Overview of Chickenpox
Chickenpox is a highly contagious and very common disease that
is often described as one of the "classic" children's diseases,
because so many people suffer from it during their childhood.
However, chickenpox is not just a "child's disease". Adults can
catch chickenpox if they have not had the disease when they were
younger.
According to one "history of medicine book", Giovanni Filippo
(1510 - 80) of Palermo gave the first description of varicella
(chicken pox). In the 1600s, Richard Morton, an English
physician, described what he thought was a mild form of smallpox
as "chicken pox". In 1767, an English physician named William
Heberden, demonstrated that chicken pox was different from
smallpox.
There are many possible explanations for the origin of the name
chickenpox. For example, the blisters on the skin made it look
like the skin had been pecked by chickens. However, the simplest
explanation is offered by Samuel Johnson, who said that the
disease was "no very great danger" thus it was described as a
"chicken" version of the pox.
Chickenpox sufferers experience general mild flu-like symptoms,
such as headache, fever, stomach ache, and also a loss of
appetite, along with hundreds of itchy, fluid-filled blisters
that burst and form crusts. These blisters mainly affect the
face, arms, legs, torso, and scalp.
Chickenpox is caused by the varicella-zoster virus (VZV), also
known as human herpes virus 3 (HHV-3), which is a member of the
herpes family and is known to cause herpes zoster (shingles) in
adults.
Usually chickenpox is usually a fairly mild disease, but a range
of serious and rare complications can result in some cases, such
as encephalitis, Reye's syndrome, pneumonia, myocarditis, and
transient arthritis. Medical treatment should be obtained
immediately if there is any sign of these occurring.
Chickenpox can also cause serious complications for babies
during pregnancy.
In most cases, it is enough to keep the chickenpox sufferer
comfortable while their own bodies fight the illness. Oatmeal
baths in lukewarm water, calamine lotion, antihistamine lotions,
and topical lotions can help ease the itching.
Chickenpox virus is an airborne virus, which means that it
spreads via the air. In addition, chickenpox can be spread by
direct contact, and it is highly contagious even before the rash
appears. As such, people often inadvertently spread the disease
around before they even realise that they have it.
The best way to avoid chickenpox is be immunized against the
disease. Since the chickenpox vaccine was introduced, it has
been a far less common disease.
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