Chicken pox is a common illness in North America that afflicts almost 90 percent of individuals (mostly children) who come into contact with the varicella-zoster (herpes) virus. Chicken pox appears as an itchy rash in red spots (called pox) all over the body. If your child is healthy, chicken pox are usually more uncomfortable than anything else and last just a few weeks. After dealing with the chicken pox as a child, they typically never come back. However, in rare cases when adults get chicken pox, particularly in the case of pregnant women or seniors with low immunity, the infection can be difficult to fight off and may turn into shingles. That’s why it’s important to protect yourself and your child by getting the chicken pox vaccination.
Here are the itchy, scratchy, annoying, early-warning signs of the chicken pox…
Almost everyone within the same household as an individual with chickenpox will get it when exposed to a family member (either via airborne or direct contact) as the pox are highly contagious. In fact, according to statistics from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC), 90-percent of those living in a household will contract chickenpox if they live with someone who develops the condition. This is why most individuals have had chickenpox by the time they reach adulthood.
Chickenpox is usually mild, but following direct contact with a person infected with the highly contagious condition, most individuals show signs within 10 to 21-days. For many, a headache that starts out mild a day or so before the chicken pox rash appears will be the first sign of illness. This headache can range in severity, but generally it will gradually persist into a severe headache or migraine by the time the pox appear. Infants and those with low immunity may suffer more severe symptoms.