Chicken pox is very common in children, being actually a children? s disease. It is very contagious and it is actually nothing but a viral infection. Chicken pox is cause by a virus called varicella zoster, thus the medical term for chicken pox: varicella. There are few complications in chicken pox cases, but when they occur, they are very serious. It does not matter if you are otherwise healthy.



Children under 10 years old are the main target of chicken pox. Adults can catch chicken pox as well, but this is very rare. Once you have had chicken pox, you can not develop it again. However, if you have not had chicken pox by the time you were ten, then things do not look so good. Older children and adults that develop chicken pox risk more severe complications. Winter and spring are the most common seasons for chicken pox. There are also some people that are more vulnerable to chicken pox than others. For example kids that are immunosuppressed or newborns are especially vulnerable to chicken pox.

The first time that you come in contact with a person that has chicken pox or other factors that put you at risk of developing chicken pox, you will have no visible signs of infection. This happens because chicken pox has a period of incubation that lasts somewhere between two and three weeks. After this period of time, you will start to have symptoms. Fever, but a mild one and headaches are the first signs of chicken pox. Then, after only a couple of hours, a rash will start to appear on your skin. This is the first visible chicken pox symptom. At the beginning you will see only some little, red spots on your skin that will quickly turn into blisters filled of fluid. This is the second important step in chicken pox. These blisters are very itchy. Then, just after a few days, these blisters scab over then dry up and eventually fall off. This is the way things evolve in chicken pox. Some, but very rare, cases of chicken pox have no symptoms so the disease will actually go unnoticed.

Some parts of your child? s body are more likely to be affected by chicken pox than others. The chest and upper part of your child? s back are the ares where the rash will first appear. However, chicken pox may affect your whole body, even the mouth. These are more rare cases of chicken pox, but they can exist.

Chicken pox can also lead to complications. The most common of all chicken pox complications is the secondary infection. This chicken pox complication can be fatal.