Complication
The only common complication of chickenpox is bacterial infection of the spots. This usually happens when the itchiness of the rash leads to scratching, and the nails of the patient are dirty. If many spots in the scalp become infected in this way, the hair gets caught up in a tangle of crusts. To clear this requires considerable soaking and gentle bathing. Your doctor may prescribe antibiotic treatment to combat infection. Spots often develop o the edges of the eyelid and can cause a lot of discomfort because of the itching, stickiness and swelling. Another site which provokes severe discomfort if spots are present is the vulva and outer vagina in girls. As long as any so-called ‘secondary’ bacterial infection is treated, these heal very well after a couple of days. In a very few cases, chickenpox may cause pneumonia, encephalitis (infection of the brain) or bleeding disorders. Fortunately, these complications are very rare. Chickenpox during pregnancy is uncommon, as most women have had chickenpox in childhood. If a pregnant women have had chickenpox the foetus is usually affected but it is possible for the virus to pass through the placenta and damage the unborn child. If a pregnant women suspects that she has chickenpox, then should see her doctor immediately.
The only common complication of chickenpox is bacterial infection of the spots. This usually happens when the itchiness of the rash leads to scratching, and the nails of the patient are dirty. If many spots in the scalp become infected in this way, the hair gets caught up in a tangle of crusts. To clear this requires considerable soaking and gentle bathing. Your doctor may prescribe antibiotic treatment to combat infection. Spots often develop o the edges of the eyelid and can cause a lot of discomfort because of the itching, stickiness and swelling. Another site which provokes severe discomfort if spots are present is the vulva and outer vagina in girls. As long as any so-called ‘secondary’ bacterial infection is treated, these heal very well after a couple of days. In a very few cases, chickenpox may cause pneumonia, encephalitis (infection of the brain) or bleeding disorders. Fortunately, these complications are very rare. Chickenpox during pregnancy is uncommon, as most women have had chickenpox in childhood. If a pregnant women have had chickenpox the foetus is usually affected but it is possible for the virus to pass through the placenta and damage the unborn child. If a pregnant women suspects that she has chickenpox, then should see her doctor immediately.
Treatment
Those patient who are particularly at risk from chickenpox – children with leukemia and people taking steroids and other drugs after transplant surgery, for example –can be given a substance called ‘immune globulin’, which is extracted from chickenpox from the blood of people recovering from chickenpox. There are antibodies in the immune globulin which may prevent the person developing chickenpox if the substance is given immediately after ‘at risk’ person has been exposed to chickenpox. Because the illness is usually so very minor in healthy individuals it is not generally available to the public. Should any of these highly susceptible patients actually catch chickenpox, a drug (acyclovir) has recently been developed which makes the illness much less severe.
Recovery
Although chickenpox may look spectacular, it is really one of the mildest childhood diseases. However, it is thought that the chickenpox virus may lie ‘dormant’ in the body for many years, and may emerge later in life as shingles - a painful and distressing condition which usually strikes when the person is feeling particularly under the weather or run down.