Chicken-pox is known as a mild childhood infection and people often pay no great attention on its importance. Today, all children are vaccinated against the virus causing it due to the serious complications it can produce and due to the high fever and general weakness it causes to the person infected. The condition is manifested by the red small crusted vesicles hat appear on the child’s face and trunk; these usually heal without scarring in a few days.
Most exposed to chicken-pox and its complications are children suffering from leukemia, cancers or AIDS as they all share a suppressed immune system that is unable to fight the virus. An important problem is the treatment with steroids. Most of the children treated with oral or injected steroids can develop chicken-pox symptoms without confronting any complications.
Still, some of the children who have been administered oral and injected steroids for longer periods of time could be at risk of dangerous complications and even death if no immediate and appropriate measures are taken. Steroids are sometimes prescribed for asthmatic crises and any side-effects during use must be reported to doctors especially if the child has contacted the chicken-pox.
The apparition of chicken-pox cannot be completely annihilated even after vaccination as children can catch the virus from other kids who do not experience any symptoms 1-2 days before the rash is present. For that matter, the vaccine is safe and should be administrated to all children. Even if the vaccinated ones will contact chicken-pox, the form of the disease will be much milder.
The average exposure for a child to become infected is usually one hour. If any cases of chicken-pox occur in your child’s class or in any of its playmates, it is likely that he has been exposed. You must contact a doctor immediately especially if your child has followed a treatment with steroids in the last period of time. The incubation of the virus is from 11 to 21 days so you must monitor the child’s condition for about 3 weeks after the exposure.
The signs you must be attentive on are fever and the occurrence of small crusted vesicles on the child’s face, trunk, arms and legs. In normal conditions, the crust lesions blister and heal in about 3-4 days. If your child is on a steroid medication and the lesions fail to heal, t is possible that he has developed complications.
Children with corticosteroid therapies can be injected with a varicella-zoster immune globulin to minimize the risk of infection; also available are now antiviral medications like Acyclovir most indicated for exposed children suffering from asthma. In most cases, the oral and injected steroids therapy should not interfere with the course of chicken-pox. Some medications are still available to prevent serious complications from occurring.
By: Groshan Fabiola