Chickenpox in infants: when it occurs, how it manifests and is treated

Chickenpox - in common parlance, chickenpox is considered more a childhood than an adult disease, which you need to get over once and forget forever, as immunity to this disease is developed. Parents whose children have not yet been ill should be aware of this disease in order to provide the sick child with proper care.

The main sign by which chickenpox is recognized is blisters filled with clear liquid. The rash usually begins from the lower extremities, and within a few hours moves to the top of the head. Most often the disease is accompanied by high fever. It must be remembered that the bubbles that appear on the child’s skin should under no circumstances be squeezed out - scars may remain. Chickenpox is not always accompanied by large rashes; one patient may have from 10 to 50 abscesses, while another child may be covered with them from head to toe. The rash covers not only the skin, but can also form on the mucous membrane of the eyes, on the genitals and even in the mouth. The incubation period for chickenpox is 1 to 3 weeks and is transmitted by airborne droplets over a distance of up to 100 meters. This means that if your child, who was not sick, was in the same room with a chickenpox carrier, know that yours is next.

Chickenpox can be diagnosed by symptoms, without tests or examinations. A child with chickenpox needs home treatment. During the period of rashes, baths should be avoided. Nowadays, just like many decades ago, bubbles are smeared with brilliant green for the purpose of disinfection and drying. As a rule, children from 2 years old experience discomfort on the skin, accompanied by burning and itching. To alleviate the condition, the child is given allergy medications that help reduce itching. Make sure that the child does not scratch the abscesses, this will eliminate the possibility of infection under the skin. In some cases, when an infection occurs, children are prescribed an antibiotic that fights bacteria, but does not affect the course of chickenpox, since it is not effective for viral infections.

Prevention and treatment of chickenpox in children

In recent years, a vaccine has become available that prevents chickenpox infection. The vaccination is effective even after contact with a sick person, the main thing is to have it done within 72 hours. Children are vaccinated against chickenpox from 1 year of age. Immunity lasts for up to 20 years.

It is worth remembering that any disease must be diagnosed correctly and on time. Doctors at our clinic will help you understand the disease and prescribe effective treatment for chickenpox in children . You can make an appointment on this page.

A little about chickenpox

Chickenpox (varicella) is a viral disease transmitted from a sick person by airborne droplets. It has distinctive features, which greatly facilitates diagnosis. Chickenpox is characterized by the appearance of skin rashes that go through several stages in their development, after which the disease gradually subsides.

Chickenpox is predominantly a childhood disease, since 90% of those who have been ill are children under 14 years of age. But adults can also get chickenpox if they avoided it in childhood.

Properties of the chickenpox virus

Varicella Zoster is a virus that, when it enters the human body, provokes the development of chickenpox. It belongs to the group of herpes viruses, due to which it has a certain property. This pathogen no longer leaves the body into which it entered, being located in the nerve ganglia. Moreover, he may not remind of himself for a long time. But if this virus is reactivated (with decreased immunity, stress and exhaustion), then it causes another disease - shingles.

The virus cannot exist in our environment, so it dies quickly. But it is known that you can become infected with it due to its spread.

When a person suffers chickenpox, a strong immunity is formed in his body, which lasts for life. This is why it is very unlikely that you will get chickenpox again.

Allergy or chickenpox - what's the difference?

For chickenpox to occur, it is necessary for a specific pathogen to penetrate the body - a virus that has an incomparable protein structure.

Herpes virus under a microscope

The allergic process is provoked by substances belonging to different classes of chemical compounds. These are not only proteins alien to the body (food or otherwise), but also substances of simple chemical composition (the class of fruit sugars), or even inorganic compounds, such as soot or ordinary sand - the main components of any dust.

Allergies are caused by allergens, most often food

The time for chickenpox rash to appear on the body is the period required for the virus to begin to multiply massively (about 14 days from the moment of infection). An allergic rash appears a few minutes (tens of minutes) after the substance penetrates the human body.

For the virus to exist, it must penetrate the respiratory tract - an allergy begins both when an allergen substance is inhaled, and when it comes into contact with the skin (by spraying) or into the skin (by injection by insects or other means).

If the occurrence of an allergic response is a reaction caused by the genetic structure of the body, then the development of chickenpox does not depend on the genetic characteristics of a person - susceptibility to the virus is close to 100%.

Features of the newborn's body

In babies, the body has many characteristics, since it is still actively developing and adapting to new conditions. Chickenpox in newborns is a rare occurrence. Why?

The child’s own immune system is still weak. But all the necessary antibodies that will cope with pathogens of a variety of diseases come to him through mother's milk. It is known that milk has such a protective function for the first six months, and at approximately 6 months the baby’s body begins to independently fight microbes.

When can a baby get chickenpox?

Chickenpox in infants is still possible. But this requires the presence of the following factors:

The baby was born with a very weak immune system (for example, he has congenital immunodeficiency).
Lack of breastfeeding, early introduction of formula.
Mom did not have chickenpox.
A pregnant woman suffered from chickenpox while carrying a baby, or she fell ill during childbirth.

Chickenpox in infants has its own characteristics, because their immune system is not yet perfect. Various complications or other diseases may occur against the background of the main one. Therefore, it is necessary to protect the baby as much as possible, and in case of infection, consult a doctor in a timely manner and follow all instructions.

Pregnancy and chickenpox

Adults do not tolerate chickenpox as easily as younger children. But doctors are especially afraid for pregnant women who have not yet had time to get sick. This disease can have a negative impact on the fetus (if the woman herself becomes ill for the first time), so blood tests for pregnant women must include an analysis for antibodies to the varicella zoster virus.

Depending on the stage of pregnancy, the virus affects the health of the fetus in different ways. In the first trimester, the damage will be very serious (the narnar system, eyes, skin suffers), and the risk of death is high. The disease in the second trimester of pregnancy can lead to various malformations of the baby. In the third trimester, the degree of exposure to the fetus decreases, but there may also be consequences.

There is such a thing as “congenital chickenpox in newborns.” It occurs in a quarter of cases after the expectant mother gets chickenpox, and the fatality rate is approximately 20%. With congenital chickenpox, children experience developmental disorders; many children develop various neurological disorders. If the virus has been detected in the body of a newborn, then timely prescribed antiviral treatment will produce results.

How to distinguish chickenpox from allergies?

photo chickenpox Allergy can be recognized by a number of characteristic signs:

with contact allergic dermatitis, for example, to metal, localized redness appears at the site of contact, followed by small itchy blisters and weeping;
with food allergies, the rashes do not have a clear shape, they can be confluent, blisters do not form, and in small children crusts form that cover large areas of the skin. Most often, symptoms develop on the face, as well as on the stomach, back and arms. The mucous membrane is not affected by allergies.

The onset of an allergy is not characterized by typical symptoms of infection: fever, intoxication. A rash immediately appears on the skin without prodromal phenomena. Like chickenpox, the allergic rash is itchy.

An allergic rash, unlike chickenpox, is characterized by various morphological elements.

The rash can cover the entire body or a specific area, can be small or large, but the stagnation like with chickenpox is not typical.

Allergies to pollen or detergents, animal hair are often accompanied by watery eyes, runny nose, coughing, and sneezing.

The following facts will testify in favor of allergies:

a history of allergic predisposition;
eating potential allergens - milk, citrus fruits, honey, nuts, chocolate, red fruits, berries, vegetables, fish;
taking certain medications;
applying new cosmetic products to the skin;
changing synthetic detergents;
the beginning of the flowering period outside;
the appearance of pets in the apartment.

During the winter season, cold urticaria may appear. Red, dense, swollen spots appear on the skin, which turn pale when pressed. Characterized by itching and burning. The hives go away after a few hours or days.

How does the disease progress?

There are 4 periods of the disease: incubation period, prodrome period, clinical manifestations, recovery. It is possible to determine that it is chickenpox only during the period of clinical manifestations, which is accompanied by specific skin rashes.

In children under one year of age, the incubation period is shorter - about 7 days pass from the moment of infection to the appearance of the rash. At this time, the baby may experience a rise in temperature to 38 degrees, lethargy, decreased appetite, and bad mood. In general, the symptoms resemble those of a viral disease.

Skin rash

It is thanks to skin manifestations that chickenpox is diagnosed without unnecessary difficulties. The rash goes through several stages in its development: spot, papule, vesicle, crust.

First, a red spot appears on the skin, which indicates the reaction of the immune system to the virus in the body.
During the inflammatory process, a tubercle (papule) is formed.
Then, intercellular (serous) fluid is released, causing the top layer of skin to separate from the underlying layers and form a vesicle with clear fluid (vesicle). When scratching the vesicles, the virus enters the skin, which provokes the appearance of new elements of the rash.
When the vesicles dry out, a crust forms in their place. If it is torn off while combing, scars may remain in this place.

The skin rash is accompanied by severe itching, but everything possible must be done to prevent the baby from scratching the rash.

Symptoms

The main symptoms of chickenpox are typical. These include:

increase in body temperature to subfebrile levels (less often to febrile);
the appearance of papulovesicular rashes throughout the body;
symptoms of general malaise (weakness, drowsiness, etc.).

Symptoms appear after the incubation period has passed, which usually lasts 5-7 days, but can sometimes last two weeks. The rashes characteristic of this disease appear first on the face and then spread throughout the body - appearing on the arms, chest and back, and lower extremities.

At first, the rashes appear as small blisters that itch and itch. Then the bubbles burst and a weeping surface forms underneath. At the final stage, the blisters become covered with a crust, which should never be torn off, as scars may remain.

Chickenpox treatment

Chickenpox in children under 1 year of age is treated in almost the same way as in the older population. Treatment is prescribed depending on the severity of the disease:

Antiviral therapy is carried out in a hospital setting for severe chickenpox.
In turn, mild and moderate-severe degrees can be easily cured at home.

If the high temperature persists for a long time, it can be brought down with the help of antipyretics (for example, before bedtime). But you should remember that antibodies to the chickenpox virus are produced precisely at elevated temperatures, so there is no need to lower it all the time. In any case, it is necessary to treat the child as prescribed by the doctor, and also ask what is best to do in this or that case. For example, some pediatricians prescribe antihistamines instead of antipyretics.

In the event that a child develops complications (widespread rashes on the mucous membranes, bacterial infection, inflammatory processes in internal organs), he will be sent to a hospital, where he will be under the close supervision of doctors and receive appropriate treatment.

Chickenpox in an infant requires adherence to a home regimen. It is necessary to ensure that the baby does not become dehydrated. You can give him water, tea or compote to drink. In this case, skin care plays a big role.

How to care for your baby's skin?

It is difficult to explain to a child under one year old that it is impossible to scratch the elements of the rash. He will still try to get rid of the itching in this way, and this will lead to the spread of the virus and the formation of new rashes. Therefore, parents need to ensure that these actions are kept to a minimum. Your baby can wear gloves that will soften the impact on the skin. To prevent the itching from increasing, you need to regularly ventilate the room, monitor the temperature in it, and also make sure that the child is not hot (sweat irritates the skin, which increases the discomfort).

To make it easier to track what stage a baby’s chickenpox is at, you can use brilliant green. It does not speed up recovery, but it helps to visually identify new rashes and also relieves itching a little.

You don't have to completely give up bathing. The main thing is not to rub the skin after this, so as not to disrupt the integrity of the vesicles with serous fluid. You also need to remember to regularly change bed linen and clothes.

Why do chickenpox leave scars?

Chickenpox begins with a feeling of general weakness of the body and high fever. Soon characteristic bubbles with a diameter of 2-5 mm appear on the body. After this, the fever goes away and your health improves noticeably. But bubbles continue to appear in various parts of the body for another 5 days.

After this, the bubbles burst and a crust forms, under which healthy cells are born. Despite the severe itching, it should never be scratched. If you can’t restrain yourself and scratch it, and even until it bleeds, pyogenic bacteria are introduced under the skin. They deeply injure the epidermis, which is why scars and pits appear.

However, in addition to this, there are a number of possible reasons for the appearance of scars after chickenpox :

Infection in an open ulcer . After scratching the crust, the virus penetrates the upper layer of the epidermis. If you continue to open it further, the infection will penetrate into deeper layers and can radically change the structure of the tissue.
Lack of personal hygiene . If parents still look after the kids, then teenagers are already responsible for hygiene themselves. It is very easy to introduce dirt into an open wound, but it is difficult to get rid of the consequences.
Weakened immunity . The body does not have enough strength to fight the virus, so tissue restoration occurs very slowly. Most often, residents of large cities encounter this reason during the off-season in autumn and spring.
Incorrect selection of medications . Under the influence of “not your” ointment, the crusts fall off before a healthy layer of skin has formed. This way, dirt or infection can get into the upper layer of the epidermis and then go deeper.
Using anti-scarring medications on a wound that has not yet healed . All anti-scarring agents should be used only after the skin has healed! Otherwise, they will do more harm than help.
Patient's age . The younger the age, the easier the disease is tolerable. With age, the likelihood of “souvenirs” after chickenpox increases.
And finally, a not entirely obvious reason - rubbing of clothes or a reaction to synthetics . Many people honestly endure the itching and forget about the rubbing of the crust on clothing, and this is also a concern for the inflamed area.

To avoid all this, you can use pharmaceutical gels and ointments that reduce itching and have antibacterial properties. Or use traditional means: green paint and great willpower not to itch.

Whatever method you choose, it is very important to start treatment on time. That is, apply an application of the product to the combed area as soon as the chicken ulcer opens.

Prevention of chickenpox in children

If there are older children in the family, then it is unlikely that it will be possible to protect the baby from chickenpox. In this case, you can try to limit their contact, and also carry out wet cleaning and ventilate the room more often. Knowing that one of your relatives or friends is sick, it is better to refuse meetings for the period of their illness.

There is the possibility of prevention with a vaccine, but it is carried out as prescribed by a doctor. For example, it is recommended to vaccinate women who are planning a pregnancy but have not yet had chickenpox. And pregnant women who become ill while carrying a child are given immunoglobulin to reduce the impact of the virus on the fetus.

The most important thing is to be attentive to the baby’s health, consult a doctor in a timely manner and follow his recommendations. In this case, you can avoid unpleasant consequences.