They include healthcare workers, college students, teachers, and daycare workers. The tell-tale symptom of chickenpox is a rash that develops into itchy blisters over the entire body. The rash can spread into the mouth or other areas inside the body. Chickenpox can also cause body aches, fever, and fatigue. Chickenpox is not usually severe, but the risk of hospitalization and death is increased in adults and adolescents.
Why is Chickenpox Vaccine Important? The vaccine reduces the chance of getting chickenpox. If a pregnant woman develops chickenpox, she and her unborn child are at risk for serious complications including:. If you have chickenpox, your doctor will treat the symptoms and let the disease run its course. Recommendations typically include:. In certain circumstances, your doctor may also prescribe drugs such as acyclovir or valacyclovir to combat the virus and prevent complications.
Your doctor will recommend the chickenpox vaccine if they believe the risks associated with it are much lower than the risks associated with the disease itself. While some people may develop a low-grade fever or mild rash after being injected with the chickenpox vaccine, the most common side effects are redness, swelling , or soreness at the vaccination site.
Other very rare severe side effects include:. It never goes away and it can lie dormant for years. Shingles is a painful viral infection that is characterized by a blistering skin rash that forms in a band in a specific location of the body.
It most often appears on the left or right side of your torso, sometimes around one eye or on one side of the face or neck. Shingles is most likely to appear in older adults and people with weakened immune systems.
Two shingles vaccines — Zostavax and Shingrix — are available and many doctors recommend them for their patients who have had chickenpox and are age 50 and older. Have you had chickenpox? Have you received the chickenpox vaccine? Answer those questions and follow these recommendations:. Also known as varicella, chickenpox is a virus that often affects children. It is characterized by itchy red blisters that appear all over the body.
Shingles, or herpes zoster, occurs when the dormant chickenpox virus is reactivated in nerve tissues. Early symptoms include tingling and pain. Shingles is a condition related to chickenpox. It mostly affects older adults. Anyone adult or child who has not been vaccinated, or has not had chickenpox before, is at risk of catching chickenpox.
Rarely, someone who has been vaccinated will catch chickenpox, but the disease will be much less severe and less contagious than in an unvaccinated person. Chickenpox vaccination is now free for children as part of the National Immunisation Programme Schedule. It is given as one dose at 18 months of age as MMRV measles, mumps, rubella, varicella vaccine. There are catch-up programs for children who missed this vaccination.
Adults who are unsure if they had chickenpox as a child should consider being tested to see if they are immune to the disease. This is particularly important if they are likely to be in contact with children, the main source of infections. Adults who are not immune can be vaccinated against varicella-zoster so that they are protected if they do come into contact with chickenpox sufferers.
They will need 2 doses, at least one month apart. In certain cases, an injection of a medicine called Zoster Immunoglobulin may be given to non-immune people following contact with chickenpox sufferers. This medication contains antibodies to the varicella-zoster virus, and can prevent or modify an attack of chickenpox when given within 96 hours of exposure, reducing the risk of serious complications.
People with chickenpox should avoid contact with other people and not attend childcare or school until at least 5 days after the rash started, and all the blisters have dried. Pregnant women should avoid people with chickenpox and see their doctor if they think they have been exposed to someone with chickenpox. The Australian Immunisation Handbook, 10th Edition. Immunise Australia Program. Varicella chickenpox. April NSW Health. Chickenpox and shingles.
Skip to content. When unvaccinated adults catch chickenpox it is more serious. Chickenpox causes Chickenpox is caused by a herpes virus — varicella-zoster. Symptoms Chickenpox symptoms appear about 2 weeks after being exposed to the virus. Flu-like symptoms, such as fever, headache and runny nose and generally feeling unwell, usually appear first. Rash is also one of the first symptoms.
It begins as very itchy clusters of spots, usually on the face. The rash will spread to other parts of the body, such as your legs, arms and torso. After a few days, the rash will become fluid-filled blisters.
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