Posts Tagged ‘chickenpox’
Vaccines & vaccinations guide
The Herpes Zoster virus causes shingles. The virus creates a painful, itchy rash of blisters that resembles chickenpox in appearance. Shingles is related to chickenpox, but only adults can contract the disease. The rash can range in severity from intense burning to mild soreness.
If you have never had chickenpox, you are not susceptible to Shingles. The virus is most prevalent in adults over the age of sixty who experienced chickenpox during their lifetime. Typically, a case of shingles lasts for three to five weeks.
If you have had recent organ transplant or are immunosuppressed (AIDS, HIV, cancer), Shingles can be deadly. You cannot get Shingles from someone infected with chickenpox, but if you are infected with Shingles, you can pass the Shingles on to anyone with whom you are in contact.
Vaccines & vaccinations guide
Commonly called chickenpox, varicella is a common childhood disease that many adults have had during childhood. In 1995, a vaccine to prevent chicken pox entered the market. Today, the vaccine is highly recommended to parents of children between the ages of twelve and eighteen months. Unvaccinated children reaching the age of thirteen without having contracted chickenpox should have two doses of the vaccine spaced about six weeks apart.
Varicella or chickenpox is a virus that causes itchy red bumps all over the body and can cause a fever. While chickenpox in children is an itchy annoyance, it can be deadly for adults. There is a slim chance that chickenpox (1/10000) can lead to death.