Some Important Facts About Chicken Pox

By Suparna Chakaraborthy

Wednesday, April 20, 2011, 15:50

Chicken Pox, a common Spring/Summer illness has already affected a good amount of crowd in India. It is a viral infection which effects the immunity system and thus makes the body vulnerable to several other illness. Chicken pox is caused by a virus called Varicella Zoster. This virus effects the skin as well as the nerves. Lets look at some facts about chicken pox which one should know -

1. It usually affects children below the age of 12 and thus, it is very important to give vaccine at an early age.

2.Chicken Pox vaccine should be given to the child between 12-15 months of age. This not only protects the child but even if the disease affects him, the symptoms are very mild, which gets cured easily within few days.

3.Another interesting fact about chicken pox is that the blisters first appear inside the body before they make appearance on the external self. On the external body, the blisters first appear on the scalp and then inside the mouth.

4.One of the interesting facts about chicken pox is that the incubation period is 15 days but if one catches the disease from another due to close proximity, the incubation period may be less.

5.It is contagious from two days before the rashes appears, till all the crust has sheds. This fact about chicken pox is very important as this is how the disease travels among many others.

6.Chicken pox during early pregnancy may lead to organ deformity in the child and may also lead to still birth. If the pregnant lady is affected with chicken pox at the time of birth, may lead to the child being directly affected by the disease and can result in serious illness in the baby.

These facts about chicken pox will help you understand the disease better and to know more about treatment and recovery read here.