Chickenpox Vaccineby Aimee Amodio | More from this Blogger 26 May 2007 02:55 PM Raise your hand if you've had chickenpox. I sort of had it twice -- my father had it when I was a baby, and my parents tell me I had the rash on my rump. I had it again a few years later, and suffered through the itching by getting painted with calamine lotion. Chickenpox (varicella) is a very common childhood disease; it seems to get harder to deal with as the patient gets older. The disease is most dangerous to infants and adults -- as many as 100 people die because of chickenpox here in the U.S. Around twelve thousand people in the U.S. are hospitalized each year because of the virus. Wouldn't it be easier to prevent chickenpox entirely? The virus can be spread through the air, or by contact with fluid from the chickenpox blisters. The varicella vaccine can prevent chickenpox in most people; people who are vaccinated that do get chickenpox often have a very mild case that clears up quickly. The vaccine is a one time dose if you are under the age of 13 and a two stage vaccine if you are older than 13. It can be given any time after a person is one year old if they have never had chickenpox. Twenty to thirty percent of people report soreness or swelling at the injection site -- this is the most common reaction to the vaccine. Ten percent of people develop a mild fever and only five percent of people develop a rash at the injection site. Severe allergic reactions are extremely rare. Signs of a severe reaction include high fever, behavior changes, difficulty breathing, dizziness, and hives. If you do experience any of these symptoms after a varicella vaccine, call your doctor immediately. You should not have the chickenpox vaccine if:
Ask your doctor about the chickenpox vaccine if you have a disease that affects your immune system, like HIV or AIDS, or other serious health issues. Learn more about Aimee Amodio  Aimee is a fiction writer... dog lover... music lover... Relevanthealth tags User Comments nancy_jones (145) 12 May 2009 10:55 AMDiseases for which usually immunizations are advised, are known to be easily transmissible and can really cause severe health issues. The potential of infective bacteria or virus causing a particular disease, is impaired while preparing a vaccine. The body is found to react to these vaccines when injected into the body. http://askblogster.com/immunization/ Community Tags chicken pox, chickenpox, immunization, shingles, vaccines, virus, varicella, vaccinations Discuss this article
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