children
What are the symptoms of Chickenpox?
Chickenpox is extremely contagious and spreads through the air or by direct contact with someone who is infected. Anyone who hasn’t received the vaccine or hasn’t had chickenpox can get the disease. Once infected, individuals will feel sick for about one week.
The main symptom associated with chickenpox is an itchy rash of blisters. The rash typically shows up on the chest, back and face first before spreading throughout the rest of the body. The blisters will scab after about one week. Sick children usually miss about a week of school or childcare.
Other symptoms of chickenpox:
- Fever
- Tiredness
- Loss of appetite
- Headache
In children, chickenpox symptoms are usually mild. Children mostly feel uncomfortable because of the itching.
More serious complications from chickenpox can occur and cause hospitalization, but these situations are less common in generally healthy individuals.
Serious complications from chickenpox:
- Bacterial skin infections
- Pneumonia (infection in the lungs)
- Encephalitis (infection/swelling of the brain)
- Sepsis (bloodstream infection)
- Dehydration
Should my child receive the Chickenpox vaccine?
The best way to prevent chickenpox is to get the vaccine. Since the chickenpox vaccine became available in 1995, there has been over 90% decrease in chickenpox cases, hospitalizations and deaths.
Stay on schedule!
Children under 13 years old should receive two doses of the Chickenpox vaccine:
- First dose – 12 to 15 months old
- Second dose – 4 to 6 years old
Once an individual reaches 13 years or older and have never received the vaccine and never had chickenpox, they should receive two doses at least 28 days apart. Be sure to talk to your doctor on the best time to vaccinate your child.
Get the most protection!
Although most children do not have complications from getting chickenpox, there’s no way to know how anyone will be affected by the disease. Vaccinating your child will not only help protect your child against chickenpox, but it also keeps your child from missing school and keeps you from missing work to care for them.
About 9 out of 10 children who
receive the vaccine will be completely protected from Chickenpox!
Vaccination also helps protect others
in your family and your community
against disease, especially those with
weakened immune systems.*
(Source: CDC.gov)
9out of10
Is the Chickenpox vaccine safe?
The Chickenpox vaccine is safe and effective at preventing the disease. Most people who get the vaccine will not end up getting the disease. If a vaccinated person does get chickenpox, the symptoms are usually milder, and the illness does not last as long.
Most children don’t have any side effects from the vaccine. The side effects that can occur are things like:
- Soreness, redness or swelling where the shot was given
- Fever
- Mild rash
- Temporary pain and stiffness in the joint
I received the Chickenpox vaccine. Can I still get Chickenpox?
It’s possible that some individuals vaccinated against chickenpox may still become infected. However, these cases are usually associated with milder symptoms, such as a mild fever or no fever, fewer blisters or just red spots that don’t scab. Overall, these individuals may also feel sick for a shorter period of time.
If infected with chickenpox, the virus continues to remain in the body after recovery and can be reactivated as shingles in adults. About 1 out of every 3 people in the United States will develop shingles during their lifetime.
- If you’ve had chickenpox, you are at risk for shingles. More than 99% of Americans born before 1980 have had chickenpox, even if they don’t remember it.
- Your risk of getting shingles and having serious complications increases as you get older.
- About 1 in 10 people who get shingles develop nerve pain that lasts for months or years after the rash goes away. This is called postherpetic neuralgia and is the most common complication of shingles.
- Up to 479% higher risk of shingles if unvaccinated