This content was originally produced for audio. Certain elements, such as tone, sound effects, and music, may not fully capture the intended experience in textual representation. Therefore, the following transcription may have been modified for clarity. We recognize not everyone can access the audio podcast. However, for those who can, we encourage subscribing and listening to the original content for a more engaging and immersive experience.
All thoughts and opinions expressed by hosts and guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views held by the institutions with which they are affiliated.
What Chickenpox Actually Looks Like
Chickenpox, also known as varicella, many of us know how not fun it is to get. I got it in elementary school and missed Valentine's Day activities. Yes, I remember it well. I then gave it to my younger sister and my baby brother.
It's something we don't see as much anymore. So if your child has a concerning rash and you're wondering, is it chickenpox, and do you need to worry that your child will miss out on fun festivities, well, that's a question we are getting more and more lately. And here are tips to help you determine if it's possibly chickenpox or not.
Blisters
The first bit of good news is that most rashes that look like chickenpox are something else if your child has had their chickenpox vaccines. With actual chickenpox, kids will start with a rash that looks like a dew drop on a rose petal. It's a reddish spot with a clear, fluid-filled blister sitting on top. It starts on the trunk, then the face, and then it spreads throughout the whole body. If it's not chickenpox, it doesn't look like that.
Fevers
Patients with chickenpox usually also have a fever. If it's not chickenpox, they may not have any fevers. They just have itchy bumps on their skin. Non-chickenpox bumps don't have blisters on them, but when the child scratches at them, they can get scabbed over. And the rash may start on the arm or the leg, not the trunk.
When It’s Probably Not Chickenpox
Again, most school-aged children are protected from chickenpox now, thanks to the chickenpox vaccine. Those vaccines are given at 15 months and 4 years. Researches have found that giving these 2 doses is over 97% effective in preventing the once common childhood disease. If your child has been vaccinated, an itchy rash on the body is not likely chickenpox.
Shingles: How the Chickenpox Virus Can Return Later in Life
Now I have very rarely seen kids who are vaccinated get chickenpox, but the times I have seen it have been when those kids have been exposed to an adult who has active shingles.
Shingles is the same virus that causes chickenpox, and it happens when someone who has had chickenpox gets a reactivation of the virus. It causes a very itchy, painful rash, usually in a linear rash distribution along just one part of the body. Doctors call it a dermatome. Dermatomes are skin areas that are innervated by sensory nerves from a single spinal nerve root. And the chickenpox virus lives in the nervous system and kind of hides out in those nerve roots until something reactivates it. That's why we encourage shingles vaccines for older adults, to prevent this reactivation, which causes adults to be miserable with a blistery, painful rash.
Other Rashes Commonly Mistaken for Chickenpox
Other viral rashes that parents often think are chickenpox that can look similar are coxsackievirus, which is the hand, foot, and mouth virus.
Less common rashes that providers who are not pediatricians might not be aware of could be something called Gianotti-Crosti syndrome, which is usually triggered by the Epstein-Barr virus and is on the cheeks, elbows, and knees, mostly in younger kids.
Or it could be molluscum contagiosum, which is caused by poxviruses like warts.
And finally, there's papular eczema, which is seen commonly in kids who have allergies and asthma. It looks a lot like chickenpox, but it's not.
When to Call Your Pediatrician
So if you don't know if your child has chickenpox or not and they haven't had their vaccines, take some pictures of the rash over one to two days and schedule a virtual visit with your child's pediatrician, if that is an option, to have your pediatrician help you determine if it is or is not chickenpox. If there is any concern that it is chickenpox, your pediatrician might have you come in for blood tests with contagious condition precautions that their staff will explain to you, so we can take care of your child while also keeping other vulnerable patients safe. As this is a virus, the only treatment is supportive care, helping to take care of the fever and the itchiness.
More Answers to Your Questions on Keeping Your Kid Healthy and Happy
Latest trends and issues in children's health on the Healthy Kids Zone with Dr. Cindy Gellner
