Chickenpox In Pregnancy Symptoms

Submitted by Jenifer on January 19, 2012

Chickenpox in pregnancy is caused by the Varicella zoster virus. It is a virus that belongs to the Herpes family. Persons with chicken pox in pregnancy suffer from fever, fatigue, and itchiness due to blisters.

A Varicella vaccine or a chicken pox vaccine has been discovered which has drastically brought down the number of cases of chickenpox during pregnancy. But if a woman has not had chickenpox as a child, she has all the chances of contracting it as an adult, especially during pregnancy.

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This is so because pregnancy is a delicate stage of life and infections are easily contracted. So if she is around a person who is infected, she is almost sure to contract chickenpox in pregnancy.

Chicken pox in pregnancy is a very infectious disease as it spreads through the droplets in the air as well as through touch or contact with an infected person or the person's things.


Symptoms of Chickenpox during Pregnancy

  • Small blisters are formed on the patient that looks like pimples which are water filled. After the incubation period or after scabs are formed on the blisters, chickenpox is not contagious. These blisters usually appear on the stomach, the face and the scalp first, before spreading to other areas of the body.
  • A low grade fever persists throughout the illness. The patient also experiences a general feeling of fatigue.
  • The rash is itchy and causes discomfort.

Risks of Chickenpox during Pregnancy

Women, who contract the disease in the second trimester, have a risk of developing a syndrome called congenital varicella syndrome. This is a condition that causes birth defects in the baby. Some of the birth defects that are caused by chickenpox during pregnancy are:

  • Underdevelopment or in some cases, absence of limbs.
  • Mental deformities
  • Born with head of a smaller size than usual
  • Eye defects
  • Lung infections.

Treatment of Chickenpox in Pregnancy

  • Chickenpox in pregnancy is usually a disease that exhausts itself and ends after a period of a few weeks.
  • A drug called Acyclovir is used if the disease has to be treated.
  • Analgesics can be used to treat the fever.
  • A neem based cream can be applied on the rash to minimize the itching.
  • A spoonful of oat powder can be mixed in the bath water for relief from itching.
  • Maintain a diet that is low in oil and fat.
  • Make sure the diet is low in spices.
  • Drink plenty of fluids.
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