Clipping of news on Brazilian Culture, Law and Citizenship
11/05/2013
This article was translated by an automatic translation system, and was therefore not reviewed by people.
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Varicella , commonly known as chickenpox , is a disease caused by the herpes zoster virus , which affects mainly children . The most common form of transmission is through contact this viral particle - present in saliva , sneezing , coughing or even talking - with inhaled or oral mucosa of the individual . Transmission can also occur through direct inoculation , ie when hands come into contact with infected blisters of someone sick and infect the airway mucosa or oral , or indirectly by contact with clothing or surfaces that have been used by the sick person . In this interview, pediatrician and pediatric infectious disease specialist at the National Institute of Women's Health , Child and Adolescent Fernandes Figueira ( IFF / Fiocruz ) Leonardo Menezes answers questions about symptoms , treatment and prevention of disease.
What are the main symptoms of chickenpox , and how is it diagnosed?
Leonardo Menezes - Typically, the patient develops blisters or bubbles, in general, content and clear reddish edges . These blisters , which appear on the skin of the whole body , including the scalp, lips , and other mucosal appear in outbreaks , or several at the same time, is accompanied by fever low to moderate with an average of four days. Another feature of the disease is that it is polymorphic , or the patient has skin lesions at various different stages simultaneously: clear content vesicles , sometimes a little more cloudy and already dried crusts . The diagnosis is primarily clinical , although there is the possibility of serological confirmation .
What is the proper treatment ?
LM - In small children , is not indicated any treatment , even the known baths of permanganate , which , when poorly diluted , can cause skin burns and add morbidity to the disease . The ideal is to make proper hygiene of the skin with soap and water , during bath usual , and cut your fingernails child so she does not scratch the blisters and run the risk of infect them . Specific treatment with medication , which is acyclovir , is only indicated in adults or patients over 12 years , since the complication rate of the disease is usually higher . In specific cases where the patient has HIV , some degree of immunosuppression or other comorbidity that makes it an expression of varicella more severe, treatment is indicated with acyclovir also under 12 . Antipyretics are indicated and should remember to avoid aspirin and ibuprofen . In some situations , you can make use of antihistamine medications to contain the itching that accompanies skin lesions .
What are the major complications that can occur due to chicken pox ?
LM - The secondary skin infections are the most common complications associated with chickenpox. The skin disease creates an entry for bacteria which may cause infections and also in the same soft tissues , and may even reach the bloodstream , causing systemic infections and invasive . The viral pneumonitis caused directly by chicken pox is also feared . Children over 12 and adults have greater potential for development of this serious complication . Furthermore, immunosuppressed patients may have widespread disease , have central nervous system involvement , encephalitis due to chickenpox , among other complications.
How to prevent ?
LM - It is no vaccine for the disease . She is relatively new , but has just entered the National Vaccination Calendar SUS , composing the viral tetra , which also protects against measles, mumps and rubella. According to the Ministry of Health (MOH ) , in public it is only available for children 15 months of age who have received their first dose of MMR and should reduce about 80 % of hospitalizations for chickenpox. Besides the dose should be given within the first year of life , the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Brazilian Society of Pediatrics recommend the vaccine booster between four and six years old . It is important to completely prevent disease as a single dose generates, in some cases, an immunity that prevents the person does not manifest the disease , although in a milder form .
Who are already infected can get the vaccine ?
LM - The vaccine has no effect if given to a patient already infected with the virus , since there is no risk of chickenpox more than once , except in rare situations. What can happen is that after the outbreak of chickenpox , the virus becomes latent stage , no more being eliminated from the body . As a result , some people , for various reasons , can develop , usually in a more advanced stage of life , herpes zoster , which is a reactivation of the virus in another clinical manifestation .
There are contraindications to the vaccine ? Who can take ?
LM - There are no contraindications to the vaccine , except in specific cases , such as in some patients with HIV or other deficits immunity and pregnant women . But it is worth noting that if the woman has not contracted the disease in childhood or unsure of their immune status , we recommend vaccination before becoming pregnant . Remember that in addition to the infection in adults is more severe , there is the possibility of maternal-fetal transmission of the virus , which can lead to birth defects in the baby, especially in the first trimester of pregnancy . The literature also reports cases of severe varicella in newborns when the mother developed the disease five days before or up to two days after delivery . So , if a woman falls ill in late pregnancy , this can be a serious problem for the unborn child .
Source : Fiocruz
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This article was translated by an automatic translation system, and was therefore not reviewed by people.