Just about everybody gets chicken pox as a child. The disease is usually mild and runs its course quickly. However, it can be dangerous to infants and adults.
The chicken pox virus — also known as varicella — can spread through the air or by contact with the fluid from chicken pox blisters. The virus causes a red, extremely itchy rash plus a fever and fatigue. Too much scratching of the rash can lead to permanent scarring. Scratching with dirty hands (or dirty objects) can lead to severe skin infection. Other complications include pneumonia, brain damage, and in rare cases, death.
Most people get chicken pox once and only once. However, you may see the virus resurface years later in a different kind of rash: shingles.
Don’t laugh — I actually had chicken pox twice. When I was an infant, my father caught chicken pox, probably from a student, as he taught in elementary schools for more than thirty years! Apparently I caught enough of the virus to develop a very small rash. On my rear end. So maybe that doesn’t count. But I did have it again during my grammar school years.
In 1995, a chicken pox vaccine was introduced. Studies have shown that the vaccine is 85 percent effective against the virus, and immunity can last twenty years or more. Adults tend to get more severe cases of chicken pox and risk more complications than children do; if you are an adult who has never had varicella, you may want to think about getting the vaccine. After vaccination, if you do develop chicken pox, it will probably be a very mild case.
Quick facts about chicken pox:
- Approximately twelve thousand Americans end up in the hospital each year thanks to chicken pox
- Approximately one hundred Americans die each year as a result of chicken pox
Look for natural remedies for chicken pox and shingles from Families.com!