TREATMENTS &
RESEARCH
latest
treatment
information
here.
Dr. Huntley's
Diagnosis
Checklist
See what questions
a doctor would ask.
Symptoms of Chickenpox
Symptoms of Chickenpox
The list of signs and symptoms mentioned in various sources for Chickenpox includes the 19 symptoms listed below:
- Early symptoms - often preceding the rash symptoms
- Rash symptoms
- Additional symptoms in adults:
- more information...»
Research symptoms & diagnosis of Chickenpox:
- Overview -- Chickenpox
- Diagnostic Tests for Chickenpox
- Home Diagnostic Testing
- Complications -- Chickenpox
- Doctors & Specialists
- Misdiagnosis and Alternative Diagnoses
- Hidden Causes of Chickenpox
- Other Causes -- causes of these or similar symptoms
Chickenpox: Complications
Review medical complications possibly associated with Chickenpox:
- Herpes zoster - usually occurring years or decades later, especially in older persons.
- more complications...»
Research More About Chickenpox
Do I have Chickenpox?
- Chickenpox: Introduction
- Chickenpox: Diagnostic Testing to confirm diagnosis
- Home Diagnostic Testing
- Alternative diagnoses and misdiagnosis for Chickenpox
- How serious is it?
- Treatments for Chickenpox
- More about Chickenpox
Chickenpox: Undiagnosed Conditions
Diseases that may be commonly undiagnosed in related medical areas:
- Child Health Disorders -- serious medical disorders that may be undiagnosed:
- more undiagnosed conditions...»
Home Diagnostic Testing
Home medical tests related to Chickenpox:
- Child Behavior: Home Testing
- Child General Health: Home Testing
- Cold & Flu: Home Testing:
- more home tests...»
Wrongly Diagnosed with Chickenpox?
The list of other diseases or medical conditions that may be on the differential diagnosis list of alternative diagnoses for Chickenpox includes:
- Stevens Johnson Syndrome (SJS)
- Herpes simplex
- Herpes zoster
- Contact dermatitis
- Scabies
- more diagnoses...»
See the full list of 17 alternative diagnoses for Chickenpox
Chickenpox: Research Doctors & Specialists
- Baby & Newborn Health Specialists:
- Child Health Specialists (Pediatrics):
- Pediatrics (Child Health Specialist)
- Adolescent Medicine (Teen Health)
- Pediatric / Adolescent Psychiatry (Child/Teen Mental Health)
- Pediatric Allergy and Immunology (Child Allergies / Immune Diseases)
- Pediatric Cardiology (Child Heart Specialists)
- Pediatric Critical Care Medicine
- Pediatric Dentistry (Child Dental Health)
- Pediatric Dermatology (Child Skin Health)
- Pediatric Developmental Behavioral Health (Child Behavior)
- Pediatric Emergency Medicine
- Pediatric Endocrinology (Child Hormones)
- Pediatric Gastroenterology (Child Digestive Specialists)
- Pediatric Hematology / Oncology
- Pediatric Infectious Disease Medicine
- Pediatric Medical Toxicology (Child Poisoning)
- Pediatric Nephrology (Child Kidney Specialists)
- more specialists...»
Research all specialists including ratings, affiliations, and sanctions.
More about symptoms of Chickenpox:
More information about symptoms of Chickenpox and related conditions:
- Other diseases with similar symptoms and common misdiagnoses
- Tests to determine if these are the symptoms of Chickenpox
- Symptoms that may be caused by complications of Chickenpox
- Underlying causes of Chickenpox
- Associated conditions for Chickenpox
- Risk factors for Chickenpox
Other Possible Causes of these Symptoms
Click on any of the symptoms below to see a full list of other causes including diseases, medical conditions, toxins, drug interactions, or drug side effect causes of that symptom.
- Aches and pains - see all causes of Aches
- Aching - see all causes of Aches
- Blister-like rash - see all causes of Blisters
- Early symptoms
- Fever - see all causes of Fever
- Flu-like symptoms - see all causes of Flu-like symptoms
- Genital blisters - see all causes of Genital sores
- Headache - see all causes of Headache
- Itchy blisters - see all causes of Blisters
- Itchy skin rash - see all causes of Itchy rash
- Malaise - see all causes of Malaise
- Mouth blisters - see all causes of Mouth ulcers
- Rash symptoms - see all causes of Rash
- Scabbing of blisters - see all causes of Scabs
- Scalp blisters - see all causes of Scalp symptoms
- Sore throat - see all causes of Sore throat
- Throat blisters - see all causes of Throat ulcers
- Tiredness - see all causes of Tiredness
Medical Books Online about Chickenpox
Medical Books Excerpts Excerpts of published medical book chapters related to Chickenpox are available from published medical books for more detailed information about Chickenpox.
Copyright notice for book excerpts: Copyright © 2008 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. All rights reserved.
Related videos for Chickenpox
How Sick Is Your Child
It's inevitable that at some point in your child's life he or she will suffer vomiting and diarrhea. Most often they are nothing to get...
Your Rights as a Patient
Whenever you go to a hospital or clinic for a major procedure or diagnostic test, one of the many forms you are given to sign is an "informed...
Stress Reduction
Stress takes its toll by making us anxious, depressed and not able to function as fully as we'd like. What many don't know is that stress can...
Poor Sleep's Effect on Health
Sleep is necessary to feel refreshed, but now we know sleep actually impacts the way the body functions. Sleeping poorly can affect how often you get...
Patient Surveys for Chickenpox
- Patient Profile Survey
Take Survey View Results - Survey about the symptoms of your Chickenpox
Take Survey View Results
Symptoms of Chickenpox: Online Medical Books
16 MEDICAL BOOKS ONLINE! Review excerpts from medical books online, free, without registration, for more information about the symptoms of Chickenpox.
Herpes zoster:
Signs and symptoms
(Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition))
Herpes zoster begins with fever and malaise. Within 2 to 4 days, severe deep pain, pruritus, and paresthesia or hyperesthesia develop, usually on the trunk and occasionally on the arms and legs in a dermatomal distribution. Pain may be continuous or intermittent and usually lasts from 1 to 4 weeks. Up to 2 weeks after the first symptoms, small red nodular skin lesions erupt on the painful areas. (These lesions typically spread unilaterally around the thorax or vertically over the arms or legs.) Sometimes nodules don't appear at all, but when they do, they quickly become vesicles filled with clear fluid or pus. About 10 days after they appear, the vesicles dry and form scabs. (See Recognizing shingles.) When ruptured, such lesions usually become infected and, in severe cases, may lead to the enlargement of regional lymph nodes; they may even become gangrenous. Intense pain may occur before the rash appears and after the scabs form.
Occasionally, herpes zoster involves the cranial nerves, especially the trigeminal and geniculate ganglia or the oculomotor nerve. Geniculate zoster may cause vesicle formation in the external auditory canal, ipsilateral facial palsy, hearing loss, dizziness, and loss of taste. Trigeminal ganglion involvement causes eye pain and, possibly, corneal and scleral damage and impaired vision. Rarely, oculomotor involvement causes conjunctivitis, extraocular weakness, ptosis, and paralytic mydriasis.
In rare cases, herpes zoster leads to generalized central nervous system infection, muscle atrophy, motor paralysis (usually transient), acute transverse myelitis, and ascending myelitis. More commonly, generalized infection causes acute urine retention and unilateral diaphragm paralysis. In postherpetic neuralgia, most common in elderly persons, intractable neurologic pain may persist for years. Scars may be permanent.
Patients with immunodeficiency disorders may develop disseminated zoster. Lesions are bilateral and not limited to dermatomal distribution.
Source: Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition), 2005
Varicella:
Signs and symptoms
(Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition))
Chickenpox produces distinctive signs and symptoms, notably a pruritic rash. During the prodromal phase, the patient has slight fever, malaise, and anorexia. Within 24 hours, the rash typically begins as crops of small, erythematous macules on the trunk or scalp. It progress to papules and then clear vesicles on an erythematous base (the so-called dewdrop on a rose petal). These become cloudy and break easily; then scabs form.
The rash spreads to the face and over the trunk of the body, then to the limbs, buccal mucosa, axillae, upper respiratory tract, conjunctivae and, occasionally, the genitalia. New vesicles continue to appear for 3 or 4 days, so the rash contains a combination of red papules, vesicles, and scabs in various stages.
Congenital varicella causes hypoplastic deformity and limb scarring; retarded growth; and central nervous system and eye manifestations. In progressive varicella, an immunocompromised patient may have lesions and a high fever for over 7 days.
Severe pruritus with this rash may provoke persistent scratching, which can lead to infection, scarring, impetigo, furuncles, and cellulitis. Rare complications include pneumonia, myocarditis, fulminating encephalitis (Reye's syndrome), bleeding disorders, arthritis, nephritis, hepatitis, and acute myositis.
Source: Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition), 2005
Herpes zoster:
Signs and symptoms
(Handbook of Diseases)
Herpes zoster usually runs a typical course with classic signs and symptoms. Serious complications sometimes occur.
Onset of disease
Herpes zoster begins with fever and malaise. Within 2 to 4 days, severe deep pain, pruritus, and paresthesia or hyperesthesia develop, usually on the trunk and occasionally on the arms and legs in a dermatomal distribution. Pain may be continuous or intermittent and usually lasts from 1 to 4 weeks.
Skin lesions
Up to 2 weeks after the first symptoms, small, red, nodular skin lesions erupt on the painful areas. These lesions commonly spread unilaterally around the thorax or vertically over the arms or legs. Sometimes nodules don’t appear, but when they do, they quickly become vesicles filled with clear fluid or pus.
About 10 days after they appear, the vesicles dry and form scabs. (See Skin lesions in herpes zoster.) When they rupture, such lesions commonly become infected and, in severe cases, may lead to the enlargement of regional lymph nodes; they may even become gangrenous. Intense pain may occur before the rash appears and after the scabs form.
Cranial nerve involvement
Occasionally, herpes zoster involves the cranial nerves, especially the trigeminal and geniculate ganglia or the oculomotor nerve. Geniculate zoster may cause vesicle formation in the external auditory canal, ipsilateral facial palsy, hearing loss, dizziness, and loss of taste.
Trigeminal ganglion involvement causes eye pain and, possibly, corneal and scleral damage and impaired vision. Rarely, oculomotor involvement causes conjunctivitis, extraocular weakness, ptosis, and paralytic mydriasis.
Rare complications
In rare cases, herpes zoster leads to generalized central nervous system infection, muscle atrophy, motor paralysis (usually transient), acute transverse myelitis, and ascending myelitis. More commonly, generalized infection causes acute retention of urine and unilateral paralysis of the diaphragm. In postherpetic neuralgia, a complication most common in elderly patients, intractable neuralgic pain may persist for years. Scars may be permanent.
Source: Handbook of Diseases, 2003
Varicella:
Signs and symptoms
(Handbook of Diseases)
Varicella produces distinctive signs and symptoms, notably a pruritic rash. During the prodromal phase, the patient has slight fever, malaise, and anorexia. Within 24 hours, the rash typically begins as crops of small, erythematous macules on the trunk or scalp that progress to papules and then clear vesicles on an erythematous base (the so-called “dewdrop on a rose petal”).
The vesicles become cloudy and break easily; then scabs form. The rash spreads to the face and, rarely, to the extremities. New vesicles continue to appear for 3 to 4 days, so the rash contains a combination of red papules, vesicles, and scabs in various stages. Occasionally, varicella also produces shallow ulcers on mucous membranes of the mouth, conjunctivae, and genitalia.
Congenital varicella causes hypoplastic deformity and scarring of a limb, retarded growth, and central nervous system and eye manifestations. In progressive varicella, an immunocompromised patient will have lesions and a high fever for more than 7 days.
CLINICAL TIP: Severe pruritus with varicella may provoke persistent scratching, which can lead to infection, scarring, impetigo, furuncles, and cellulitis. Rare complications include pneumonia, myocarditis, fulminating encephalitis (Reye’s syndrome), bleeding disorders, arthritis, nephritis, hepatitis, and acute myositis.
Source: Handbook of Diseases, 2003
Article Excerpts About Symptoms of Chickenpox:
Facts About Chickenpox (Varicella): CDC-OC (Excerpt)
Chickenpox has a characteristic itchy rash, which then forms blisters that dry and become scabs in 4-5 days. The rash may be the first sign of illness, sometimes coupled with fever and general malaise which is usually more severe in adults. An infected person may have anywhere from only a few lesions to more than 500 lesions on their body during an attack (average 300-400). (Source: excerpt from Facts About Chickenpox (Varicella): CDC-OC)
Shots for Safety - Age Page - Health Information: NIA (Excerpt)
Early symptoms include aching, tiredness, fever, and sore throat. Then, an itchy, blister-like rash appears. (Source: excerpt from Shots for Safety - Age Page - Health Information: NIA)
Chickenpox as a Cause of Symptoms or Medical Conditions
When considering symptoms of Chickenpox, it is also important to consider Chickenpox as a possible cause of other medical conditions. The Disease Database lists the following medical conditions that Chickenpox may cause:
- Abdominal pain
- Atypical pneumonia
- Basophilia
- Bronchitis
- Chest pain
- Chickenpox
- Corneal anaesthesia
- Facial pain
- Kaposi varicelliform eruption
- Keratitis
- Lymphocytoma cutis
- Oral ulceration
- Pancreatitis, acute
- Ramsay Hunt syndrome
- Scleritis
- Shingles
- VDRL positive
- Vesiculo-bullous rash
Chickenpox: Onset and Incubation
Incubation period for Chickenpox: 2-3 weeks; or typically about 14 days but may be 11-20 days.
Incubation period for Chickenpox: Chickenpox develops within 10-21 days after contact with an infected person. (Source: excerpt from Facts About Chickenpox (Varicella): CDC-OC)
Medical articles and books on symptoms:
These general reference articles may be of interest in relation to medical signs and symptoms of disease in general:
- Diagnostic Testing for a Diagnosis of Chickenpox
- Research Alternative Diagnoses for Chickenpox
- How serious is Chickenpox?
- More about Chickenpox
- Online Diagnosis
- Self Diagnosis Pitfalls
- Pitfalls of Online Diagnosis
- Symptoms of the Silent Killer Diseases
- Lesser known silent killer diseases
- Books on signs and symptoms
Full list of premium articles on symptoms and diagnosis
About signs and symptoms of Chickenpox:
The symptom information on this page attempts to provide a list of some possible signs and symptoms of Chickenpox. This signs and symptoms information for Chickenpox has been gathered from various sources, may not be fully accurate, and may not be the full list of Chickenpox signs or Chickenpox symptoms. Furthermore, signs and symptoms of Chickenpox may vary on an individual basis for each patient. Only your doctor can provide adequate diagnosis of any signs or symptoms and whether they are indeed Chickenpox symptoms.
» Next page: Diagnostic Tests for Chickenpox
Rate This Website
What do you think about the features of this website? Take our user survey and have your say:
Medical Tools & Articles:
Next articles:
- Diagnostic Tests for Chickenpox
- Diagnosis of Chickenpox
- Signs of Chickenpox
- Complications of Chickenpox
- Misdiagnosis of Chickenpox
Tools & Services:
- Bookmark this page
- Take a survey relating to Chickenpox
- Symptom Search
- Symptom Checker
- Medical Dictionary
- Give your feedback
Medical Articles:
Forums & Message Boards
Common Health Mistakes
mistakes, errors,
and misdiagnosis
of major diseases.
Symptom
Checker
or many
symptoms
Search Specialists by State and City
