chickenpox

Núria has scabs all over her body. They are very itchy! Núria is ill: she has chickenpox.

For a few days she won’t be able to go to school.

What is chickenpox?

Chickenpox is an illness caused by a virus. It is very common among children, and when you catch it red blotches appear on your skin. It is also very contagious, meaning that somebody who has it can pass it on to someone else. 

Watch out! It’s contagious 

How can a boy or a girl with chickenpox pass it on to us?

1) Talking or breathing in front of us.
2) If we touch the spots that have come out as a result of the illness.

When a child has chickenpox usually he or she does not come to school, because he or she is feeling weak and because he or she could pass it on to us. When he or she comes back it means that he or she is cured and that he or she cannot pass it on to us. 

Spots and other symptoms 

The seasons preferred by chickenpox are spring and autumn. If you have chickenpox, you may: 
 

	have a temperature (up to 40ºC)
	feel tired
	have a cough
	have red blotches all over your skin

The spots are the main symptom of chickenpox. They come out mostly around the head, the face and the chest, but they can also appear on your arms and legs.
To have chickenpox can be rather tiresome, but if we follow the doctor’s and the parent’s advice, in a few weeks we will be like new again. 

It’s so itchy! 

Perhaps the most annoying thing about chickenpox is the itchiness. The spots are so itchy! But you must be strong and not scratch, because that could leave marks and scars for ever. There are creams and drugs that may soothe the itch. Ask your chemist.    If you have chickenpox, you should definitely cut your nails. This way it will be more difficult to get hurt if you happen to scratch yourself. If you have chickenpox, you should NOT bath or shower frequently, because this would make it more difficult for the spots to dry.

Once is enough 

There is a vaccination to prevent chickenpox, that you will be given when you are 12 if you have not had chickenpox already, or if your paediatrician did not give it to you when you were little.

Look at the positive side: you can only catch chickenpox once in a lifetime. So, if you have it or if you have already had it, you will never catch it again.