Rarely, which of the kids can avoid the unpleasant itchy bubbles, which generously gives the children chicken pox. The attitude to this disease is twofold - some mothers are afraid of him as a fire, others are even glad that the child suffered it as a child and earned a permanent immunity (photo of chickenpox in children see below).
A dangerous virus with the beautiful name of Varicella-Zoster (VVZ), discovered in 1958 year, affects a person at any age, but chicken pox is more difficult in teenage and mature years.
What is chicken pox (chicken pox)
The very name of the disease signals that its causative agent flies freely in the air and lands where he wants. Chickenpox is an extremely contagious disease that is caused by the herpes virus. Having chosen himself a master, he settles in his body for life. More than one and a half million people every year fall ill with chicken pox, 90% of which are children under the age of twelve. Most often small neseedy "pick up" a viral infection in children's institutions - with the appearance of at least one carrier of VVZ in the acute stage, avoiding infection is extremely difficult.
Chickenpox in children - how is the infection
The main source of infection are not bubbles, as some think, but droplets of mucus from the nasopharynx of a sick child. That is why, two days before the rashes on the skin, an infected kid infects his friends around him. When talking, during joint games and just when in one room, the virus from the patient gets into the air first, and then settles on the nasal mucosa, pharynx and mouth of others. With the flow of blood and lymph it quickly spreads throughout the body and begins to multiply.
During 1-3 weeks, this is how long the incubation period lasts, the chickenpox causative agent does not bother the child and does not manifest itself in any way. Given the "volatility" of the virus, which easily spreads to a distance of twenty meters, you can get infected even through the ventilation holes. The source of infection can be an adult who suffers from shingles. The causative agent of this disease and varicella is one - the herpes virus Varicella-Zoster.
Chickenpox in children - stages of the course of the disease and symptoms
Varicella in children occurs in several stages, characterized by characteristic features:
1. The incubation period from 1 to 3 weeks - there is a multiplication and accumulation of the virus without external manifestations.
2. Prodromal period - in small children, it may be absent or occur with insignificant manifestations. This stage lasts about a day or slightly more and can manifest itself as an ordinary cold:
- Increase in temperature, usually not too much;
- headache, weakness;
- loss of appetite, nausea;
- sore throat;
- possible a short-term occurrence of reddish spots on some parts of the body.
3. The period of rashes - as a rule, accompanied by a sharp rise in temperature to 39-39,5 degrees. Observations show that, the higher the reading of the thermometer on the first day, the more rashes and more severe the course of the disease will be. Sometimes, with mild form, the disease proceeds with a slight rise in temperature, or even without it, and the only symptom of chickenpox is a rash.
How does chickenpox look like in children (photo)
In order not to be mistaken with a diagnosis, not to miss the first emerging symptoms, it is very important to know what an unpleasant disease looks like.
1. This is how the baby's skin looks on the first day of the disease - the pimples look like bites of annoying insects.
2. Spots quickly turn into bubbles filled with transparent liquid, bordered by reddish skin. Gradually, their contents become cloudy, and they burst.
3. When the bubbles dry up, a crust is formed, which under no circumstances can be ripped off.
4. At the same time, you can observe all the stages of the development of rashes - specks, filled with bubbles, crusts (see photo of chicken pox in children below).
Features of the rash in children with chickenpox
The first reddish specks resemble mosquito bites and appear on the trunk. However, the rash swiftly conquers new positions, spreading to the arms and legs, then passes over to the face and scalp. The appearance of skin rashes quickly changes - red dots turn into fluid-filled vesicles, which burst through 8-10 hours and cause unbearable itching. After a while, they dry up and become crusted, but there are all new ones that go through the same cycle. In any part of the body, you can simultaneously see all the stages of the development of the rashes, and each of the following causes a temperature jump. Vesicles, the number of which reaches several hundred and even thousands, can affect the mucous membranes of the mouth, genital organs, eyes, and in severe cases, cover even the soles and palms.
The period of rashes lasts from 4 to 8 days, after which recovery begins. Appearing in place of the bubbles, yellow-brown crusts fall off about a week, leaving no trace. But this is only if the mother helped the child survive a period of severe itching - did not allow combing and getting into the wound infection. Premature ripening of the cortical layer can lead to the appearance of "pockmarks", which can remain for life. Five days after the appearance of the last bubble the baby is considered not infectious, and it can be taken for a walk.
Treatment of chickenpox in children
Specific treatment for varicella is absent, chicken pox does not respond to antibiotics and antibacterial drugs. The help to the kid who has picked up an unpleasant virus, consists in struggle against symptoms of an illness:
- if the thermometer's column, quickly and confidently, rises above the mark of 38 degrees, the child should be given antipyretic drugs - ibuprofen or paracetamol;
Caution! Aspirin and chickenpox are incompatible!
- not to force the baby to eat by force, but to provide copious drinking;
- carefully monitor the appearance of new vesicles and prevent them from combing;
- You can use a green that slightly dries out the rashes and allows you to control the appearance of new bubbles. The same action has an aqueous solution of potassium permanganate or 2-3% tincture of iodine;
- If the child suffers from too much itching, ask the doctor to prescribe antiallergic drugs;
- for a period with symptoms of fever and intoxication, bed rest is desirable.
Treatment of chickenpox in children is at home, only if there are any complications the doctor can offer hospitalization. Parents should help the kid to cope with an unpleasant condition, relieve the suffering from the itchy rash. Specialists give useful recommendations, which are not difficult at all:
- The apartment should be cool, with the allocation of sweat itching is worse;
- bathing the baby with chickenpox is extremely necessary - cool water will help it not to itch, so you can arrange bathing several times during the day. It is very effective to add a little soda or a weak solution of potassium permanganate to the water - the first will relieve the itching, and the second will dry the wounds. Be careful with wiping, the skin should be slightly soaked with a soft towel;
- clothes should be made of natural materials and not adhere to the calf. Change it, like bed linen, you need daily;
- Light gloves at night protect the damaged skin of a sick child from scratching. If an infection gets into the wound, an inflammatory process may occur and, as a consequence, a pockmark of the wound will last for life. The same result awaits from the forcible ripping of the crusts formed - they must fall off on their own;
- if the doctor recommended an antihistamine ointment - use it gently, applying only directly to the blister. This will help avoid a dangerous overdose.
On the sixth day after the appearance of the last bubble with the baby, you can go for a walk. He is no longer a danger to others, but still very weak. It is better to delay with the return of the little martyr to the kindergarten, giving him the opportunity to regain strength and grow stronger.
Ways to prevent chickenpox in children
Vaccination is a reliable way to protect against chickenpox, but it is carried out at the request of the parents. After vaccination, the child is protected for ten years - he or she generally avoids infection, or the disease proceeds in an extremely mild form. Many mothers believe that instead of carrying out the vaccination, it is better to let the baby get infected in the preschool age. In this case, they say, the ailment will take place in an easy form, and the beloved child will receive guaranteed protection for life.
However, the opinions of experts on this issue are divided. Opponents of such a method argue their position quite logically: there is a real danger of complications during the illness of toddlers, and the herpes virus that has settled in the child's organism is able to cause shingles in the future. So the parents will have to make the right decision, after carefully weighing all the pros and cons.
Add to the note mothers: studies convincingly testify: 100 vaccinated children 90-95% do not develop chickenpox and have very few chances of contracting shingles in the future. The remaining 5-10% can survive, but in a very light form. The duration of the vaccine is 10-20 years.
Attention! If there is a contact of the child with a sick chicken pox, the mother has 96 hours to make a decision about an urgent vaccination. Later, the vaccine will not help, and the baby is almost guaranteed to become ill.
In children's institutions, quarantine for chicken pox is announced on 21 day.
What does Doctor Komarovsky say about chicken pox?
The most frequent question asked by the troubled parents is the effect of green on the disease of children with chicken pox. The answer of Yevgeny Komarovsky is unambiguous - there is no curative effect from such an action, zelenok serves only as an indicator of the period of infectiousness. Every day, lubricating bubbles with a colored solution, one day Mom notices that there are no new rashes. From this moment begins the countdown of the last five days, when the baby can be dangerous for others.
The doctor draws the parents' attention to the fact that the virus infection, which is chicken pox in children, is not subject to the influence of antibiotics and does not require special preparations during the usual course of the disease. Only in adolescence, when the disease is too difficult, doctors prescribe anti-herpetic drugs. The main advice that Dr. Komarovsky gives to mothers who have fallen ill is:
- avoid overheating, increasing itching;
- Shortly cut nails, if necessary, wear gloves, in every possible way to distract the baby from scratching the bubbles;
- Do not give aspirin, so as not to cause complications from the liver;
- combing of the blisters leads to bacterial infection and the probability of traces for life;
- chickenpox quite strongly depresses immunity, so after the disease it is necessary to refrain from visiting the kindergarten and spend more time walking.
Concerning vaccinations, Komarovsky considers, sensible parents should not have any discussions. However, he reminds that vaccination against varicella is voluntary, therefore the mothers and dads will have to take responsibility for it.