Chickenpox Vaccine

What are the symptoms of chickenpox?

The most common symptoms of chickenpox include:

• Clusters of red spots that form on your skin – these spots can be itchy and can blister, as well as form scabs

• A high temperature (over 38°C)

• Aches and pains

• A loss of appetite

How do you catch chickenpox?

Chickenpox is highly contagious, meaning it’s very easy to catch.

You catch chickenpox by coming into contact with the varicella zoster virus that causes it. This can happen if someone who is infected sneezes or coughs, and you breathe in droplets they’ve expelled that have the virus in it.

You can also catch the virus by touching the fluid within the blister of someone with chickenpox. If the fluid is on their skin or on a surface and you touch it, you can also get infected.

People are most contagious from two days before their spots appear and until their spots crust over. This means people can spread the virus before they know they’re infected.