Chickenpox and pregnancy: 5 important rules

We're all used to the chicken pox - a "mild childhood disease" transmitted by airborne droplets, and therefore dubbed "chicken pox". However, out of 750 thousand people who become sick with chickenpox each year in Russia alone, more than 10% - adults. Curiously, the "maturation" of chickenpox - a phenomenon recently.

It is noticed that in adults the disease is much harder than in children: patients complain of severe headaches, painful itching, fever. The skin spots appear with bubbles combing that, despite the itching, you can not - you can not just bring an infection, but remain scarred for life. But what is especially dangerous chickenpox, so it is a threat of severe complications. Pneumonia, otitis media, osteomyelitis, nephritis, orchitis - this is an incomplete list of diseases that can cause chickenpox.

According to the MD, lead researcher of the Department of Pediatric Immunology Research Institute of immunopathology Snow Hope Feodorovna, the disease is particularly dangerous for pregnant women and newborns.

When infected before 20 weeks of pregnancy, the baby will be born with congenital varicella syndrome; when infected in late pregnancy - sick with chickenpox. Perhaps - though rarely - and death. At the varicella-zoster virus (virus varicella - zoster (WZ)) has an interesting feature: sometimes it even after the recovery remains in the body (in the nerve nodes) and can cause another disease - the so-called herpes zoster or "herpes zoster." The disease occurs in 20% of people who have had chickenpox in the past. The risk of its occurrence increases after 50 years and weakened immunity. Shingles - a very serious disease, fraught with neuralgia, or ocular, and they get sick - as a result of contact with a patient - any person who does not have immunity to varicella-zoster virus

Vaccination against chickenpox

In developed countries, more than a quarter of a century ago have begun to vaccinate children of so-called "Live" (weakened) vaccine. In the future, vaccinated children are not afraid of either chickenpox or shingles.

"This vaccine contains a virus that has been modified and weakened in the laboratory so that he could produce immunity sufficient to protect against the disease, but it does not have pathogenic properties, - says Vladimir Kirillovich Tatochenko, Professor, Doctor of Medical Sciences, Honored Worker of Science, leading researcher of Scientific Center of Children's Health. - Since 2009, vaccination against varicella included in the Russian Regional calendar of immunization and regional immunization schedule on epidemic indications in Moscow.

The vaccine is given once and even 20 years after vaccination, immunity is retained in 100% of vaccinated against chickenpox.

Memo to the expectant mother

Of course, you must first find out whether you have not had chickenpox. This family will gladly help.

According to the rules, vaccination of pregnant women is prohibited, but the accidental administration of the vaccine is not an indication for abortion.

If, however, contact with sick chicken pox occurred, and the expectant mother knows that he never hurt the disease, then it must:

- Testing for the presence of IgG antibodies to WZ (chickenpox virus).

- Introduction of an immunoglobulin against WZ (IM) in the first 72 hours after contact.

- If you suspect chickenpox, doctors are trying to push back the delivery time of 3-4 days to maternal IgG-antibodies, the level of which rises about 5-6 days after acute varicella, can be transmitted to the fetus and therefore a newborn.

Pregnancy and Gynecology

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