Dear Doctor,

My neighbour’s child has chickenpox. I am worried because my 5-year-old son likes playing with him and I fear that he might also contract it and eventually infect all of us at home. Am I just being paranoid or the threat is real? What can I do to avert the risk of chickenpox?

Abbey

Dear Abbey,

It is good to be concerned if your child is playing with somebody with chicken pox and the fear is real. Chicken pox is a viral infection caused by varicella zoster virus. It causes a sickness which begins with fever, headache, body ache, flu-like symptoms followed by generalised itchy blisters occuring more on trunk. These blisters eventually crust, dry up and fall off over a week to 10 days. Usually it is a self subsiding illness and can occur at any age, but more in children. More severe sickness occurs in adults. Sometimes secondary bacterial infection may occur due to scratching the itchy eruptions. On rare occasions, neurological complications may occur. The virus may remain dormant in the body and cause shingles, a painful inflammation of nerves later in life.

The infection can spread from the affected person to another by the droplet route, i.e. virus expelled in cough or sneezing can be inhaled by another person. This can happen in early stages before eruptions appear. Infection can also occur if one gets in contact with the blisters. Risk increases when the blisters dry up and start shedding.

At this stage the patient starts to feel better but is at greater risk of spreading infection to others.

The best way to prevent infection is to isolate the affected child or adult till lesions dry up and the skin becomes clean. Chicken pox vaccination if given 3 days within exposure may help to prevent the sickness.

Dr Rachna Pande is a specialist in internal medicine at Ruhengeri Hospital