There is probably no person in the world who does not know and have never heard of such a disease as chickenpox. Small, red and always itchy vesicles on the skin, the persistent smell of greens accompanying them, is difficult to confuse with something else. More often than others, children in preschool age are sick with chickenpox, a little less often - during training in elementary school. Despite this, there is a risk of getting sick in more mature years. Especially it is worth fearing an insidious disease during pregnancy. What is the danger of chickenpox for pregnant women? Let's try to figure it out.
General information
Chickenpox is an acute infectious disease transmitted by airborne droplets. Another name is chicken pox. However, despite the semantic similarity with the most dangerous disease of the Middle Ages, it is extremely rare and leads to death. Interestingly, the susceptibility to it is almost one hundred percent, which indicates the impossibility of avoiding infection, once in contact with the source of infection.
The cause of the development of the disease is the Varicella Zoster virus . It is able to cause not only chickenpox, but also shingles (in case of relapse). It is important to note that the rash during chickenpox does not spread throughout the body. It does not affect the feet and hands, unlike enterovirus infection, which is often confused with chickenpox.
Symptoms of the disease
Before you begin to understand what is dangerous chickenpox, you need to consider its main manifestations. As many people know, the main symptom of chickenpox is the appearance on the body of a rash in the form of small red vesicles - vesicles filled with liquid. Their spread is accompanied by severe itching. Vesicles do not affect the growth layer of the skin, so they pass over time without leaving any marks (if the rash has not been combed).
The process of the appearance and spread of the rash is accompanied by high body temperature and chills, general weakness, headache, pain in the bones and muscles - in fact, all manifestations of a febrile state. Migraine and vomiting may disturb, reaction to light is aggravated. The disease proceeds in a severe form only in adults: the relationship between age and the chance of a painful infection is directly proportional.
Chickenpox danger
Answering the questions of why chickenpox is dangerous and whether it is dangerous at all, you should first look at the statistics: 60 thousand people have 1 death. This suggests that in most cases the disease is favorable. However, if the vesicles begin to fester, then the probability of transformation of the disease into a new, more dangerous form is high: gangrenous, hemorrhagic, bullous. In case of mucosal damage as a result of a rash around the eyes, their cornea can be severely affected.
Deterioration of the patient’s condition, in turn, leads to the possible development of other diseases that are deadly for life and health: encephalitis, myocarditis, pandemic. Pathogenic bacteria can enter the combed wounds, which, subsequently entering the bloodstream, affect the internal organs. Fortunately, with proper care, chickenpox is rarely the cause of serious complications.
Chickenpox in pregnant women
Is it dangerous for pregnant girls and women to get chickenpox? Of course, not a lot of pleasant things. Moreover, chickenpox is one of the most dangerous diseases for a woman that she may encounter during pregnancy. If the expectant mother becomes infected during the period 1 or 3 trimesters, then there is a chance of infection of the fetus with chickenpox, which can end extremely poorly. However, fortunately, statistics show that out of 1,000 women expecting a baby, only 6 get sick. Therefore, chickenpox is not a common disease in pregnant women.
It is also worth noting that chickenpox in medical practice is not the reason why termination of pregnancy becomes necessary. Also, answering the question whether chickenpox is dangerous for sick pregnant women, it can be said that the risk of getting sick again really exists, but the Varicella Zoster virus will take another form - the form of shingles.
Possible relapse
Once a person has had chickenpox, antibodies develop and persist to it, and a stable immunity is developed. However, the virus goes into a latent form, fixing itself in the body and activating in certain situations.
A relapse of the disease in the form of shingles is possible if the future mother has a severely weakened immune system and the body is not able to restrain the internal threat from the virus. The risk is also increased if the patient has already had a mild illness. In any case, it will not be superfluous to pass medical tests for the presence of antibodies to chickenpox in the body. A test for the presence of IgG antibodies to Varicella Zoster Virus costs an average of 800 rubles as of 2018.
Disease prevention
If the test shows a negative result, then the future mother does not have immunity from chickenpox. In this case, even 3 months before the planned conception and the beginning of pregnancy, a chickenpox vaccine should be introduced. At the moment, the vaccine is not only the most effective way to resist possible infection, but also necessary - it is dangerous for pregnant women to get chickenpox.
Chickenpox vaccination has been carried out since 1974. In 2008, the chickenpox vaccine called Varilrix was first approved in Russia. Now there is a choice between two drugs - Varilriksom and Okavaks. There is no practical difference between them, the efficiency is the same. The average cost of a vaccine ranges from 3,500 to 5,000 rubles. It is contraindicated in people with pronounced immunodeficiency and pregnant women.
Chickenpox in the 1st and 3rd trimester of pregnancy
For the future mother, who contracted chickenpox during the gestation, the first and third trimesters of pregnancy are especially dangerous. The placenta that protects the fetus from negative external influences, including from various viruses and infections, is formed only at 15-16 weeks. What is the danger of chickenpox before the formation of the placenta? The fact that the child in a given period of time is completely defenseless against chickenpox and its destructive effect on the emerging organism. Infection in the first 14 weeks after conception is dangerous for the fetus because of the risk of developmental abnormalities in it. In the period from 14 to 20 weeks, the risk increases to 2%, in contrast to the previous time, when the possibility of complications was only 0.4%.
During the second trimester, a planned ultrasound scan is performed, which can identify whether the fetus was infected. If a child develops pathologies that are not compatible with life, an artificial termination of pregnancy is performed. This is exactly what chickenpox is dangerous for pregnant women. Fortunately, the likelihood of such a development is extremely small. Moreover, the likelihood of fetal infection during the second trimester is reduced to zero.
However, it is most dangerous for a pregnant woman to pick up chickenpox in the third trimester, or rather, a few days before giving birth. The fact is that, passing through the birth canal, the baby is likely to become infected. Its immunity has not yet been formed, and the placenta does not protect against external dangers, including viruses.
With a probability of almost 20%, a child can get chickenpox. How dangerous is chickenpox in a given period of time? It is extremely dangerous because it affects the internal organs of sick babies, which ends in death for them in 30% of cases. Therefore, if infection occurs a few days before the planned birth, doctors try to delay them medically, slow down.
Chicken pox treatment
First of all, if you suspect chickenpox, a visit to a therapist and gynecologist is mandatory. If a pregnant woman became infected during the period from the first to the 20th week, she does not need specific treatment. It is enough to smear the vesicles with brilliant green and take medications prescribed by a doctor. Treatment is carried out on an outpatient or inpatient basis, depending on the duration of pregnancy and the state of health of the diseased.
Chickenpox is especially dangerous just before childbirth. In the event of infection 4-5 days before birth, the doctor is prescribed the immunoglobulin preparation for both the mother and the baby after birth. Symptoms of chickenpox help weaken the drug acyclovir, but only until the 20th week of pregnancy.
General conclusion
Chickenpox (or chickenpox) is a disease transmitted by airborne droplets and which is characterized by a 100% infection rate. Mostly children of preschool age suffer from it, but adults are also susceptible to infection. The greatest risk of chickenpox infection is pregnant women. If the disease is infected within a period of 20 weeks from the moment of conception, there is a 2% chance of developmental abnormalities in the fetus. The probability increases to 20% if the expectant mother gets chickenpox a few days before delivery. The second option is especially dangerous, since infection of the baby ends in death in one third of cases.
For ill pregnant women, chickenpox is dangerous only if the woman has a very low immunity. Then the virus, which has turned into a latent form, is activated again in the form of shingles. In the event that the expectant mother has never had chickenpox, she should be given the chickenpox vaccine 3 months before giving birth. If you are not lucky enough to get sick at the beginning of pregnancy or immediately before birth, then in this situation, the doctor usually prescribes the drug immunoglobulin, which reduces the risk of infection of the fetus.