Chickenpox is a viral infection that manifests itself in the form of a skin rash with a watery content, most often defined as a childhood disease, but also occurs in adults. It is believed that chickenpox is based on the herpes virus, which in this case is transmitted by airborne droplets during communication and close contact between children and adults. Most often it is a disease that manifests itself in children under 12 years of age. But sometimes adults get it too.
According to doctors, chickenpox in childhood is quite easy, which cannot be said about adults. They are quite difficult to tolerate the disease, complications may occur. Why is chickenpox dangerous? The causative agent of this disease, causes and methods of treatment will be discussed in this article.
Which places are most likely to get chickenpox?
Chickenpox most often infects small children in nurseries and kindergartens, schools, playgrounds in the yard of a residential building, in children's cafes, etc. InDue to the transmission of the virus by airborne droplets, the virus spreads quite easily when children are in crowded places. You can get chickenpox no more than 2 times. This is different from chicken pox. The causative agent will be discussed below.
After a disease experienced, antibodies are formed in the body that form immunity to this disease. Therefore, adults who are convinced that they had chickenpox in childhood, popularly called chickenpox, contact a sick child without fear. Often it is very difficult to understand that a child or an adult has contracted chickenpox, since the incubation period of the disease is twenty-one days. The causative agent of chickenpox has already settled in the body.
Therefore, a child infected with chickenpox continues to visit public places and spread the virus. Under such circumstances, often in kindergartens and schools there is a whole epidemic of chickenpox infection. Doctors believe that the massive spread of infection over a period of time will minimize further outbreaks of chickenpox. The causative agent (transmission methods - airborne) quickly enters the body, fleeting contact is enough for this.
So, having been ill at the same time, part of the group in kindergarten is a partial guarantee of the absence of chickenpox in children during this year.
Chickenpox causative agent
Microbiology confirms that the causative agent of the disease is the Strongyloplasma varicella virus, which has an icosahedral shape. Refers to DNAcontaining viruses.
There is an opinion that the variola virus and the herpes zoster virus (herpes zoster) are virions of the same virus, morphologically and structurally identical to the herpes simplex virus.
How does chickenpox show up?
The causative agent is the third type of herpes virus infection.
Chickenpox is characterized by profuse rashes on the skin in the form of red vesicles with liquid. Initially, the patient begins severe itching, and then small rashes appear, which subsequently fill with fluid.
When bursting, these bubbles leave traces. Sometimes pockmarks can remain as scars throughout life. It is not recommended to comb already manifested rashes. They mainly cover the back, armpits, skin of the head, arms and legs, face and scalp. If chickenpox is in an adult, then he has more difficulty due to rashes on the scalp, genitals due to processing.
In addition to itching and rashes, chicken pox is often accompanied by fever of 37-39 degrees, headache, muscle weakness. In adults with chickenpox, the temperature can stay at 40 degrees and above, muscle pain may be accompanied by cramps in the limbs, dizziness and nausea.
This is how chickenpox (causative agent) is diagnosed.
Symptoms and disease pathways reviewed. Let's move on to diagnosis and treatment.
Diagnosis
Determine the onset of the disease inskin rash first.
For diagnosis, biochemical blood tests are carried out to determine the herpes virus in the active phase. Urinalysis can also show the level of inflammation in the body.
This is how chickenpox is most often defined.
Pathogen and symptoms are related.
Treatment
First of all, a sick child or adult must be isolated from society to eliminate the possibility of spreading the virus. It is advisable not to go outside, in sunlight the rashes become larger. The duration of treatment for chickenpox is 2-3 weeks from the onset of the disease.
Treatment for chickenpox is complex, aimed at combating the signs of the disease and increasing the level of immunity.
To fight herpes, a number of antiviral drugs are prescribed. For adults in tablets or in the form of injections, for children more often in the form of liquid syrups. One of these drugs is Acyclovir. Chickenpox (the causative agent of the infection is the herpes virus) will pass much faster as a result of taking this remedy.
At elevated temperatures, an adult and a child are prescribed antipyretic drugs. For children in the form of rectal suppositories and syrups, for adults in tablets.
Antihistamines may be prescribed to relieve itching. It is very difficult for children to restrain themselves and not scratch the skin.
In order to deal with a rash on the skin, children are treated pointwise with a cotton swab dipped in brilliant green. During the day, they process about 3-4 times. rashescontinue during the first 3-4 days after the first manifestations of the disease.
Both children and adults are not recommended to swim, because when in contact with moisture, skin rashes do not heal in a timely manner. During the entire period of the disease, you can take a bath using a string of chamomile no more than 3-4 times. The disinfecting, healing and drying properties of these herbs will have a positive effect on the treatment process. The causative agent of chickenpox in children is the same as in adults - type 3 herpes virus infection.
Adults, in the absence of the ability to treat the manifestations of chickenpox with brilliant green, are recommended to carry out procedures using alcohol or an iodine alcohol solution.
To increase the protective properties of the body, children and adults are prescribed a complex of vitamins, immunomodulating drugs, for example, Immunal.
How else is chickenpox treated? The causative agent of the infection is a virus, so treatment should be approached comprehensively.
It is important to review the diet of a sick child during treatment. Limited in outdoor walks, physical activity, weakened by the virus, the child needs additional energy, which he can get from food. Be sure to include in the menu dairy products, fruits and vegetables, cereals based on cereals and legumes.
It is very important to maintain the level of water-alkaline balance in the body, the patient should drink plenty of water. To improve he alth and quickly remove toxins, you can drink a decoction of fruitsrose hips, which are good for stimulating the liver and kidneys.
Chickenpox treatment is most often done at home. But if a child or an adult does not feel well, the temperature is above 38 degrees, the issue of outpatient or inpatient treatment is decided. This is the causative agent of chickenpox.
When treating chickenpox, it is very important to properly treat rashes on the face and surface of the skin of the body. With complications, the formation of pus, inflammation, they will definitely leave scars. To prevent this, it is necessary to carry out processing using a weak solution of potassium permanganate, alcohol.
In a very severe course of the disease, a course of antibiotic treatment is prescribed. In such cases, treatment may be delayed and take more than 20 days. The older the patient, the greater the likelihood of complications. In addition, due to the age of the patient, the process of treating rashes is more difficult. The skin of fair-haired people, the genitals and the face are almost impossible to process with brilliant green. It leaves a pigment that is undesirable for aesthetic reasons.
In life, each person suffers chickenpox once. In rare cases, a person can become infected twice. After all, the causative agent of chickenpox is the herpes virus, and every person has it in the body.
If there are several children in the family and one of them has chickenpox, then it is advisable to isolate the second one so that the infection does not spread. But if children are under 5 years old, sometimes parents deliberately allow the second child to become infected with the virus so that there are no serious consequences when infected.chickenpox in adulthood.
In fact, chickenpox falls into the category of fairly simple diseases. Temperature and acute manifestations of the disease exist in the first three days. Further, the patient feels well, and the matter remains for the healing of rashes on the skin.
Given that this is a viral infection, against the background of chickenpox, inflammatory processes in the upper respiratory tract can occur in parallel: bronchitis, tracheitis, pharyngitis or rhinitis.
Pregnancy and under one year of age
How does chickenpox show up in pregnant women and infants?
The causative agent (characteristics are given above) can enter the body of a pregnant woman and an infant. What to do in this case? More on that below.
Due to the sterile conditions of the maternity hospital, the spread of chicken pox in the walls of the maternity ward practically does not occur. If the woman in labor was infected with chickenpox, the child is placed in an isolated box. The mother is also isolated from other patients. In addition to diagnosing and treating chickenpox, a number of measures are being taken to prevent the spread of the virus to other patients.
When pregnant women become infected with chickenpox, antiviral therapy is used using drugs that do not cross the placenta and do not affect the fetus. Treatment with antibiotics in this case is excluded. The patient is placed in a hospital, treatment is carried out under supervision. In late pregnancy, there is a risk that the baby will contract chickenpox during childbirth.
A difficult disease can cause miscarriage forearly pregnancy and late preterm birth.
The main prevention of chickenpox is the disinfection and sterilization of the premises where the patient was.
Prevention at home
How is chickenpox prevented? The causative agent, the ways of transmission are considered by us. Therefore, after the end of the course of treatment for chickenpox in the room where the patient was located, maximum ventilation is carried out. Wash and iron bed linen and towels. It is necessary to rewash the patient's clothes.
Wet clean using chlorine-containing chemicals in the room where the patient was and in common areas.
When a patient is in a house or apartment, it is necessary to ensure his complete isolation, visit the patient in a medical mask.
Provide dishes, towels, personal hygiene products for the patient for personal use.
It must be remembered that chicken pox is quite dangerous for an adult. The causative agent and the path of the disease are known to all.
Prevention in public places
Constant sterilization and treatment of premises using chlorine is mandatory in kindergartens and schools.
When diagnosing chickenpox in children, patients are isolated from he althy children.
Kindergartens and educational institutions carry out mass vaccination against antiviral diseases.
Chickenpox Personal Prevention
To prevent chickenpox disease (the causative agent of the disease is a virus), it is necessary to maintain immunity at the proper level. In order to increase the protective functions of the body, a full-fledged diet is used using foods high in fiber, vitamins, and trace elements.
- They take immunomodulatory drugs.
- Take vitamin complexes.
- In the risk zone, when visiting public places, use antiviral ointments, medical masks.
- Use antiviral vaccinations.
- When visiting patients with chickenpox, it is necessary to apply antiviral agents, avoid contact and use a medical mask.
Who is more likely to get chickenpox?
- More susceptible to the varicella-zoster virus are immunocompromised people who have just had an illness and already have inflammatory diseases.
- Children in nurseries and kindergartens. They have constant contact and easily transmit a viral infection to each other by airborne droplets.
- Parents who have not previously had chicken pox are susceptible to infection when their children are sick. A sick child needs to be looked after, and most often this role falls to the parents. In this case, if one of the parents has already had chickenpox, it is worth entrusting him with the responsibility of caring for a sick child.
- Educators, nannies and other employees of kindergartens and educational institutions. They are forced to come into contact with sick children and are primarily at risk of contracting a viral infection.
- Employees of pharmacies, trade and services. People of this profession are constantly in contact with the population and are at risk of contracting airborne droplets from almost any viral infection.
- Doctors, nurses, medical staff. Due to their profession, they are unable to avoid contracting a viral infection.
- Close relatives and family of a chickenpox patient. Without the possibility of isolation, being in the same living quarters with the patient, they are constantly at risk of contracting the virus through airborne droplets.
Consequences of chickenpox
Since the causative agent of chickenpox (microbiology confirms this) is a virus, the main consequences for a child are a weakening of immunity. Prolonged isolation, lack of fresh air, lack of appetite and infection with the virus worsen the child's he alth. If an adult had complications from chickenpox, this also lowers their immunity.
After heavy scratching, chickenpox rashes leave small scars in the form of holes on the skin. They can stay for life, which is not very convenient aesthetically.
In rare cases, after chickenpox, the patient may experience difficulties in the functioning of the kidneys and liver.
Due to prolonged use of alcohol-containing solutions, dry skin, various types of dermatitis may appear. To eliminate such unpleasant consequences, after the end of the course of treatment, it is necessary to lubricate the skin with fatty creams, glycerin and other moisturizers.means.
Chickenpox is primarily considered a childhood illness. In adults, this is most often a secondary syndrome. Sometimes the virus is cumulative. If a person has already had chickenpox once, then upon contact with infected patients, chickenpox can manifest itself in the form of skin diseases, for example, shingles. Adults are most at risk of re-infecting with chickenpox if they have low immune levels and are susceptible to disease.
In case of strong mass epidemics in public organizations, educational institutions may declare quarantine. Chickenpox belongs to the category of rapidly spreading viral infections, and during an epidemic, more than half of the team can become infected. In order to extinguish the source of infection, in such cases, quarantine is declared. Because being in a society of a large number of adults or children who have an incubation period, when there is a possibility of spreading the infection, is undesirable.
The total period from the moment of infection to the end of treatment for chickenpox is from 2 weeks to 1 month. Within 10-12 days after the absence of obvious manifestations of the disease, the person is still a distributor of the infection. After the end of treatment, doctors recommend not to take the child to school and kindergarten for another week. It is dangerous for other children to spread the infection.
Sometimes itching and a rash of chicken pox can only appear. The causative agent and symptoms of the disease are often interconnected.
In children with a high level of activity, the disease is mild, without high body temperature,complications of skin rashes and the general condition of the body.
Which doctor should I see for chickenpox?
Usually, in children who go to kindergarten and school, a skin rash when infected with chickenpox is detected and diagnosed initially by a he alth worker of the organization.
The second step is to visit the local pediatrician or call the doctor at home if the patient feels unwell.
A local pediatrician diagnoses chickenpox and prescribes a course of treatment and drugs used.
In outpatient treatment, constant monitoring of the patient by a pediatrician is necessary.
If the patient needs hospitalization, the local doctor writes a referral to the hospital, where further treatment is carried out.
If the patient has complications, then the decision on hospitalization is made independently. For this, an ambulance is called, after which further treatment is carried out within the walls of a medical institution.
If the infection occurred at home, it is necessary to call a local pediatrician to determine the diagnosis and treatment procedure. Further, after the appointment, carry out treatment.
When an adult is infected with chickenpox, it is necessary to consult a general practitioner at a medical institution at the first manifestations of a rash. If the therapist has doubts, then the examination is carried out by a dermatologist. Further treatment is prescribed at home or on an outpatient basis. In case of complications, it is necessary to call an ambulance for hospitalization.
Determining that a patient has chickenpox is very easy. Itching startsand after combing, small red pimples appear, which begin to appear more and more. Almost during the day, the patient sprinkles completely. The tonsils, nasopharynx, eyelid mucosa may become inflamed.
This is dangerous chicken pox. The causative agent and causes are discussed above.
Despite the fact that this is a fairly common viral disease that has a massive character, we should not forget that it still has consequences.
The less attention is paid to the treatment of chickenpox, the more likely the appearance of consequences that are undesirable for the he alth of especially the child's body. Any virus affects the formation of a growing child. In addition, a neglected, severe disease can cause systemic changes, blood diseases, etc. In this regard, preventive measures and adherence to the treatment regimen should not be neglected.
What drugs are used to treat chickenpox?
- Alcohol solution of brilliant greens.
- Manganese solution.
- Glycerin.
- Alcohol.
- "Fukortsin".
- "Acyclovir" and its analogues of foreign production.
- Zovirax, other antivirals.
- Antibiotics "Amoxiclav", penicillin group, tetracycline group.
- Vitamin complexes for children and adults.
- Antihistamines: Clarotodin, Suprastin or other Russian and foreign production.
Important when contracting chickenpox in a timely mannerdiagnose the disease, comply with all necessary measures to isolate the patient, doctor's prescriptions. In no case do not interrupt treatment, do not go out into the street and into society ahead of time. With severe pockmarks on the face after chicken pox, treat scars with Kontratubex ointment for 1 month. A month after the end of treatment, as a diagnosis of the consequences, it is necessary to pass biochemical blood and urine tests.
If necessary, you need to make an immunogram, based on the results of the diagnostics, it will be clear how negative the impact of the disease on the human body was.
In the article, we considered the causative agent for chickenpox, the symptoms and methods of treatment of this disease.
