Chickenpox Flashcards
Causative organism for chicken pox
Varicella zoster virus
Presentation of chicken pox
Normally children
Widespread, erythematous, raised, vesicular , blistering lesions.
Usually starts on the trunk or face and spreads outwards over 2 – 5 days.
Eventually scabs over
Other symptoms:
- Fever
- Itch
- General fatigue and malaise
When is a patient not infectious with chicken pox
When lesions scab over
Infectivity of chicken pox
Highly contagious and spread through direct contact with the lesions or through infected droplets from a cough or sneeze
When do patients become symptomatic with chicken pox
10 days - 3 weeks after exposure
Complications of chicken pox
Bacterial superinfection
Dehydration
Conjunctival lesions
Pneumonia
Encephalitis (presenting as ataxia)
Varicella zoster dormancy
After chicken pox, the virus can lie dormant in the sensory dorsal root ganglion cells and cranial nerves
Reactivate later in life as shingles or Ramsay Hunt syndrome
Pregnant women that are known to be immune to chickenpox
Not at risk when in contact with chickenpox
Pregnant women not immune to chickenpox
Varicella zoster immunoglobulins
Congenital varicella syndrome
Chicken pox in pregnant women before 28 week gestation can cause developmental problems in the fetus
Chickenpox in the mother around the time of delivery
Can lead to life threatening neonatal infection
Treatment for maternal chicken pox at time of delivery
Varicella zoster immunoglobulins and aciclovir
Management of chicken pox
Supportive treatment
Who gets treated with aciclovir for chicken pox
Consider in immunocompromised patients
Adults and adolescents over 14 years presenting within 24 hours
Neonates or those at risk of complications
How to treat symptoms of itching
Calamine lotion and chlorphenamine (antihistamine).
