The infection will have to be in your body for around seven to 21 days before the rash and other symptoms develop. You start to be contagious to those around you up to 48 hours before the skin rash starts to occur. One or two days after you experience these symptoms, the classic rash will begin to develop. The rash goes through three phases before you recover. These include:. The bumps on your body will not all be in the same phase at the same time.
New bumps will continuously appear throughout your infection. The rash may be very itchy, especially before it scabs over with a crust. You are still contagious until all the blisters on your body have scabbed over.
The crusty scabbed areas eventually fall off. It takes seven to 14 days to disappear completely. Varicella-zoster virus VZV causes the chickenpox infection. Most cases occur through contact with an infected person. The virus is contagious to those around you for one to two days before your blisters appear. VZV remains contagious until all blisters have crusted over. The virus can spread through:.
Exposure to the virus through previous active infection or vaccination reduces risk. Immunity from the virus can be passed on from a mother to her newborn. Immunity lasts about three months from birth. Anyone who has not been exposed may contract the virus. Risk increases under any of these conditions:. One of several viruses or infections could be affecting you. Tell your doctor right away if you are pregnant and have been exposed to chickenpox.
Or, lab tests can confirm the cause of the blisters. These groups may also contract VZV pneumonia or bacterial infections of the skin, joints, or bones.
Most people diagnosed with chickenpox will be advised to manage their symptoms while they wait for the virus to pass through their system. Parents will be told to keep children out of school and day care to prevent spread of the virus. Infected adults will also need to stay home. Minus Related Pages.
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CDC is not responsible for Section compliance accessibility on other federal or private website. Cancel Continue. To reduce the spread of chickenpox, children with the illness should not attend daycare or school until 5 days after the rash first appears or the blisters have crusted.
It usually takes 2 to 3 weeks for a person to get sick after exposure to the virus. If your child is exposed to chickenpox, watch for signs of the illness for the next 2 to 3 weeks. Symptoms of chickenpox may include fever, aches, tiredness, headache and loss of appetite. A few days later, a rash appears. Red spots appear first on the face and scalp, and then spread quickly down the body and to the arms and legs. The spots become very itchy and begin to look like blisters, filled with clear fluid.
After another few days, the fluid becomes cloudy, the blisters break, and a crust or scab forms while the skin heals. During this time, new "crops" of spots appear, form blisters, and then crust over. Chickenpox usually lasts about 10 days.
If you have been exposed to the chickenpox virus, your treatment will depend on your age, personal health, and severity of the illness. Most healthy children will only need to stay at home and rest. Pregnant women, newborn infants, and people with weakened immune systems who have not been vaccinated or have not had chickenpox or shingles in the past should see a health care provider immediately if they are exposed to, or get, chickenpox.
Prevention methods must be started as soon as possible to reduce the illness, and the risk for complications. Prevention methods may include antiviral medication, an injection of varicella zoster immune globulin or the varicella vaccine. In most cases, chickenpox is a mild illness. If you have chickenpox, you should rest but you do not need to stay in bed. The most helpful things you can do are those that make you or your child feel more comfortable.
Some steps you can take are to:. The same virus that causes chickenpox causes shingles. For some people who have had chickenpox, the virus can become active again later in life and cause a painful rash with blisters called shingles.
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