It is unlikely that there will be at least one person who managed not to get chickenpox. Chickenpox is considered a childhood infection, as it mainly affects children under the age of 10 years. How is chickenpox in children? The incubation period, treatment, symptoms and other important information - in our today's article.
Chickenpox: causes and symptoms
The causative agent of the disease is the virus of the Herpes Varicella Zoster family. A person becomes contagious not when he develops rashes, but two days before he begins to show the first symptoms - a nodular blister rash and fever. The patient ceases to be the source of infection a couple of days after the crusts on the rash disappear.
Symptoms of the disease is a temperature of 38 degrees, weakness, fever, after the first rash begins to appear. It is not only localized on the hands, face, but also on the scalp. At first, the rash has a rounded flat shape, after which it begins to rise above the level of the skin. After a couple of hours, bubbles appear in place of the tubercles, which, drying up, turn into yellow crusts, and after a week they completely disappear.
How long does chickenpox fever last?
How long the temperature with chickenpox lasts depends on what form of chickenpox the person has. Allocate forms such as:
- Light - with it the temperature does not rise above 37.5 degrees, while it lasts only 1-3 days. Also, often with this form of chickenpox, the temperature may not rise.
- Average - with this form of the disease, the temperature keeps from 38 to 39 degrees and can disturb 3-4 days.
- The severe form of chickenpox is characterized by a longer period of the course of the disease - up to seven days, while it can rise up to 40 degrees.
In many ways, what will be the course of the disease depends on the age of the child and the state of his immune system.
First steps
What to do if your child has chickenpox? As soon as you notice a rash on the body, accompanied by high fever and other symptoms of the disease, the first thing to do is call the pediatrician. Only a doctor can make the correct diagnosis and prescribe adequate treatment. Often, additional tests are required to confirm the diagnosis.
As soon as parents become aware that their child is infected with chickenpox, they should immediately exclude contact of the baby with other people, that is, attendance at kindergarten andother child care facilities.
In order to cure the disease, it is not always necessary to go to the hospital, most often treatment at home is enough. Usually, the doctor suggests hospitalization if the intoxication threatens the life of the child, and also if the disease is severe. All measures taken should be aimed at preventing the development of complications.
Stages
What to do with chickenpox? This will depend on the period of the disease. They are as follows:
- Incubation period.
- Prodromal period.
- Height of chicken pox.
- Recovery period.
What is the incubation period characterized by? It lasts 11-21 days. At this time, a person is already considered contagious, since the virus is in his body and actively begins to multiply. There may still be no symptoms of the disease, which is why chickenpox is insidious, since during the incubation period the disease is hidden.
Prodromal period - the stage of the disease, in which symptoms such as fever up to 38 degrees, weakness and malaise appear. The period lasts 1-2 days - before a rash begins to appear on the body.
What to do with chickenpox if it is in full swing? This is the period of appearance of active rashes, lasting 4-5 days. Bubbles do not appear at the same time, until the rash begins to crust on the hands, new rashes appear on the face or trunk. At this stage of the disease, the patient is tormented by severe itching.
The recovery period is characterized by the appearancecrusts. The bubbles burst, the contents come out of them and they begin to dry out, becoming covered with crusts. From the moment they appear on the body, the condition of the child improves. Gradually, the crusts fall off, the condition returns to normal, the patient no longer suffers from headaches.
Treatment of chickenpox during the incubation period and other stages of the disease
What to do with chickenpox? The main task in its treatment is the maximum relief of symptoms. The incubation period does not require treatment, as it passes hidden. As soon as the first symptoms of smallpox appear, the patient is immediately shown bed rest.
A rash appears as a result of severe intoxication of the body as a reaction to an infection. Babies under five years of age tolerate smallpox quite easily, but the older the child, the more likely the risk of complications. The main thing is to prevent the rash from combing, as scars may appear in its place. There is also a high chance of infection of the wound with pathogenic bacteria. To prevent the rash from itching and causing discomfort, you need to take antihistamines. Also, you should not allow overheating, as the more a person sweats, the more it itchs.
Also, all bubbles that appear, regardless of their location, must be lubricated with brilliant green or other antiseptic in order to control the appearance of a new rash.
To bring down the temperature (not lower than 38 degrees), you can use suppositories based on paracetamol or ibuprofen. Also effective at high temperatures"Efferalgan". It is very important to use medications to lower the temperature according to the age of the patient. It is forbidden to use vinegar or vodka to treat the rash. This is due to the fact that it is possible to poison the body or burn the epidermis.
If bubbles with transparent contents appear in the mouth, it is necessary to rinse it with a decoction of chamomile. It also happens that bubbles appear on the conjunctiva of the eye. Do not beware of complications for vision, as chickenpox does not harm it. However, treatment still needs to be done. So, the eyelids should be washed with a decoction of chamomile. It would also be useful to use a saline solution that is dripped into the eyes.
Antibiotics are used in the treatment of chickenpox only in cases where there is a complication in the form of a bacterial infection.
Antiviral for chickenpox
The use of antiviral drugs for chickenpox causes a lot of controversy, as some doctors believe that this is a mandatory measure to speed up the healing process, while others are sure that the body should cope with chickenpox on its own. Considering that the disease is caused by a virus, taking antiviral for chickenpox is desirable, since it will be easier for the patient to tolerate the disease. Due to the effects of drugs, the herpes virus will weaken significantly and, accordingly, its manifestations on the skin will not be so bright and intense.
Chickenpox pills
For chickenpox, the set of medicines is as follows:
- Antihistamines - "Suprastin", "Claritin",Tavegil.
- Antiviral - "Alpizarin", "Acyclovir-acry", "Zovirax".
- Antipyretics - Paracetamol, Ibuprofen, Ibuklin.
Many medicines from the above list are available in tablets. In what form it is better to take the medicine depends on the individual patient. If the child is very small and cannot swallow the pill on his own, a more suitable form of release of the drug should be found for him - syrup or suppositories. Schoolchildren are more suitable for chickenpox pills. Manufacturers indicate the dosage for taking the medicine for adults and children, therefore, medicines should be taken in strict accordance with the instructions.
What to smear, except brilliant green
Brilliant green solution has been used for chicken pox since Soviet times. Use it to control the amount of bubbles that appear. The advantage of brilliant green is that it is clearly visible, but many refuse to use it, because, being an antiseptic, it dries the skin very much, and also leaves marks on both bed linen and clothes.
How to smear chickenpox in children, except for brilliant green? In addition to this medicine, you can also use:
- Five percent solution of potassium permanganate. The drug dries the rash well and disinfects it.
- Fukortsin. This medicine also dries up the bubbles, its advantage is that after drying it can be applied ointment. The only drawback of fucorcin is that it does not differ much in color fromrashes, so controlling rashes using it is quite difficult.
- What else to smear chickenpox in children, except for brilliant green? You can use 0.5-3 percent methylene blue solution. The blue medication washes well and is an effective remedy for chickenpox.
- Salicylic alcohol. With it, various skin diseases and skin lesions are treated, so it can be used for chickenpox.
- Ointment based on cindol. This drug is available in the form of a suspension and contains zinc oxide, which acts as a drying and anti-inflammatory agent. After adding the indicated amount of water to the suspension, leave it for a while in a dark place, and after draining the upper liquid, it is necessary to lubricate the skin with thickened sediment.
Effective ointment for chickenpox
What is a good ointment for chickenpox? With a disease, ointments can be used, depending on what effect should be - the elimination of itching, the rapid healing of wounds, or the suppression of the herpes virus. Among the most effective drugs, zinc cream is distinguished, due to which the blisters quickly open and heal, as well as "Gistan" or "Fenistil" gel, which have a calming and cooling effect, making itching easier to endure.
Chickenpox hygiene rules
Many parents are interested in the question of how much you can not wash with chickenpox? There is an opinion that it is strictly forbidden to swim in case of illness, but this is a delusion, sinceIt is on these days that all hygiene rules must be observed. The child can be gently washed with warm water using ordinary soap without fragrances and fragrances. You can add a couple of crystals of potassium permanganate to the water. To promote the rapid healing of wounds will be the use of decoctions of oak bark, chamomile or calendula when bathing. You can’t bathe the patient for a long time, you should limit yourself to ordinary washing.
Hard sponges should not be used, so as not to tear off the crusts and prevent infection of the wound. After the end of the water procedures, you should blot the baby's body with a towel and put on clean underwear.
Bedding should be changed as often as possible, it should be soft so as not to cause discomfort.
What not to do when sick
Chickenpox is far from a harmless disease, as was previously thought. Therefore, all prohibitions should be adopted during the treatment of the disease in order to prevent complications after chickenpox. What not to do with chickenpox?
- Don't let your baby out before the end of the incubation period to avoid infecting other people with chickenpox.
- It is impossible to give any antipyretic or other drug during the treatment of the disease, as it must be prescribed by the pediatrician without fail. It would seem that it is enough for a medication to bring down the temperature, but an improperly selected antipyretic can lead to an increase in the number of rashes, to a longer healing process, or to blood poisoning. Doctors insist that the treatmentchickenpox should not be given to the child aspirin. This is due to the fact that this medicine causes damage to the brain and liver - Reye's syndrome. The risk of the disease is especially high in children during the course of chickenpox, when the immune system is weakened.
- You can not wash the child with hard sponges and brushes, because if the blisters are injured, they may become infected with a bacterial infection, as a result of which pockmarks (scars) may appear. For the same reason, you can not scratch the rash, so you need to make sure that the child does not itch.
- Since a child has intoxication, weakness and fever with chickenpox, you should not introduce fatty and fried foods into his diet. You should also give up everything spicy, very sweet, s alty and spicy, as such food can cause problems with the work of the gastrointestinal tract, as a result, itching may increase. Also, such food has an extremely negative effect on the functioning of the liver, and during chickenpox it is already subjected to a serious load.
Quarantine in kindergarten
A feature of chickenpox is that it is highly contagious. You can become infected with the disease through simple contact with a sick person and in the case of using the same things with him. Therefore, given the high degree of contact between children in kindergarten, institutions are quarantined in order to prevent complications after chickenpox. As soon as a child with chickenpox is found in a kindergarten, a pediatrician is immediately called, who must confirm the diagnosis and report the case to the districtclinic. Quarantine for chickenpox in kindergarten is introduced through the order of the head physician of the clinic.
It is introduced on the 21st day from the moment the doctor identified the last child with chickenpox. It is during this time that the incubation period of the disease must pass completely, in which its main symptoms may be absent. If more cases of chickenpox are detected among children attending kindergartens, the quarantine will be extended again.
What to do with chickenpox in adults
The herpes virus that causes smallpox can cause illness in both a child and an adult if he has not previously had chickenpox. The older a person is, the more difficult it is for him to endure a viral disease.
The incubation period of the disease in adults is 23 days, during which time no symptoms of chickenpox appear.
Chickenpox symptoms in an adult can be:
- Unwell.
- Sluggishness.
- Sore throat.
- High temperature, fever.
- The appearance of pink spots on the skin.
What to do with chickenpox in adults? As soon as the first symptoms of smallpox appear, you need to urgently consult a doctor to prescribe antiviral, antihistamine and antipyretic drugs. Among antiviral drugs, Valacyclovir, Viferon and Acyclovir are the most effective. Paracetamol or Ibuprofen will take the temperature. Sea buckthorn oil or "Chlorophyllipt" can be used to treat wounds in the mouth. Also, there will be no extra rinses.herbal preparations such as chamomile and string. The use of antihistamines is mandatory because of the itching of the wounds, so that it does not bother, you can use "Diazolin" in strict accordance with the instructions.
As in children, the course of the disease depends on what form of chickenpox. Often the period of active rashes takes 2-3 days, it happens that the temperature lasts 9 days.
