Varicella
We discussed Varicella (chickenpox ) before; but because I have been seeing some cases lately, I wish to review on this disease entity.
Chickenpox is a highly contagious disease caused by Herpesvirus varicellae.
In this disease, there are vesicular eruptions on the skin and mucous membranes.
It is very important to know that the patient is contagious about a day before the eruptions and continues to be so to the fifth or sixth day after the last scab formation.
So, mommies, do not let your children with chickenpox attend school. Let them stay at home and isolate them to avoid the spread of the disease.
The incubation period is about 2 to 3 weeks. Initially, the child will have fever and body malaise.
Then, the characteristic skin eruptions start as macules then vesicles.
They usually appear first from the trunk and spread to exposed parts.
The lesions will appear in different stages at one time. After a while, the thin-walled vesicles will burst and dry up in 3 to 5 days.
Scars will form and are superficial, depigmented and take years to fade.
Varicella is one of the vaccine preventable diseases. We, pediatricians, are advocating that all children,1 year old and above should receive 2 doses of varicella vaccine to avoid the disease and its complications.