HEALTH NOTES.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVII, 22 August 1927, Page 8

HEALTH NOTES.

CHICKEN-POX. SYMPTOMS. TREATMENT AND PREVENTION. (Contributed by the Department of Health.) Tliis is a highly contagions disease tlrat is nearly always present with ns, and it sometimes appears in epidemics. Although attacks in adults are by no means rare, the chief incidence of the disease falls upon children usually between the ages of one and seven years. It is usually considered that one attack gives protection, for life, but isecond attacks doi occasionally occur. In large centre,s of population the disease is rarely absent., but in more scattered districts sporadic or occasional eases may occur, or lit may assume the proportions of an epidemic. Mode of Spread.—lt is usually contracted by oontact with am actual case, and it is nearly as contagious as measles or smallpox. It can also; be conveyed by means of infected articles of clothing. Each case must me considered to be infectious until after removal of all the scabs and crusts. Incubation Period.—The period of incubation is officially given as ; 21 days, but it may be less than that. Tt usually takes from 13 to 17 days for the characteristic spots to appear. SYMPTOMS.

The chief symptom, of course, is the occurrence of eruption. There may, however, be slight premonitory symptoms, perhaps for a dav or a few hours, such as slight feverishness, headache, backache. Rut in many cases these preliminary symptoms are absent. The eruption is usual'y the first symptom, especially in children, and this is frequently accompanied bv some rise of temperature not usually, however, to a high degree. The eruption appears first on the trunk either on the back or chest. It racerly appears first on or forehead. It rarely appears first on the limbs or forehead. There may ho a few -spots inside the month. _ The typical distribution of the eruption is for the trunk and scalp- to he most affected and the face and limbs less so. In the case of the limbs, the proximal or upper parts are more affected than the distal or lower. Usually there are no spots on the palms of the hands or soles of the feet. _ The eruption first appears a,s a reddish spot. In a few hours fluid appears and the spot becomes a vesicle or blister _ filled with clear fluid. Later, within 48 hours usually: the fluid becomes more.turbid and mav contain pus or ‘‘matter.’’ If then dries up and becomes a scab or crust and this later falls off. Th« eruption does not appear all at once, but occurs in successive crops—generally three in all. On this account we find in the same patient this eruption in all .stages- of papule (red spot) vesoile or 'blister and pustule The number of spots varies greatly from ten or up to several hundred. Unless the pustule is inflamed by scratching, no soar is left. The disease usually runs a mild course and ordinarily presents no complications. The most common complication is the develoi>ment of enlarged glands, local abscesses, boils, due to the infection of the “pocks” as the result of scratching. Very occasion ally the disease assumes a malignant- form, complicated by areas of deep ulcerations, etc.

PUBLIC HEALTH IMPORTANCE

The chief importance of obiekenpox from this point of view is the difficulty which sometimes arises in differentiating it from smallpox. Of late years in many parts of the world smallpox ha.s appeared in a very mild form and a real difficulty is sometimes experienced in deciding whether a given isolated case is severe obiekenpox or mild smallpox. The .importance of coming to a direct decision is, of course, obvious, because if a mild case of smallpox is considered and treated as chickenpox the consequences might be disastrous. In -all cases of doubt, therefore. it is better to err on the side of safety.

Treatment. —There is no specific! treatment for ehickenpox. The chief features are to avoid any measures that might irritate the euptiou and so lead to the formation of is'cars which are. at least disfiguring. Rest in hod during the acute stage, and the application of a mild antiseptic lotion is practically all that is required. Prevention. —Chickenpox iiis not a notifiable disease. Isolation of the patient should be carried out. however, for the sake of safeguarding the rest of the household and the public generally. The period of isolation should lie for at least two weeks and until all scabs are off. paying special attention to the scalp- Contacts who have not had the disease .shout'd remain away from school for three weeks from date of last exposure to infection. As mild eases are very often “missed,” these efforts at lu-evention are often quite unsuccessful in preventing the development of more cases. One feature of chickenpox i.s that it often appears during convalescence from other infectious diseases, such as measu.le.s, .scarlet- fever, diphtheria, etc.