children. Most adults have already had the disease and will not get it again.

Chicken-pox usually begins with a fever which is followed in one or two days by a rash. The rash usually starts as red spots, which then become fluid filled blisters. Within a few days crusts form over the blisters. New spots appear in crops over the next two to three days. The rash may be very itchy.

The illness is usually mild, but it may be accompanied by a high fever and severe rash. Complications of Chicken-pox include pneumonia, secondary bacterial infection of the rash and inflammation of the brain. However, most of these complications are rare.

The Chicken-pox virus can survive for many years in the body in an inactive form. Shingles is a reactivation of the latent virus that had caused Chicken-pox in childhood. Since the same virus causes both Chicken-pox and Shingles, a person who has never had Chicken-pox may get it from someone with Shingles.

Chicken-pox spreads very easily from person to person through the air or by direct contact with the infected blister fluid. It can be spread from two days before the rash starts until five days after the rash starts, or until the last blister has crusted over. The spread to other children is most likely to occur before the rash develops. If you think a child has Chicken-pox, notify his/her parents, and have them contact their doctor.

Watch other children for signs of the disease. Do not use aspirin, or any aspirin product. Aspirin increases the risk of Reyes Syndrome. However, it is safe to use Tylenol or Panadol or other aspirin free products.

Notify the parents and ask them to contact their physician if their child has an immune system problem.

Call your physician immediately if you are pregnant, and have never had Chicken-pox.

Encourage good personal hygiene in the child with Chicken-pox.

If you have any concern, please call your primary care physician, your child's paediatrician or the Hamilton Health Centre.

Lise Outerbridge Child Health Nurse