Chickenpox is believed to be a childhood illness. Indeed, they are mostly affected by preschoolers between the ages of two and six. Most of them tolerate chickenpox in a mild form and receive stable immunity to the virus for life. But what if, in addition to the preschooler, a baby also lives in the house? Can a newborn baby get chickenpox? We will talk about this and what to do if it becomes infected with a virus in our article.
Can a newborn baby get chickenpox?
Chickenpox is an acute viral disease transmitted by airborne droplets. Its causative agent is herpesvirus Varicella Zoster, which has extremely high volatility. The probability of infection in contact with a sick person is almost 100%. Adults rarely get the virus, since they most often carry it in childhood.
In some sources you can find information that newborns and infants (pictured) cannot be infected with chickenpox, while they are naturally fed and they are under 6 months old. Actually this is an erroneous statement. The probability of infection remains quite high at any age, even despite the fact that immediately after the birth of the baby, the mother's immune cells protect against viruses. But if the woman herself had previously had chickenpox, then the baby will also receive antibodies with breast milk, which will serve as a reliable protection for him. And if the virus nevertheless picks up the crumbs, then there is a high probability that he will suffer the disease in the mildest form.
Causes of infection and transmission of the virus
The wind base is transmitted through the air when sneezing, coughing, and even when a sick person speaks to a healthy person. Especially quickly the virus spreads in closed rooms with a large concentration of people, for example, in kindergartens. And from there, an older brother or sister can bring him home. In external conditions, in the fresh air, the virus dies in about 10 minutes.
The causes of chickenpox infection in newborns and infants can be caused by the following circumstances:
- Upon contact with the patient, it does not matter if it is an adult or a child.
- In case of infection with the virus of a pregnant woman, if this happened on the eve of childbirth. Congenital is called chickenpox, in which rashes in a child appear before the 11th day of life. It is such a disease that most often occurs in the most severe form and is fraught with complications.
Incubation period
The insidiousness of chickenpox is that the first symptoms of the disease appear after the child has become dangerous to surrounding healthy children. Thus, the baby becomes contagious already 2 days before the appearance of characteristic rashes on his skin. The incubation period of the disease is 21 days. But this does not mean that all this time the child will remain contagious to others. It is enough to limit the child’s communication with other children for 7 days from the moment the last bubble appears on the skin.
The incubation period can be divided into the following periods:
- The appearance of the virus in the body and its adaptation.
- Cell reproduction and the entry of Varicella Zoster into the blood.
- The appearance of visible symptoms of the disease on the skin.
During the period when the patient remains contagious to others, care for him must be carried out by persons already having immunity. Otherwise, new infections are inevitable.
Symptoms of chickenpox in newborns and infants
The disease most often affects children aged 2-6 years. But situations where a baby has chickenpox have recently become far from rare. Parents can recognize the disease by the following characteristic symptoms:
- Skin rashes. The appearance of a rash begins with the head, and during the day it spreads throughout the body. At first, parents may notice that red dots reminiscent of a sweatshirt appeared on the child's body. But soon they begin to fill with a cloudy liquid, turning into bubbles. They spread throughout the body, appear on the mucous membranes of the mouth, nose, and genitals. Rashes can continue for 4-5 days, after which the bubbles begin to dry out, crusts form and the child ceases to be infectious to other children.
- Itching With chickenpox, the whole body begins to itch strongly. In infants, itching causes increased anxiety, crying, tantrums, refusal to eat and sleep. But combing the bubbles and opening them is categorically not recommended, since the resulting scars will remain for life.
- Fever. In almost all children, the thermometer during chickenpox ranges from 37-39 °. Very rarely, the disease proceeds without an increase in temperature. Heat can occur simultaneously with rashes or 1 day before they appear.
Forms of the disease in infants
Many parents literally dream that their child had chickenpox in childhood. They take him to visit sick children, creating all the conditions for infection. Only in the case of infants, this is strictly not recommended. In children up to a year, all diseases occur with an increased risk, and no one can say in advance what the reaction of a fragile organism will be.
Chickenpox in infants occurs in mild or severe form. If the mother is immune to the virus and the baby is breastfed, then the likelihood that he will tolerate the disease easily is quite high.
For newborn babies on artificial feeding chickenpox is fraught with complications. An increase in body temperature in them can reach 40 ° with pronounced signs of intoxication. At the same time, the spread of the rash to the mucous membranes can lead to laryngeal edema, viral pneumonia, encephalitis, cerebellar changes. Fortunately, such complications are rare.
Treatment of chickenpox in children 1 year old
General therapeutic actions in this disease are aimed at relieving its symptoms. Treatment includes taking the following drugs:
- Antiviral. For children older than three years, the doctor usually prescribes drugs against herpesvirus, for example, Acyclovir. For infants, such treatment is unacceptable. That is why a doctor can prescribe a more suitable antiviral drug, such as Viferon in the form of suppositories, for newborns.
- For the treatment of rash. To speed up the process of drying the bubbles and forming a crust on them, they are recommended to be treated with alcohol-containing solutions. Suitable and well-known greenback, and tincture of calendula. Among modern drugs, a solution based on Betadine iodine is highly effective.
- Antihistamines. Since chickenpox is accompanied by itching, it must be removed, which will alleviate the condition of the patient. For this purpose, the drug "Fenistil" in the form of drops is suitable.
- Antipyretic. If a newborn child has chickenpox, which is accompanied by an increase in temperature, he is prescribed drugs based on paracetamol or ibuprofen, for example, Panadol or Nurofen.
Features of the course of the disease in infants
A doctor called home should diagnose chickenpox, not a mom, grandmother, or neighbor. If there are few rashes, the temperature increase is insignificant, and there are no signs of general intoxication, therapy is carried out at home. Severe chickenpox in infants always requires hospitalization and treatment under the constant supervision of doctors.
A newborn is small, however, like an older child, it always feels discomfort from an itchy rash. At this time, he usually sleeps little, becomes moody, irritable, tearful, his appetite disappears and his health worsens.
Bathing during chickenpox
Representatives of the Soviet school of medicine are categorical in the question of whether the child can take a bath during the active stage of the disease. They do not allow any water procedures if there are rashes on the body. Doctors explain this by the fact that after getting wet, it is very easy to damage the crust, which in the future will lead to the formation of scars. In addition, bathing will negate all procedures for drying the bubbles with alcohol solutions.
Modern medicine is not so categorical in this matter. You can bathe your child during chickenpox if he does not have a temperature, but without using any detergents and soap. After water procedures, the skin is gently patted with a towel, after which the bubbles are again treated with solutions. Bathing helps relieve itching and improve well-being.
General recommendations for child care
During illness, parents must ensure that the following actions are completed:
- The child must observe bed rest, especially if he has a fever.
- Do not force the baby to eat by force. The best food for newborns and infants with chickenpox is breast milk (if they are naturally fed).
- Change clothes and bedding daily; be sure to iron them after washing.
- Trim the nails of the child in a timely manner to reduce the risk of combing the vesicles and their infection.
- To wait with walks until 7 days have passed since the last pimple appeared.
- Regularly carry out wet cleaning and ventilate the room where the child is sleeping.
Dr. Komarovsky about chickenpox in infants
A well-known pediatrician, who is respected by modern mothers, says that chickenpox in children under 6 months of age is extremely rare, but it is severe. Especially difficult is the infection of the virus by newborns whose mother fell ill with chickenpox 5 days before birth or immediately after them.
Among the symptoms of chickenpox in newborns and infants, Komarovsky, in addition to those presented above, calls intoxication. The child becomes lethargic, refuses food. To treat the disease, the doctor recommends treating the vesicles with the drugs prescribed by the local doctor, giving antihistamines, bathing the child in water with soda, avoiding overheating and ensuring that the drinking regimen is observed.
Do I need to handle rashes with green stuff?
For many parents, this disease is associated exclusively with a child whose skin is covered with green dots. And indeed, 20 years ago, chickenpox in children (newborns and not only) was treated exclusively with brilliant green. This is not urgently needed today. Bubbles with liquid inside and without additional processing will sooner or later be covered with a crust, which will disappear over time.
But there is still some sense in treating the rash with brilliant green. If you lubricate the bubbles with a green solution, you can easily notice when the rashes have stopped. So, from the moment the last pimple appears, you will need to count 7 days, and calmly go for a walk outside, because the child will no longer be infectious.
Chicken pox vaccination
A child can actually be vaccinated against chickenpox, but only when he turns 1 year old. Therefore, it will not work to completely protect against this disease in infants and newborns. The probability of infection for them is quite high, especially if the house has an older child attending kindergarten.
One of the most severe forms of chickenpox is congenital. That is why doctors recommend that women who have not suffered this disease in childhood receive vaccination at the stage of pregnancy planning. This will help to some extent protect newborns and infants from chickenpox.
It is worth noting that vaccination cannot guarantee 100% that the child does not become infected with this virus. That's just the disease he will suffer in a very mild form.