Chicken Pox outbreak

We are seeing chicken pox within the last week or two here in El Dorado county, as also noted in the Friday 5/14/10 Mountain Democrat (sorry, their website is subscription only).

This is a common viral illness that generally shows up as a mild illness with feeling generally ill, itching, and fever up to 102 degrees for up to 2-3 days. More severe disease can result in pneumonia or other complications.

People at moderately higher risk of more severe disease includes:

• people 13 years old or older
• people with chronic skin disease such as eczema or psoriasis
• chronic lung disease
• patients who take steroids chronically as inhalers or pills

Folks at higher risk of severe disease include:

• newborns
• pregnant women
• patients on steroid pills daily
• patients with supressed immune systems (HIV/AIDS, chemotherapy, organ transplant medicines)

Mind you, if you've already had chicken pox before you are extremely unlikely to get it again.

For the most part, the illness is treated supportively with soothing compresses, rest and over the counter medicines such as Tylenol. It generally goes away in a week or two. As it can easily spread through touching pox lesions and/or coughing or sneezing we generally recommend staying at home and avoiding school or work or social gatherings until the pox lesions have scabbed and the scabs have come off and there is no more coughing or sneezing. It is not necessary to see us in the office for this, as risk of spread to other patients is high.

Certainly, feel free to call if you are concerned about more severe illness or risk for severe illness.

The chicken pox vaccine has, over the past decade or more, been a routine part of childhood vaccinations and is generally given at 15-18 months of age. More recently, a second dose has been recommended for better vaccine response. Please contact the county department of public health about this if you feel you may need a second vaccine.