Do children have chickenpox again?

Chicken pox is an infectious disease of a viral nature. The causative agent of the pathology is Varicella zoster. The microorganism is one of the representatives of the herpes virus family. If a person has at least once suffered a disease, his body has a specific immunity to the pathogen. For a long time, it was believed that chickenpox does not develop again in adults or children. However, in medical practice there are also conflicting cases.

Can a child get chickenpox again

Some parents are convinced that their child, who has already suffered smallpox once, will never be infected again. This is an erroneous conclusion. In children, chickenpox is repeated. Moreover, cases of infection are known to medicine for the third time.

In this situation, the main task of parents is to find a competent specialist. This is due to the fact that chickenpox in children reoccurs a little differently than the first time. The doctor in this case is obliged to qualitatively conduct differential diagnosis and prescribe the most effective treatment regimen.

The main causes of reinfection:

• Contact with sick children. Clinical manifestations of chickenpox arise due to the fact that the body produces an insufficient number of antibodies that can cope with the pathogen.
• Transition of Varicella zoster from dormant to active phase. In this case, the disease proceeds in the form of shingles. After the initial infection, it is customary to talk about acquiring "non-sterile" immunity. In other words, the pathogen related to herpes viruses remains in the body in a sleeping state. Under the influence of favorable factors, his vital activity is activated.

With the repeated development of chickenpox, the child is contagious. In this regard, it is necessary to exclude his contacts with other children.

Chance of reinfection

This situation is not common. According to statistics, chickenpox re-develops in children in 3% of cases. In addition, the launch of the active life of the pathogen occurs only under the influence of certain provoking factors.

With regards to whether it is possible to get chickenpox again in a baby. Such kids are just at risk. This is due to the fact that their immune system is not fully matured. As a result, the body produces an insufficient number of antibodies, the task of which is to destroy the causative agent of the disease.

Repeated chickenpox in children can also develop if they have already suffered a pathology at some time, but the disease was very mild. For example, their body temperature increased slightly or a small amount of rashes appeared on the skin.

It is important to understand that the probability of reinfection with chickenpox depends only on external factors and the individual characteristics of the body. In children, the immune system is weaker every year. That is why cases of re-infection are detected more often.

Provocative factors

The disease is transmitted by airborne droplets. Directly, the infection process occurs at the moment when the saliva of the carrier enters the mucous membranes or skin of a healthy child.

Most parents believe that the disease is ill only once. It’s rare that anyone wonders if chickenpox can be repeated in a child. Nevertheless, after contact with an infected person, the risk of developing a pathology a second time remains.

Doctors identify a number of provoking factors that contribute to secondary infection:

• Immunocompromised vaccination.
• Regular contacts with a large number of children.
• Immunodeficiency.
• The period after chemotherapy.
• Long-term treatment with drugs belonging to the group of glucocorticosteroids.
• Breast age.
• The period after transplantation of a donor organ.
• The presence of malignant neoplasms.

In some cases, after the initial infection, for some reason, a stable immunity is not formed. In these situations, chickenpox always develops in children repeatedly.

It is important to know that in the presence of at least one of the listed provoking factors, the process of transition of the pathogen from the sleeping form to the active one may start.

Clinical manifestations

With repeated chickenpox in children, the symptoms are much more pronounced. In most cases, the disease is so severe that even a fatal outcome is possible.

Clinical manifestations characteristic of secondary infection:

• Raising body temperature to critical levels.
• The presence of abundant rashes. Most of them are on the palms and soles of the feet. The rash can even appear in the oral cavity, on the auricles, scalp and conjunctiva of the eyes.
• The rash has a more prominent character.
• Itching This symptom is so pronounced that it is impossible to endure an unpleasant sensation.
• Frequent episodes of migraine and dizziness.
• Signs of a severe intoxication process.
• Violation of appetite until its complete loss.

The duration of the disease is an average of 3 weeks.

Shingles as a manifestation of secondary infection

As mentioned above, the pathogen does not leave the human body after treatment for chickenpox. The pathogen is localized in the nerve roots and is in a sleeping state. In rare cases, under the influence of a provoking factor, the pathogen enters the active phase, while chickenpox appears as shingles.

The development of the disease begins with the appearance of severe itching, pain and burning in the area in which the rashes will soon appear. A specific sign of shingles is the defeat of only a certain part of the body. For example, a rash appears only on the right or left side of the trunk.

With shingles, the child is also contagious. If he passes the virus to another baby who has not had smallpox, the latter will have the classic symptoms of chickenpox. In all cases, treatment involves symptomatic therapy. The duration of the pathology is no more than three weeks.

Who to contact

When the first alarming signs appear, it is recommended to make an appointment with an infectious disease specialist. The doctor will collect an anamnesis, conduct an examination and, based on the results of the initial diagnosis, draw up directions for laboratory tests.

Currently, tests are prescribed in almost all cases. This is due to the need for an accurate diagnosis. It is possible that the primary infection with another disease with similar clinical manifestations was mistaken for chickenpox symptoms.

Diagnostics

To confirm or exclude the presence of pathology, the infectious disease specialist prescribes a general and biochemical blood test. In addition, one of the following studies is indicated:

• REEF. This method relates to express methods. The essence of the immunofluorescence reaction is to detect antibodies and antigens. Based on the results of the study, the doctor will be able to provide parents with information about whether the child may have chickenpox again or whether the diagnosis of primary infection with smallpox was still erroneous.
• IFA. In the process of enzyme immunoassay, antibodies of classes G or M to the pathogen are detected. In addition, the doctor gets the opportunity to find out the stage of development of the pathological process and find out if the child had chickenpox in the past.
• PCR The study allows you to identify the pathogen at any stage of the development of the disease. The advantage of the method is that the biological material can be blood, saliva, and even sputum.

If the pathology proceeds with complications, a virological study is prescribed. Its essence is the analysis of fluid taken from the bubbles on the body of the child.

Treatment features

Currently, there is not a single drug that can destroy the virus. In this regard, the treatment of pathology with both primary and re-infection is exclusively symptomatic.

The purpose of therapeutic measures is to normalize body temperature and stop itching, burning and pain. For the period of treatment, the child must be isolated.

The classical regimen is presented in the table below.

Rashes should be lubricated with brilliant green. Alternatively, you can use more expensive drugs, such as Tsindol or Calamine.

Possible complications

In some cases, negative consequences arise. As a rule, their development is associated with the untimely appeal to the infectious disease specialist.

Possible complications:

• Joining a secondary infection is usually of a bacterial nature.
• Encephalitis.
• Meningitis.
• Damage to nerve fibers in certain areas, which can lead to impaired hearing or vision.

If there is even a minimal risk of complications, the child is shown emergency hospitalization.

Prevention

If there was a contact of a healthy baby with a patient, it is necessary to carry out the following measures:

• Ventilate the room in which the child lives regularly.
• Wet cleaning as often as possible.
• Offer your child an antiviral agent, such as Acyclovir. The drug will not save from the disease, but against the background of its intake, the pathology will proceed in a milder form.

In addition, smallpox vaccine is currently being administered if necessary.

Finally

Chickenpox is a pathology of an infectious nature, the causative agent of which is a microorganism that belongs to the herpesvirus family. Contrary to popular belief, an ailment throughout life can occur more than once. At the same time, parents are extremely rarely interested in whether children suffer from chickenpox again. Meanwhile, every year cases of secondary infection are diagnosed more and more often. A feature of pathology is that it proceeds more severely. In addition, with repeated infection, the risk of developing dangerous complications is significantly higher.