STORY BYThere was a time when chickenpox was considered a childhood rite-of-passage, right up there with your first spill from your two-wheeler and your first belly-flop off the diving board.
In fact, chickenpox was the one sickness your parents wanted you to catch. If you weren't covered in blisters by a certain age, you were sent off to play with the sick kid down the block who had the responsibility of both entertaining and infecting you.
Nowadays, with the availability of a vaccine to protect against varicella (its formal name), chickenpox is almost a thing of the past.
"Some of our new doctors have never even seen a case of chickenpox," says
Dr. Kim Smith, associate professor of pediatrics at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston. "That's how rare it has become."
The varicella vaccine was developed in 1974 in Japan and became licensed more than two decades later in the United States. Since then, cases of chickenpox, as well as deaths resulting from varicella, have continued to decline, and most schools now require that students get the vaccine before they enroll in class.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Protection (CDC), children should get one dose of chickenpox vaccine between 12 and 18 months of age. Patients who do not get immunized until after their thirteenth birthday should get two doses, four to eight weeks apart.
“Some of our new doctors have never even seen a case of chickenpox,” says Dr. Kim Smith, UT Medical School at Houston."The vaccine offers great protection, especially against severe cases," Smith says. "In rare instances, people who have already been vaccinated will get chickenpox if they are re-exposed to the virus. But that occurs in less than five percent of patients, and when it does occur, it's usually a mild case."
A case of "breakthrough" chickenpox may be so mild that it may be mistaken for a skin rash or bug bites. "There may be only a few lesions, and sometimes they don't blister," Smith says.
For people who have never been immunized against chickenpox, they may suffer 250 to 1,000 lesions that cover most of their body. That's in stark contrast to the 10-30 spots a person may get if they already have some protection from the varicella vaccine.
With mild disease, there may not even be fever, Smith adds.
But fever or no, a mild case of chickenpox is nevertheless contagious, so parents should be mindful that while the varicella vaccine provides excellent protection against the disease, it is not perfect. That rash may actually be the chickenpox, and if it is, anyone who hasn't been vaccinated who comes into contact with that person is at risk for getting varicella.
So why vaccinate at all? It wasn't so long ago that parents hosted chickenpox parties and children earned their get-out-of-school-free pass until their chickenpox scabbed over. It was considered nature's way. You got the pox, and you had natural immunity thereafter.
"There are a number of reasons why people should be vaccinated," Smith says. "Chickenpox isn't usually life-threatening, but it can kill. It also can lead to severe skin infections, scars, pneumonia and brain damage.
"Children who get the chickenpox have to stay out of school until they are better, and they feel miserable," Smith says. "If you get chickenpox as an adult, it can be even more severe and dangerous. Chickenpox also can lead to shingles, a painful rash, later in life."
There are some people who should not get the varicella vaccine.
Those include patients who have life-threatening allergic reactions to gelatin, the antibiotic neomycin or a previous dose of the chickenpox vaccine.
People who are moderately or seriously ill should wait until they recover before getting the chickenpox vaccine.
Pregnant women should wait until after they have given birth. And for women who are considering motherhood, doctors recommend they wait at least a month after getting the vaccine to become pregnant.
The CDC recommends patients with compromised immune systems and those who have recently had a transfusion or other blood products consult with their physician before getting the vaccine.
Overall, Smith says, the pros of getting the vaccine outweigh the cons for most people.
"If you are vaccinated, you are likely to be fully protected," she says. "You eliminate the risk of all the complications that stem from chickenpox."
Last Updated: 11-04-2004Editorial Board | Legal Disclaimer | Privacy & Security | Contact Us
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Dr. Kimberly Smith is an associate professor of pediatrics at the UT Medical School.
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Packing Bag Lunches Safely
If you pack lunches for your child to take to school, be careful that you do not accidentally expose them to foodborne illness.
Bagged lunches, especially those containing perishable foods, need to be packed and handled properly in order to keep the food safe. In general, perishable foods should not be left at room temperature for more than two hours. If left out too long, the temperature of the food can enter the danger zone where bacteria grow most rapidly, which is between 40 and 140 degrees Fahrenheit.
Below are some tips to help families pack bagged lunches safely:
Before eating lunch or snacks at school, make sure your child washes his or her hands with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds. If your child's school does not have a handwashing program in place, encourage them to adopt a such a program, as handwashing is one of the best ways kids and parents can protect health and stop the spread of germs.
