🦠 Chickenpox
PH
PureHealthness Editorial Team · Health writers & reviewers
📝 Last reviewed: August 2026
✔ Transparent sourcing · Some articles are AI-drafted, then reviewed & fact-checked by our team
📝 Last reviewed: August 2026
| In brief | Highly itchy, fluid-filled blisters (rash) appearing over the body, accompanied by a fever and fatigue. |
|---|---|
| Category | Skin |
🔍 What causes it
Varicella-zoster virus — extremely contagious, spread by droplets and touching the blisters. One infection usually gives lifelong immunity, but the virus can later reactivate as shingles.
⚠️ Key symptoms
- Itchy rash of fluid-filled blisters — face, chest, back, then whole body
- Fever and fatigue
- Headache and loss of appetite
- Blisters scab over in about 5-7 days
💊 Treatment
Rest, fluids, paracetamol for fever (NEVER aspirin in children — Reye's syndrome risk), calamine lotion and cool baths for itching, keep nails short. Antivirals for high-risk groups. See a doctor for pregnancy, newborns, or complications.
🛡️ Prevention
The varicella vaccine — safe and effective. Avoid spreading: contagious until ALL blisters have scabbed.
🚨 See a doctor / red flags: See a doctor promptly if symptoms are severe, do not improve, or get worse — especially for children, older adults, pregnant women, or anyone with a chronic condition.
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