Doctors at the “Victor Babeş” Infectious Diseases Hospital in Timişoara announce that recently the number of chickenpox cases in Timiş has increased a lot, this after no case has been evaluated by the medical staff in the last two years.
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Currently, there are 3-4 patients evaluated daily, according to News.ro.
Most of the patients who arrived for investigations at the Outpatient Hospital of Infectious Diseases in Timişoara developed a mild form, which did not require hospitalization. However, two children are under supervision in the health unit due to complications. One of them has developed encephalitis, but his condition is stable, and the other is hospitalized for further monitoring and investigation, with a prolonged febrile syndrome.
Chickenpox is a contagious disease that causes blisters on the body. The virus that causes chickenpox is transmitted through the respiratory tract, through the air, or through direct contact with the infected person. The disease is most common in winter and spring, but in recent years there has been an extension of the period in which such cases occur “, it is shown in a press release, on Wednesday, of the Infectious Diseases Hospital” Victor Babeş “from Timisoara..
The incubation period can be between 10 and 21 days, but in most cases it is two weeks. The maximum contagion is 2-3 days before the rash appears on the body, but it continues during the formation of blisters until the last crust comes off.
“The first symptoms are low fever (37-37.5) or even fever (38-39), fatigue, headache, malaise and malaise, but also decreased appetite. No later than two days after the first signs of illness, red spots appear on the body that turn into blisters filled with fluid. In normal evolution, if not broken, the vesicle gradually decreases in volume in 12-24 hours, starting from the center, then it is flattened by reducing the content, which is resorbed. On the 3rd or 4th day, the blister dries and turns into a crust. Some eruptive elements pass directly into the crustal stage. It is important that the patient is isolated so that he does not pass on the virus. In most cases, it is not necessary to evaluate in the hospital, the patients remaining in the records and monitoring of the family doctor. However, there are cases, such as those we have in the hospital, in which patients have developed a complication and it was necessary to monitor them closely. Encephalitis is manifested by vomiting caused by cranial hypertension, gait instability and headache, headache, “said Univ. dr. Adelina Marinescu, infectious disease specialist at the Infectious Diseases Hospital Timişoara.
Adults can also develop severe forms of the disease, which are manifested by a superinfection of the skin and which can lead, if not treated with antibiotics, to sepsis. However, the number of cases is extremely small. The treatment of the disease consists in the administration of antipyretics, anti-inflammatory or antihistamines that improve the itching sensation of the skin. But there are ways to prevent it.
“Vaccination is the best way to protect yourself. However, immunization against chickenpox is not part of the complete vaccination schedule for children, but the serum can be given at any time after the baby is 9 months old. It is recommended that the vaccine be given until the age of 12, but adults can also be immunized. Vaccination provides lifelong protection, if done correctly, which involves two doses every 6 weeks. There is, however, the possibility of contracting the disease in the case of adults who were vaccinated in childhood, but the form they will take, if they do, will be easy. And this is very important, because in the case of adults there is a higher risk of complications, especially in immunocompromised patients “, said Adelina Marinescu.
Doctors say that after two years in which no case of chickenpox was registered in Timiş due to anti-Covid protection measures, wearing a mask and isolation, in the next period the number of patients with this disease could increase significantly.
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