Chickenpox is one of the most common childhood infections. It is caused by a virus from the group of herpes viruses, the susceptibility to which in childhood reaches 90-100%.
This infection is transmitted by airborne droplets. And since such a virus is very volatile and is able to overcome tens of meters, being transferred with particles of saliva from a sick child to other people, the issue of walking with chickenpox in a child is very relevant for parents.
In addition, the minimum period of illness is 8-10 days, and it is quite difficult for children to spend this time without walking. For this reason, every mother of a baby with chickenpox is interested in whether it is possible to walk with chickenpox, and if not, then on what day can you go for a walk so as not to pose a danger to others and not to harm the sick child himself.
Why can't you walk
Chickenpox is most commonly diagnosed between the ages of 2 and 10, and is easily tolerated by most children. And therefore, many consider such an infection to be completely harmless, and some mothers even go to visit a sick child so that their babies get sick as early as possible and avoid complications.
For this reason, many pediatricians believe that chickenpox quarantine in child care facilities is not needed. However, there are situations where the pathogen of chickenpox can be dangerous. It is because of such situations that children with chickenpox should not walk on the street during the infectious period, go to visit, to the store and other places where people gather.
- First, not all children tolerate chickenpox easily, without fever and with only a few blisters. In some babies, the course of the disease is more severe, the body temperature is very high, and the rash is profuse. Chickenpox is especially dangerous for children with chronic pathologies and immunodeficiency. In addition, none of the children is immune from complications of such a disease, for example, encephalitis or pneumonia. Although very rare, such complications also occur in children.
- Secondly, the pathogen of chickenpox from a sick baby can enter the respiratory tract of an adult who has not had this infection in the past. And if in children chickenpox passes quite easily and without a trace, then for adults this infectious disease is very dangerous, and scars and scars may remain on the skin.
- Third, a sick child can transmit the virus to a pregnant woman without chickenpox immunity, and infection with chickenpox while carrying a baby can cause severe pathologies in the fetus (if a woman falls ill in the first trimester) or cause severe congenital chickenpox in a baby immediately after birth.
To avoid such situations, children with chickenpox are isolated, which means a ban on walks. It is especially important to stay at home during the acute period of the illness, when the baby's body temperature is elevated, and more and more new rashes appear on the skin.
How many days can you go for walks
As soon as the child's general condition normalizes, and after the appearance of the last vesicles on the skin, it will take five days, the baby is no longer considered infectious and can go for a walk.
At the same time, mothers should know about such nuances:
- The immunity of children who have had chickenpox, as a rule, decreases, so crowded places should be avoided for some time after the illness.
- It is important not to allow hypothermia, but also not to wrap the child excessively, so as not to interfere with recovery. The child's clothing should be natural and comfortable.
- For some time after the illness, the child's skin is more sensitive to sunlight, so staying in direct sunlight is not recommended.
- The first time after recovery, avoid active outdoor games. Outdoor activities, such as picking fallen leaves with your child, are a good idea.
- If the child has had chickenpox in the summer, then swimming in open water until the skin is completely healed should not be in order to prevent infection of the wounds.
When you can still go for a walk with chickenpox
In some cases, it is not necessary to wait for the child to stop being contagious if he wants to walk outside. For example, if the body temperature has returned to normal, and the weather outside is good, the child can walk, provided that the baby lives in a private house and goes out into a large yard without contacting other people at least several tens of meters away. In other cases, frequent ventilation and "walks" on the balcony will help provide the sick little one with fresh air.
