a decade and a half to see how the vaccine works and it is very effective. In almost 100 per cent of cases it will prevent this serious disease in healthy people,” said doctor Mary Anne.
According to the United States Department of Health and Human Services, the total efficacy rate with the administration of the vaccine is about 80 to 85 percent.
This means that between 15 and 20 percent of people vaccinated may still get chickenpox, but they will have milder symptoms.
5. Chickenpox does not recur, but can cause other diseases
Once a child has chickenpox, he or she may not have it again.
However, years later, the child can get shingles disease or shingles.
This happens because the Varicella zoster virus that causes chickenpox is still in the body in an inactive state.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are about 1 million cases of shingles each year in America.
Anyone who has had chickenpox can get shingles but the risk increases with age.
However, no need to worry. There is now a vaccine for herpes zoster that is recommended for adults 60 years of age and older.
6. Almost Similar to the Common Flu
Did you know, the fact of other chickenpox diseases is that these symptoms in adults are usually similar to symptoms in children, but can be more severe.
The disease progresses through symptoms that begin 1-3 weeks after exposure to the virus.
So it resembles flu-like symptoms such as fever, fatigue, loss of appetite, body aches, and headaches.
7. Vaccines Reduce the Risk of Complications
Most people who have had chickenpox or have been vaccinated are more immune to chickenpox.
Even so, they still have a chance to be infected again, but this is rare.
If you or your child is vaccinated and still has chickenpox, the symptoms are often milder, with fewer blisters, a low-grade fever, or none at all.
The risk of being infected with the Varice virus lla-zoster that causes chickenpox is higher if we have never had chickenpox or have not received the chickenpox vaccine.
For this reason, it is very important to carry out complete immunizations to avoid the severity of various infectious diseases.
THE MYTH OF WATER POX
You must have often heard that people who have had chickenpox will not get it a second time. Duh, is this news true or not? Are there other myths you shouldn’t believe?
1. If you’ve had it before, you won’t have smallpox again
This is the most widely believed myth. He said, chickenpox only occurs once in a lifetime. In fact, when you or your child has chickenpox, the body produces immunoglobulins. These antibodies serve to fight the chickenpox virus for the rest of your life.
However, not everyone will produce the exact same antibodies, so they may work differently and be effective. Reporting from healthline.com You may experience smallpox for the second time in the following conditions:
• Chickenpox that you first experienced at the age of less than 6 months
• The first chickenpox condition was very mild
• You have a low immune system
Therefore, it is advisable to do a blood test to find out if you are at risk of getting this disease again.
2. Scratching can leave scars
One of the most bothersome symptoms of chickenpox is itchy skin. However, you may endure the itching believing that scratching your gums will only leave scars that won’t go away.
In fact, it only applies to people who scratch the same area over and over again. When that happens, it’s possible that the shingles of smallpox are infected with bacteria. This is what if left untreated will cause scars.
Therefore, actually scratching elastically when smallpox is okay, as long as it’s not too frequent. Well to overcome this, you can do the following ways:
• Take a bath with an oatmeal mixture and use a mild soap, such as baby soap.
• Compress the itchy area with a cloth that has been soaked in cold water.
• Applying lotion recommended by the doctor.
3. Chickenpox is harmless
In fact, many still believe in the myth that chickenpox is not a dangerous disease. In fact, 1 in 20 children are susceptible to ear infections due to this disease. Apart from that, there are other complications that you should be aware of when you or your child has chickenpox.
• Pneumonia and other respiratory disorders.
• Loss of muscle coordination
• Thrombocytopenia
• Development of herpes zoster symptoms
• Myocarditis
Of course, the myths and facts of chickenpox are contradictory, so you still have to be aware of this condition.
4. You will not get herpes zoster if you have chicken pox
Herpes zoster is caused by a virus that also exposes you to chickenpox. After that, the virus will stay in your body even though it doesn’t have any effect on your health.
However, if your immune system is down, the virus can reactivate and cause you to get shingles. About 1 in 5 people who have had chickenpox also develop shingles afterward.
Those are some facts and myths of chickenpox, hopefully it can help all of you guys..
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