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Chicken Pox


Chicken pox, medically known as Varicella, is a highly common and contagious viral infection. Chicken pox is commonly observed in children but adults can contract chicken pox if they have not been vaccinated against the infection.

Healthy children cope quite well when they are afflicted with chicken pox but there are complications in certain cases. Pregnant women, infants, teens, adults, and individuals who have immunological disorders have more difficulties with overcoming this infection.

Chicken pox is an illness that is usually only experienced one time. However, the virus remains in the body for a long period after recovery and may resurface in the form of a painful viral infection called shingles.

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Causes and Risk Factors

Chicken pox, characterized by fluid-filled blisters that appear all over the body, is caused by varicella-zoster virus (VZV). It is highly contagious and it may spread when an infected person sneezes, coughs, or shares food or drinks with individuals who are not infected. Contact with the fluid in a chicken pox blister can also spread the virus.

Chicken pox usually begins spreading two to three days before the fluid-filled blisters actually appear, and the blisters eventually form crusts and fall off. The infection may spread before the afflicted person exhibits any symptoms of chicken pox. Anyone who has never experienced chicken pox or who has not been vaccinated against the virus can contract the disease.

The risk of contracting chicken pox becomes marginal once the virus has already been contracted because when VZV enters the body, it remains dormant in the spinal cord while simultaneously experiencing regulation by the immune system. If the virus becomes active again, it causes a skin disorder called shingles. Approximately ten percent of adults reportedly experience shingles when the virus re-emerges.

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