Posted on 05/16/2009 10:25:52 AM PDT by nickcarraway
The sudden change in weather has caused a spurt not only in viral fever and asthma, but also chickenpox, which is affecting young children across the country.
“This year chickenpox is being reported a month earlier. We usually get cases in May or June. Though most people go to general practitioners, this year even hospitals are getting occasional cases,” said Dr Vandana Jain, assistant professor, department of paediatrics, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). This month alone, she has diagnosed 20 such cases.
In private clinics, the numbers are much higher. “I saw four chickenpox cases last week, which is much more than what I see every year,” said Dr Anupam Sibal, group medical director and senior consultant paediatrics, Apollo Hospital, Delhi.
What is interesting about this year’s outbreak is that most children who had the infection had been vaccinated against the disease. What’s happening? “Chickenpox is highly contagious but the vaccine does scale down the severity of the attack,” said Dr Sibal.
Chickenpox is highly infectious and it usually affects children under 12 years. The infection comes with high fever, congestion of eyes and itchy, red spots, which usually appear first on the chest and upper abdomen and later cover the entire body. These rashes appear in crops; the red spots turn into small blisters that dry up and form scabs over a week.
A vaccine is available and recommended for children who have not had the infection by the age of 12. “It’s not a cheap vaccine but people prefer to give it to teenagers, as the chickenpox season usually coincides with Board and other entrance exams. Those who get chickenpox even after vaccination, have fewer rashes and the and recovery time is faster,” said Dr Sibal.
However, how long the protection lasts after a single dose is still an issue of debate. “A single dose, as of now, has not shown to be giving life-long protection. Those who can afford it should take it, otherwise it is not mandatory as you usually develop immunity once you’ve had the infection,’ said Dr Jain.
Treatment is symptomatic - paracetamol for fever, and sponging using a mixture of boric acid and cold water to reduce itching.
Like most viral fevers, the disease is self-limiting and usually gets over in 10 days to two weeks. One shot costs Rs 1,000, with physician’s charges making parents poorer by about Rs 1,500. “It is optional, but there is no point getting a shot after rashes appear. The incubation period of chickenpox is 18 days, so by the time rashes appear and the disease is diagnosed, the child has already infected several other people,” says Dr Sibal.
Here are the symptoms you can be vary of * An itchy rash that usually begins in the abdomen and face then spreads to limbs
* The small red spots develop into blisters within hours and into scabs within a day or two
* New blisters appear after three to six days. The infected person may have fever
* It lasts 7 to 10 days in children and longer in adults
* Symptoms are mild in young children How does it spread?
* It spreads from person to person through direct contact with infected droplets (sneezing, coughing) or contact with fluid from a blister
* A pregnant woman with chickenpox can infect the baby before birth. Mothers with chickenpox can also infect their newborns How effective is the vaccine?
It prevents infection in some cases and in most cases, makes the symptoms milder.
My son had a mild patch of it a few months ago - just on his back, and he was vaccinated at the proper time. Dr. thought it was just a wild strain.
there is nothing like the old fashioned way of getting the disease when you are young and getting a natural immunity. the shot has to be redone every 7 years. With all these diseases mutating, you need to build up your Natural immunity.
Keep yourself strong eat the right foods and get the nutrients your body needs to fight these diseases and be able to survive them if you should get the diseases.
...and in all likelihood they’ll each get a chance to do it all over again in 50 years or so with Shingles....some worse, much worse, than others.
I had the pox in 3rd grade. My mom also had them as a child, but she got a mild case when I had them.
Well, these days with every child the idol of its parents they can’t have their precious children feeling the slightest discomfort.
I agree unless you are at risk for having complications.
My son got the vaccine when he was 2 because he was going into daycare while I went on complete bedrest for carrying twins. I knew he would probably bring it home to the babies, and that wouldn’t be good.
The twins got the vaccine because they almost died of a respiratory illness and one of them was on steroids often to help with asthma. Being on steroids increases your chance of having complications from chickenpox.
However, when my son was 8, he ended up getting chickenpox. The twins didn’t.
People were vaccinated with mild symptoms?
("Here's your shot of mild symptoms.")
With new generations of anti-virals, the chances of that can be reduced considrably.
A few years ago, a 28 year old neighbor died from chickenpox related edema, i.e. brain swelling, from innumerable chickenpox blisters on her brain.
Cheers!
If you get to the doctor as soon as the shingles appear, he can give you a prescription of Zoviran which will knock the shingles out in a few days.
When I was in 8th grade I caught mumps despite a vaccination. It turned out an entire batch of the vaccine was bad, and there had been an outbreak in 7th graders and they even warned the parents of kids in that grade throughout the whole district.
It never occurred to the school administrators to send a warning to people in other grades who might have been inoculated from the same batch.
Good Advice....but took us a few days to notice that it wasn't the spider bites I was so certain of! who knew!
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