Chickenpox (Varicella)

When To Call A Professional

Most cases of chickenpox do not require a visit to the doctor. Call your doctor if any child or adult in your family develops symptoms of chickenpox and:

• You are unsure of the diagnosis

• Someone in the household cannot fight infection well (for example takes steroids regularly or has cancer and is on chemotherapy)

• Someone in the household, especially an adult, has not had chickenpox or the vaccine

• Someone in the household is pregnant

Call your doctor for his or her recommendation if you or your child has been exposed to chickenpox and neither of you has had the disease or the vaccine before.

In people with confirmed chickenpox, call your doctor if any of the following symptoms develops:

• Fever of 103°Fahrenheit or above

• Itching that is not relieved by medication and baths

• Blisters that are inflamed, painful, swollen or filled with pus

• Blisters near the eyes

• Signs of brain infection (encephalitis), including severe headache, sleepiness and vomiting

• Signs of lung infection (pneumonia), including cough and difficulty breathing.

To decrease the spread of chickenpox, the person with chickenpox should avoid exposing people who have not had the disease, especially those who cannot fight infection well.

If you or your children (aged 1 and older) have never had chickenpox, ask your doctor about the chickenpox vaccine. If you are a woman who has never had chickenpox and you are considering becoming pregnant, speak with your doctor immediately about reducing your risk of chickenpox and other preventable infections before you become pregnant.

Prognosis

In otherwise healthy children, chickenpox is usually a mild infection, with the skin returning to normal within two to four weeks. Sometimes, a few mild scars remain where some of the chickenpox rash had been. Remember that in a small number of cases, chickenpox causes more serious infections that require hospitalization and sometimes cause long-term disability and death.

Additional Info

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 1600 Clifton Rd., NE Atlanta, GA 30333 Phone: (404) 639-3534 Toll-Free: (800) 311-3435 http://www.cdc.gov/