A rash appeared - is it chickenpox?

2023 Author: Alfred Shackley | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-05-21 13:14

This question has a place to be, since what kind of rash appeared on the body and from what it can only be recognized by a doctor. It is quite difficult to get chickenpox if you do not have contact with the patient. But, given that the incubation period of chickenpox is quite long, it is hardly possible to remember exactly when and with whom it crossed. And allergy is a common problem in society, because a person may not even guess what he is allergic to until it manifests itself. So how do you differentiate between these two problems?

What is chickenpox?

Chickenpox usually appears in preschool age and has associations with childhood. In childhood, this disease is transferred very easily and quickly compared to the adult body. After transferring chickenpox, a person develops immunity to it. That is, the risk of getting sick again is reduced to zero.

The incubation period is from one to three weeks, which means that it is almost impossible to understand whether you have become infected after contact with a sick person. The first manifestations of the infection are more reminiscent of the degree of ARVI - chills appear, the body temperature rises to 39 degrees, a runny nose may appear. And after a couple of days, the patient begins to pour. Although the rashes go away on their own, they are the most unpleasant part of the infection - severe itching all over the body. And pimples should not be scratched, as scars may remain. That is why the bubbles are often lubricated with something that disinfects and relieves itching. In most cases, this is the well-known brilliant green.

Chickenpox is treated by symptoms, since there is no vaccine for the disease itself, because it goes away on its own. Symptoms are stopped to relieve the patient's condition. The rash stays on the body for about a week, after which it disappears. If there are no combed blisters, then the rash will not leave scars. A person remains contagious for another 7 days after the disappearance of the rash on the body.

How does allergy manifest itself?

Allergy is a protective reaction of the body's immune system to environmental factors of the body. The immunity of our body perceives some substances as a strong irritant and begins to produce antibodies against it. A rash on the skin is the first sign that the body does not like something.

Most often, a rash and other symptoms appear immediately upon contact with an allergen. Symptoms can manifest themselves in different ways - sneezing, watery eyes, fever.

Allergies do not go away by themselves, unlike chickenpox. In case of an allergic reaction of the body, it is necessary to get rid of the allergen (stop using the "bad" product, remove flowers or clothes from irritating fabric). And also consult a doctor so that he prescribes the necessary antihistamines inside and for external treatment of the skin.

Self-medication in this case can lead to worsening of the condition, since an incorrectly selected drug can only harm the patient. Complications of allergies can reach Quincke's edema - a sharp swelling of the whole body, which is fraught with obstruction of the airways.

How to distinguish chickenpox from allergies?

To answer this question, it is necessary to compare several factors of the problem that has appeared.

So, the first thing that gives a clue is what preceded the rash and other symptoms:

In order for a child to be suspected of chickenpox, there must be contact with the carrier. Such a risk usually arises in an educational institution: someone fell ill in a kindergarten or at school - a wave of sick people will go who have not been sick before. Perhaps someone on the playground had suspicious wounds on their body

Allergy manifests itself immediately after contact with an irritant. That is, you need to remember what happened in the last couple of days: what the child was fed with, perhaps a new product appeared in the diet or the child was overeating, a new flower or pet appeared in the house. Then we can assume that this is not chickenpox, but an allergy.

1. The second is changes in the course of the disease with some changes in everyday life. If the assumption still fell on an allergic reaction, then it is necessary to remove new products from the diet, flowers, feathered or fluffy animals from the apartment, and carefully remove the dust. You can give your child a natural antihistamine with as few side effects as possible. Under these new circumstances, the allergy rash will stop spreading, and the existing rash will become less pronounced. Such “disinfection” measures will not affect chickenpox.

2. The third is a type of rash. A chickenpox rash appears all over the body. It can manifest itself in different ways: red spots, pimples like bubbles (with liquid inside), crusts. All different sizes, but new eruptions are smaller than existing ones.

   With allergies, the rash is almost the same size and can often be localized in one place. But the rashes immediately appear in large numbers. Old rashes are smaller than new ones.

3. Localization of the rash. Chickenpox is characterized by the globalization of the spread of rashes. They can appear on the mucous membrane and even on the conjunctiva of the eyes.

   Allergies do not have this feature.

4. Associated symptoms. As an infectious disease, a rash of chickenpox is accompanied by fever, runny nose, deterioration of the general condition of the body, possibly nausea. But the bubbles themselves appear a couple of days after the first symptoms.

   In case of allergies, a rash appears after contact, and then tearing, sneezing, coughing, redness of the eyes appear in addition.

The problem of diagnosing according to these criteria is that with allergies, the same concomitant symptoms may appear as with chickenpox. Or not at all - just a rash. But the doctor will be able to distinguish only by the rash itself, whether chickenpox has struck the child or another ailment.

Recommendations

As soon as a rash appears on your body or on the body of your child, see your doctor. Perhaps this rash does not carry anything terrible in itself and it is only a protective reaction of the body to things or something like that. Well, it may happen that the rash became a signal of an internal illness, with which it is better not to joke.

Chickenpox, although it is a harmless disease, causes a lot of problems and troubles - fever, itching, etc. But you should not be afraid of this disease, the sooner the child gets sick with it, the easier it will be to transfer the virus. Usually, such a rash can only be distinguished by a doctor.

Allergy, on the other hand, can not only cause complications, but also haunt you, because it is difficult to determine what exactly this reaction manifests itself from from the first moment. It is best to go to a doctor who can tell if chickenpox has caused a rash or is still an allergy. In the second case, he will prescribe tests that determine the allergen and treatment that will eliminate the symptoms.

Tests vary, but the simplest is a blood test. From a small amount of human blood, a large number of substances are checked, which supposedly have become irritants.