The issues of preventing chickenpox in children are relevant for both doctors and parents who want only the best for their children. Chicken pox is an infectious disease that is easily transmitted between people. The resistance of the human body to the pathogen is very low, so contact with the infection with a high degree of probability leads to a serious illness. A distinctive feature of the case is a rash in the form of vesicles, which brings the patient many inconveniences.
Technical aspects
First of all, the prevention of chickenpox is necessary in children attending kindergartens, schools, that is, crowded places. The disease is provoked by a herpetic virus of the third type. It is extremely contagious. The virus spreads by airborne droplets, so you can get sick by talking to the patient, as well as just being in the same room with him. The air currents carry the pathogen to a distance of a couple of tens of meters. A child may become ill by contact with someone who has developed shingles, since both diseases are initiated by the same type of herpetic virus. The resistance of the pathogen to external conditions is quite low, so there is no need for final disinfection of the room after the successful completion of treatment.
On average, a person is contagious a couple of days before the appearance of the first rashes. Infections persist for a week after the appearance of foci.
How to warn?
For the prevention of chickenpox in children, special vaccines and vaccinations have been invented. These funds not only protect a person from the disease itself, but also exclude the formation of complications against its background. Injection is recommended for children over one year of age. Vaccination is indicated for adolescents, adults, if in childhood they did not receive the vaccine, they had not previously had chickenpox. The duration of the effect of a single injection of the drug is estimated at a decade and longer. True, doctors are aware of cases when people who received the vaccine still got sick. All such episodes are characterized by a mild course, which is recorded in specialized medical literature.
Prevention of chickenpox in children through the introduction of a vaccine in other countries is one of the mandatory measures to ensure public health. Such rules are adopted in Japan and in the American territories, in some other powers. In our country, the introduction of vaccines that protect against chicken pox is not yet widely distributed. Parents themselves choose whether the child needs an injection or they do not agree to the procedure.
About the nuances
If the child’s immunity is weaker than normal, vaccination is not recommended. This is due to the risk of complications. Immunity may weaken due to drug therapy, a past illness. Before administering the vaccine, you should consult your doctor. The doctor will evaluate the possible risks and give an opinion on the occasion.
About the timing
If a child has not received any vaccination and has had contact with an infectious person, he is likely to have symptoms soon. Doctors know how many days chickenpox appears after contact. The incubation phase usually lasts from ten days to three full weeks. The first symptoms are an increase in temperature, a deterioration in appetite, a weakening of the patient's body. The child complains of abdominal pain. Many have a headache. Only a day later, rashes join - small areas that bother itching. They are visible on the face, trunk, limbs. Inside the rash is a liquid. A few days later, a crust appears on the bubbles, which subsequently flies away. The process is accompanied by an extremely pronounced itching. As the old ones dry, new bubbles form - the update takes about three days. The appearance of new areas ceases around the tenth day of the disease, gradually the patient recovers.
Children and adults: is there a difference?
Doctors, knowing the features of the symptoms, treatment, and prevention of chickenpox in children and adults, pay attention to the need for the introduction of medicines to prevent the disease, not only for babies, but also for people older if they are not sick and have not received the vaccine. The fact is that in childhood the disease is relatively easy, but over time it is more and more difficult to tolerate. The older the person, the higher the risk of complications. These include inflammatory processes in the brain zones, lungs. There is a danger of nerve paralysis of the system that nourishes the face and skull. The frequency of deaths in older patients is higher than in children, 30-40 times.
Vaccine: to do or not?
Preventive measures are the surest way to rule out a disease. All modern parents should know where to get vaccinated against chickenpox. An injection is put in a clinic in a specialized treatment room. It is strictly forbidden to administer drugs at home or in institutions that do not have the appropriate permissions, conditions. The decision to administer the drug is the responsibility of the parents. It must be remembered that an injection is the only way to provide the child with protection against the disease. This is even more important for an adult who has not previously been ill or vaccinated.
In our country, the varilrix chickenpox vaccine is most often administered to children. The composition of this drug is a viral strain, specially weakened, so as not to be so dangerous for humans. All children over one year old are subject to vaccination. This is especially important for those who already go to kindergarten, a school where the illness of one means the risk of infection for everyone around. As an alternative, clinics can offer Okavax. This pharmaceutical product is also made using an attenuated viral strain.
Children under 13 years of age are recommended a single vaccination. For people older than the chickenpox vaccination scheme involves two introductions. Between them withstand a pause lasting from six to ten weeks. The scheme may vary, depending on the drug used.
And if there are cons?
The chickenpox vaccine introduced in the clinic is usually well tolerated by people of all age groups. Among the relatively frequently occurring adverse reactions are discomfort, redness of the skin in the area of administration of the drug. Occasionally, those who receive the drug have a fever. Perhaps a slight malaise. After some time (from a week to three) after receiving the vaccine, there is a likelihood of the formation of areas of rashes on the skin. Such zones are similar to the rash characteristic of the acute phase of the disease. Rashes zones are a marker of immunity formation.
Is it possible or not?
Like any other drug, the drugs used for vaccination have certain contraindications. To get acquainted with the exact list, you need to clarify the name of the chickenpox vaccine for children in the clinic, and read the instructions for use. In the general case, periods of exacerbation against the background of a certain chronic disease, as well as acute infection, are contraindications. If such a condition is detected, the planned vaccination is transferred until a stable remission or complete recovery of the patient can be achieved.
Vaccination is not done during pregnancy, lactation. If a woman is planning a pregnancy, has not had chickenpox, has not received a vaccine against this disease, it should be especially responsible for prevention. It is necessary to administer the vaccine three weeks before the planned conception (or longer). In the United States, the minimum interval between the introduction of funds and conception is four weeks.
About restrictions in more detail
Individual intolerance to neomycin included in all vaccines is possible. Under this condition, the introduction of the drug is strictly prohibited. If a person has previously received a vaccine and the body has reacted heavily to the drug, this also indicates the impossibility of completing the preventive program. Repeatedly considered drugs in such conditions can not be entered.
Diseases: defeated and not very
As you can learn from news bulletins, in recent years, several cases of chickenpox quarantine have been recorded in the metropolitan area. Medical statistics indicate an increase in cases of chickenpox among people of different age groups. According to reporters, forums, discussions on the treatment and prevention of chickenpox have intensified on the World Wide Web. The number of cases from year to year is growing. At the same time, doctors point to the increasing frequency of parents refusing vaccinations for children. The movement of adults who do not accept vaccines is quite popular in Western countries; in recent years, it has become increasingly relevant in our country.
What is more dangerous: a disease or possible consequences of administering a vaccine against it? Which is worse: get quarantined by chickenpox or transfer a greased form after an injection? While in our country, parents can decide for themselves. Until relatively recently, cases of chickenpox were rare, as people more often agreed to be vaccinated with children. With a decrease in the frequency of consent, the number of sick people logically increased. The disease, which until recently seemed almost taken under control, again scares the general public. However, while every citizen of our country has the opportunity to arbitrarily and fully consciously make the final decision in favor of getting a strain of the virus or the risk of getting sick, associated with the probability of never having to face the disease. The latter, although it is, is small - you need to understand this.
Vaccine: is there an alternative?
What should parents do if they do not agree to give an injection to themselves or their child? How not to get chickenpox on an adult from a child and vice versa? Doctors pay attention: it is catastrophically difficult. The only method is to detect the disease in time and isolate the person. But you need to remember that the patient is contagious before the appearance of specific symptoms, so at home it is almost impossible to understand that a family member fell ill with chickenpox. Moreover, even after the stains disappear, the person still spreads a virus around him, which is not only dangerous, but can lead to death, especially if it affects an adult.
Doctors, explaining how not to get chickenpox for an adult from a child, are advised to constantly organize wet cleaning in the room where the patient is. It is necessary to regularly air the room. No need to disinfect. It should be understood that these are relatively weak protective measures, and if senior family members are not vaccinated, the risk of infection is extremely high.
About the nuances
Doctors have found that some people are particularly sensitive to the third type of herpetic virus. Some are moderately susceptible to it, and someone naturally has a fairly high resistance to this infection. The higher the body’s ability to protect itself, the less likely it is to get sick without having previously been vaccinated, even when in contact with the patient. True, there are very few people who are almost immune to the virus. In fact, almost anyone who has at least short contact with the patient himself soon becomes a victim of chickenpox. However, if it is known that there was an interaction with the patient, you can come to the clinic, where the medicine will be injected right there. The vaccine given in the first two days after contact saves a person from a severe form of the disease. This is especially important for older people. If you turn to medical standards, you can find out that you can get the vaccine in the first five days after contact with the patient, but if more than 72 hours have passed, the risks of getting sick in full force are extremely high. Of course, after vaccination, the disease will proceed more easily than if it is absent, but the more time passes, the less effective the remedy.
If urgent prophylaxis is needed, Varilrix is administered. The injective administration of such a pharmaceutical product is the only way to prevent the disease after contact with the patient. No other reliable methods of medicine are known.
Effect duration
Specialists know: a decade after receiving an injection, a person is still protected from chickenpox. Antibodies in the circulatory system - a barrier that protects a person from chickenpox, but not only it works. There are cells that are responsible for memory. They cannot be detected in a blood test, but they are responsible for the safety of contact data with a viral agent. Each contact with the patient for the one who received the vaccine is a booster shot. Doctors, based on already known information, consider it fair to consider the effect of vaccination as a lifelong one.