Children who have never had chickenpox should routinely be administered two doses of varicella vaccine with the first dose at 12 to 15 months and the second dose at four to six years of age. Persons 13 years of age and older who have never had chickenpox or have not received the varicella vaccine should get two doses of the varicella vaccine at least 28 days apart. The varicella vaccine may be given along with the measles-mumps-rubella MMR vaccine in a combination called measles-mumps-rubella-varicella MMRV that is approved for use in children 12 months through 12 years of age.
In New York State, varicella vaccine is required for children enrolled in pre-kindergarten programs and schools. Vaccination is recommended for healthcare personnel and college students who have never had chickenpox. Maintaining high levels of varicella immunization in the community is critical to controlling the spread of chickenpox. To prevent further spread of chickenpox, people infected with the disease should remain home and avoid exposing others who are susceptible.
Infected persons should remain home until the blisters become dry and crusted. It is very important to avoid exposing non-immune newborns and persons with a weakened immune system to chickenpox. Varicella vaccination is recommended for outbreak control.
During an outbreak, persons who do not have adequate evidence of immunity should receive their first or second dose as appropriate. The patient groups recommended to receive VariZIG include those with a weakened immune system, pregnant women, newborns whose mothers have symptoms of varicella around the time of delivery five days before to two days after delivery and certain premature infants exposed to chickenpox as newborns.
Navigation menu. Who gets chickenpox? How is chickenpox spread? If they get infected, they will develop chickenpox, not shingles. It takes about 2 weeks from 10 to 21 days after exposure to a person with chickenpox or shingles for someone to develop chickenpox.
If a vaccinated person gets the disease, they can still spread it to others. For most people, getting chickenpox once provides immunity for life. It is possible to get chickenpox more than once, but this is not common. For more information about how to prevent chickenpox, see Prevention and Treatment.
Skip directly to site content Skip directly to page options Skip directly to A-Z link. Chickenpox Varicella. The rash of chickenpox is unique. Diagnosis can usually be made on the appearance of the rash and a history of exposure.
Children should not scratch the blisters because it could lead to secondary bacterial infections. Keep fingernails short to decrease the likelihood of scratching.
Complications can happen from chickenpox. They are more common in adults and people with weak immune systems. Complications may include:. If your symptoms get worse or you have new symptoms, call your healthcare provider.
You should tell your provider as quickly as possible if you get these symptoms:. Health Home Conditions and Diseases. What causes chickenpox? Who is at risk for chickenpox? Most people who have had chickenpox will be immune to the disease for the rest of their lives. However, the virus remains inactive in nerve tissue and may reactivate later in life causing shingles. Very rarely, a second case of chickenpox does happen. Blood tests can confirm immunity to chickenpox in people who are unsure if they have had the disease.
What are the symptoms of chickenpox? Symptoms may include: Fatigue and irritability one to two days before the rash begins Itchy rash on the trunk, face, scalp, under the armpits, on the upper arms and legs, and inside the mouth. The rash appears in several crops. Shingles looks like chickenpox and is caused by the same virus. But it usually appears on only one part of the body, where it causes pain. Shingles can happen in people who have already had chickenpox but usually many years later since after we have chickenpox, the virus stays with us in an inactive form.
Shingles is contagious, but only to those who have never had chickenpox. Many schools and daycare centres have policies that require children with chickenpox to stay home for 5 days after the rash appears. The goal is to protect other children from the disease. Unfortunately, this does not stop chickenpox from spreading. Chickenpox is contagious from 1 to 2 days before the rash appears, and most infectious from 12 to 24 hours before the rash appears.
It spreads through the air, not just by direct contact with the rash. If your child is too sick to take part in regular activities or if they have a fever, they should stay home. For mild cases low fever for a short period of time and only a little rash, less than 30 spots , children can go to school or child care if they feel well enough to take part in regular activities, and if the facility permits.
Pregnant women can develop severe chickenpox. Most adult women are already protected against chickenpox by antibodies in their blood. If you are thinking of getting pregnant and have not had chickenpox, you should be vaccinated. If you are pregnant and have not had chickenpox, call your doctor right away if you are exposed to chickenpox.
Your doctor may want to give you a special type of immune globulin VariZIG that has antibodies to chickenpox to help prevent you from getting a severe infection. The best way to protect your child from chickenpox is vaccination. If your child is not yet vaccinated and comes in contact with another child or family member who has chickenpox, they may still be protected if they are vaccinated right away.
If your child has an immune system disorder and comes in contact with chickenpox, call your doctor right away.
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