[toc]Chicken pox is a common illness among children, particularly among those under 12 years. It shows us with the appearance of an itchy rash that looks like blisters throughout the body and may be accompanied by flu-like symptoms.
Usually, the symptoms go away by themselves after a while. However, as the infection is very contagious, it is recommended that a person with the disease stays home and rests until the symptoms disappear. Chickenpox is caused by the varicella zoster virus (VZV). In order to prevent contracting the virus, children should receive the chickenpox vaccine, usually administered when they are between 12 and 15 months of age.
5 Causes Of Chicken Pox
Cough And Sneeze
Generally the chickenpox virus is transmitted from one person to another in the same way as cold and flu are transmitted. When a person suffering from chicken pox coughs or sneezes, the tiny droplets that are released from the nose and mouth carry the varicella-zoster virus.
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An uninfected person can then become infected when he breathes in this virus through the droplets in the air. It is therefore very important that the person who’s infected and his used objects be kept at a distance from the rest.
Viral Contact
The most common cause of chicken pox is of course viral contact. Chicken pox is caused by a virus named the varicella-zoster virus. One can catch it very easily if he comes into close contact with somebody who is already carrying the virus. It is an extremely contagious disease and therefore spreads mostly through human contact.
Over 80% of people who haven’t had chickenpox previously are certain to be infected if they come into close contact with somebody who is infected with the virus.
Shingles
In case you haven’t had chicken pox before, it is possible for you to contract this disease from somebody who’s suffering from shingles (also known as ‘herpes zostar’). This is because shingles too is caused by the same virus as in the case of chicken pox, which is varicella-zoster virus.
Generally shingles is considered to be the later stage of chicken pox, often occurring years after the episode of chicken pox is resolved. Nevertheless, it is not possible to get shingles from somebody who is suffering from chicken pox.
Handling An Object
Sometimes the infected person does not have to be in close proximity with an unaffected person for the latter to contract the virus. Even by merely touching something that has been used by the infected person or handling some surface where the cough droplets had landed on, one may get infected.
This is especially common in case of towels. If you wipe your face in a towel that has been used by somebody with chicken pox, you are likely to contract the disease.
Pregnancy
A rare case of chickenpox is manifested in newborn babies who are born with the disease. This happens when the gestating mother catches the virus after thirty six weeks since conceiving. If the mother catches the virus sometime between the seventh and ninth month, chances are that virus will stay within the baby’s body and only manifest itself several months or a few years after birth. In such a case the baby can also have shingles and not necessarily chicken pox.
Chicken pox is not too complicated a disease if the patient is properly taken care of and the disease is not allowed to spread. The patient heals on his own without too much medication. Immunity from this ailment can only be achieved through its contraction in the first place.
