The other day my friend’s 3 years old daughter said, “Look I have got a pimple on my palm” and we had a hearty laugh at kids parroting words as they hear. She must have heard pimple word somewhere and included that in her conversation. We didn’t even bother to check what she meant by that. The very next day, her mom called us and informed that Michelle, her daughter, had developed chicken pox. We all got scared. Yesterday she was all fine and even played for long with other kids in the park and all of a sudden she developed red itchy spots with high fever.
We wondered if chicken pox could be so sudden!
How kids contract chickenpox
Well, chicken pox is a common illness that is characterized by high fever, loss of appetite, sore throat and itchy red spots all over the body. Though it is most common in children, many people do get it once in their lifetime (if they didn’t get vaccinated against chickenpox) and after that the body develops immunity against it.
Chicken pox occurs due to a virus called varicella-zoster which spreads easily. It is not a serious ailment. Just that the infected kid needs to be away from the company of other kids for at least 10 days. Chicken pox is spread most to others 2-3 days before the blister appears in the infected kid. The infected kid can spread it to others through sneezing, coughing or even sharing foods and drinks.
The sad part about the illness is that the healthy kid who contracts the virus comes to know it only when the symptoms arise and symptoms take 10-15 days to appear after the kid has actually contracted the virus.
What happens after appearance of spots
After the spots appear, it takes spots 2-3 days to cover all its stages viz. blistering, bursting, drying and crusting. During this phase, new spots might appear for 5-7 days. All the blisters go away in a period of 10 days. That’s when the child can again mingle with others kids.
What to do if you find the symptoms in your child
Nothing much, just let your kid take as much rest as possible and include some medication after consulting a doctor for reducing itching and fever. You can apply oatmeal pack on the areas that itch. Itching will subside. Also ensure that your kid is vaccinated against chicken pox.
