Presented by: Michelle Montemayor Molly Tor Terrie West Eileen Zuniga Student Health Problems Health Education Standard 3b

Health Education Standard 3b: Teachers will know and understand: Common chronic and communicable diseases of children and adolescents from both a prevention and management perspective. Teachers will be able to: Identify symptoms of communicable diseases common in children and youth and describe appropriate actions when these symptoms are observed.

Today we will discuss: Chickenpox

Which picture shows Chickenpox???

What is Chickenpox? Chickenpox, a rash illness caused by a virus, is one of the most common infectious diseases of childhood.

Chickenpox (continued) It takes 2-3 weeks (commonly days) after being exposed to develop symptoms of chickenpox. The infected person is contagious 1-2 days before appearance of the rash until 5 days after the first vesicles appear.

Signs of chickenpox appear in the following order: 1. Mild fever with cold-like symptoms. 2. Rash (red spots), mostly on trunk or covered areas of the body. 3. Fluid-filled blisters (vesicles). 4. Crusts / scabs.

What causes it? Chickenpox is caused by the herpes zoster virus, also known as the varicella-zoster virus (VZV).

How is it spread? Chickenpox is spread by droplets from a sneeze or cough, or by direct contact with the clothing or oozing vesicles of an infected person. Chickenpox is very contagious, and 90% of people who are not immune will catch it when they are exposed. Epidemics are most common in the late winter and early spring, and children between ages 5 and 9 account for half of all cases.

To Prevent Spread… Exclude infected person from school or daycare for 5 days after the first vesicles appear. Practice good hand washing. Cover mouth when sneezing or coughing and dispose of tissue promptly.

To Prevent Spread (continued) Remind students to get VACCINATED!!! NOTE: Adolescents 13 years of age or older and adults who have not received the vaccine or have not already contracted chickenpox should also be vaccinated.

Why should people be vaccinated? The chickenpox vaccine helps people develop their own antibodies against the virus. The vaccine prevents illness in 70% to 90% of those who receive it. Those who do develop the chickenpox after vaccination have much milder symptoms with fewer skin blisters. In 1995, a vaccine against chickenpox became available in the United States for the first time.

Patient Comfort Here we should discuss notification protocols, isolation methods instead…???