^

Health

How can you get chickenpox?

, medical expert
Last reviewed: 19.10.2021
Fact-checked
х

All iLive content is medically reviewed or fact checked to ensure as much factual accuracy as possible.

We have strict sourcing guidelines and only link to reputable media sites, academic research institutions and, whenever possible, medically peer reviewed studies. Note that the numbers in parentheses ([1], [2], etc.) are clickable links to these studies.

If you feel that any of our content is inaccurate, out-of-date, or otherwise questionable, please select it and press Ctrl + Enter.

Chickenpox is an alternative name for varicella, which is a herpes simplex virus type 3 varicella-zoster. It belongs to the category of "volatile" viruses, transmitted by airborne droplets through the mucous membranes of the upper respiratory tract or when liquid gets to the skin from a bursting vesicle. The virus has a 100% susceptibility, affects the skin's epithelium, then penetrates the blood, causing its redness, the formation of papules with serous fluid, exfoliation of the epidermis. Reproduction of it causes a reaction of the body in the form of fever, itching and other symptoms.

Risk of contracting chickenpox

This infection is considered by many to be a purely childish disease, but is it possible to catch chicken pox with an adult? Everyone has a risk of contracting chickenpox, both as a child and as an adult, who has not suffered from it yet. The patients are immunized, it is believed that they are not threatened with repeated infection. The carriers of the infection are those who fell ill the day before the appearance of visual evidence and five days after the rash. And this means that people who spread the virus do not even know about it.

  • Where can you get chickenpox?

Where can you get chickenpox? The answer to this question is everywhere. For a long time, the virus in the active state is able to be in the air and spread to several hundred meters from the source of infection. If a person was traveling in an elevator or a taxi, was on a landing, this is not a guarantee of security in this sense. A pregnant woman can transmit the virus through the placenta to the fetus.

  • How do children become infected with chickenpox?

How do children become infected with chickenpox? Given the ease of transmission of the virus, children have even more chances to catch it, because they are constantly in places of concentration: kindergartens, schools, clubs, studios. Therefore, the question of whether it is possible to catch on the street, you can confidently answer: "Yes!". Up to what age can you get chickenpox? Children most often become infected before the age of 12, but there is no age limit for this infection. "Early" infection has its advantage, because at this age the disease proceeds most easily. Unlike our country, where parents try to isolate their child from the sick, and in the kindergartens they announce quarantines, in many civilized countries they do not do this, preferring that their children get sick in a timely manner.

  • How many days do people get chickenpox?

How many days do people get chickenpox? The incubation period lasts from one week to three. "Catching" the virus, we can not guess about it for such a long period. To find out if you got chickenpox, you can only when the body is covered with red spots, then in a few hours "bubbles" with a clear liquid inside will grow. The next day they wrinkle and settle, forming crusts, and after about a week dry out and fall off. After the appearance of the first messengers of infection, another 2-5 days later there is a rash of new ones.

  • Can I catch chickenpox a second time?

Can I catch chickenpox a second time? The fact is that the herpes virus, which is chickenpox, remains forever in the human body, providing permanent immunity. It would seem that then the question can be answered with confidence. But another diagnosis - shingles provoked by the same virus, it can be ill several times, it even has a chronic form. It is called the second chickenpox, it can be infected not only by shingles, but also chicken pox. In addition, in medical practice, there were rare cases of repeated infection with chickenpox, which took place in a lighter form than the first time. This is attributed to the weakening of immunity, most often caused by other serious pathologies, the ingestion of antibiotics.

  • Can I get chickenpox through third parties?

Can I get chickenpox through third parties? Often this issue worries parents of children. They fear that the child can pick up a virus, for example from a pediatrician who, prior to the examination of their child, was at the reception of a patient with chickenpox or a masseur, through whose hands the children passed in the incubation period of the disease. Experts reassure that the disease occurs directly from the patient to the healthy, so do not be afraid, chicken pox is not transmitted from third parties.

  • Can I get chickenpox through things?

Can I get chickenpox through things? The only source of the virus is the patient himself. The statement that someone infected from contact with the thing of the patient is a myth. Just a person can not trace the trajectory of a droplet of droplets of saliva with a microscopic virus, so he comes up with more realistic, in his opinion, explanations.

  • Can I get infected after chickenpox vaccination?

In childhood, the disease, as a rule, proceeds easily, but there are exceptions. Severe consequences are possible: pneumonia, brain damage and even death. To prevent such complications in Japan in 1974 invented the vaccine using a live attenuated strain of herpes. The positive effect of its application was appreciated in the world, it is implemented in more than 90 countries, including Ukraine. We are not included in the list of mandatory vaccinations, but those who wish can be vaccinated. Can I get infected after chickenpox vaccination? Such cases were fixed, but the disease proceeds in a much easier form, without multiple rashes, high fever, and recovery is more rapid.

How do you know if you get chickenpox, the symptoms

Even before the appearance of a rash, the infected person feels a general malaise, discomfort, lack of appetite, fever, headache, high fever appears. These symptoms express the body's response to the virus that has entered it. Eruptions first on the trunk (abdomen, back), then on the head (face, hair) confirm fears that a person has become infected with chickenpox.

How not to catch chickenpox?

How not to catch chickenpox? Obviously, the most chance of not catching the disease is vaccination. You can try to avoid contact with the sick, but there is no guarantee that you will not meet people who do not have obvious signs of the virus, but who are his carriers. If the house is sick with chicken pox, what to do so as not to get infected? It is necessary to ventilate the habitation, resort to quartz room. If the air temperature is too high or low, the virus is unstable, but you can not create such a microclimate in a residential area. Good immunity is the most reliable protection against the disease, and this will help a healthy lifestyle, proper nutrition, exercise, hardening.

Translation Disclaimer: For the convenience of users of the iLive portal this article has been translated into the current language, but has not yet been verified by a native speaker who has the necessary qualifications for this. In this regard, we warn you that the translation of this article may be incorrect, may contain lexical, syntactic and grammatical errors.

You are reporting a typo in the following text:
Simply click the "Send typo report" button to complete the report. You can also include a comment.