Chickenpox

Chickenpox is an illness that causes the child to itch intensely with a rash that occurs in the first 24 hours after onset. Children develop chickenpox by coming in direct contact with an infected person through droplets or by touching objects contaminated with the varicella zoster virus. The disease shows symptoms two to three weeks after contact. The child is most contagious one day before the rash erupts to six days after the first group of the rash has formed crusts. The rash, mostly on the childs face and trunk, can cause the child to be irritable, due to itchiness. The childs doctor may prescribe oral or topical antihistamines to relieve the itchiness. Keep the child at home until the rash has dried, usually one week after onset of the disease.

 

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