Understanding Chickenpox: Symptoms, Causes, and Treatment

Jakarta –

Chickenpox is a disease that attacks the skin and can be transmitted to fellow humans. Chickenpox causes a red, blistered rash on the skin that makes it itchy, then dries up over time.

Generally, cases of chickenpox occur in children. Therefore, for detikers who already have children, they must be aware of smallpox.

So, what are the symptoms of chickenpox? Then how to handle it right? Check out the full discussion in the following article.

What Is Chicken Pox?

Chickenpox is an infection that causes rashes and blisters on the skin, which are very itchy. Quoting the Cleveland Clinic website, chickenpox is caused by a virus called varicella-zoster.

As explained above, chickenpox affects many children. This is because they have not received the chickenpox vaccine, so they are easily exposed.

Yep, chickenpox is a disease that is easily transmitted to other people. Therefore, one of the most effective ways to prevent children from contracting chickenpox is to be vaccinated.

If a person has had chickenpox, he will not catch it from other people. But for the record, the person has been vaccinated since childhood.

If not, chickenpox can affect anyone, even adults. In fact, the symptoms felt by adults when exposed to chickenpox can be even more severe.

Causes of Chicken Pox

Reported by the Hong Kong Center for Health Protection website, the main cause of a person getting chickenpox is the varicella-zoster virus (VZV). In most cases, people who have direct contact with chickenpox patients also become infected.

There are a number of methods of transmission of chickenpox, namely through saliva, coughing, sneezing, and contact with blister fluid. Unfortunately, this virus can remain in the body and can reappear years later as shingles (herpes skin disease).

Symptoms of Chicken Pox

Quoting the Mayo Clinic website, the symptoms of chickenpox in a person are as follows:

• Fever
• Loss of appetite
• Headache
• Fatigue and feeling unwell

After the chickenpox rash appears, the chickenpox patient will go through these three phases:

• Lumps called papillae appear that burst for several days.
• There are small fluid-filled blisters called vesicles. These blisters form about 1 day later burst.
• A crust and scab appears covering the broken blisters.

It should be noted, the rash due to chickenpox appears around 10-21 days after exposure to the varicella-zoster virus. Then, the rash on the skin can last for 5-10 days.

Chicken Pox Complications

In a number of cases, chickenpox can also cause other serious problems, so secters must remain vigilant. As for a number of complications due to chickenpox, which are as follows:

• Infection of the skin, soft tissue, bones, joints or bloodstream caused by bacteria.
• Dehydration.
• Pneumonia, which is a disease of one or both lungs.
• Swelling of the brain or called encephalitis.
• Toxic shock syndrome, which is a dangerous complication of several diseases caused by bacteria.
• Reye’s syndrome, which is a disease that causes swelling in the brain and liver. This can occur in children and adolescents who take aspirin during chickenpox.
• In some very rare cases, chickenpox can cause death.

How to Deal with Chicken Pox

When the little one gets chicken pox, don’t panic first. Because, there are a number of proper ways of handling chicken pox, so that it can help the child recover quickly.

Here’s how to properly and appropriately handle chickenpox patients:

• If you have a fever, try to drink lots of water and get enough rest.
• Wear clean cotton gloves at bedtime to prevent scratching the rash on the skin.
• Children who have chickenpox should stay at home and not go outside until the rash has completely dried.
• Take a warm shower.
• Wear light and soft clothes.

When to Go to the Doctor?

If chickenpox does not go away and is accompanied by various other diseases, the patient must immediately go to the doctor for further treatment. Here are a number of signs in a patient with chickenpox to watch out for, so you can be quick to take him to the hospital:

• Experiencing severe pain and headache.
• Have sores in the eye area.
• Having an enlarged wound or pus in it.
• Having trouble breathing or breathing very quickly.

For information, patients with chickenpox will generally recover after 5-7 days, this is in line with the immune system which is getting better again. Doctors will usually prescribe a number of medicines according to the symptoms that appear, such as itching medicines, pain medicines, and fever medicines.

So, that’s an explanation of the symptoms of chickenpox along with its causes and the right way to handle it. Hopefully this article can help detikers!

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