My grandson was diagnosed with chickenpox. It turned out that my grandma had this common disease.

Grandma brought her grandson to my clinic for treatment. The little grandson is only about four or five years old. He is jumping up and down and running around, looking very naughty. Grandma has been taking good care of the child, coaxing him to sit down on the chair next to my diagnosis table. She became interested in the infrared rays on the scanner on my diagnosis table and had a lot of fun.

At a glance, I saw rice-sized blisters on the child’s face and the back of his exposed hands, surrounded by redness. I told my grandma that this was typical chickenpox, which is a viral infectious disease and is mainly transmitted through the respiratory tract and direct contact. At the same time, I asked grandma: Does the child have a fever? Are you in good spirits these days?

Grandma said the child was in good spirits and had no fever. Just last night when my child came back from kindergarten, I noticed a small bubble on my forehead. I thought it was an insect bite and didn't pay much attention to it. When I woke up this morning, I found several small blisters on my face and body, so I rushed to the hospital for a check-up.

I would like to ask further: Are there any patients in your family or around you who have chickenpox, or are there children in kindergarten who have chickenpox? Or does anyone in the family have shingles? Herpes zoster is what common people call herpes zoster or snakebite?

The old man lifted up her clothes without thinking, and could clearly see the late-stage marks of herpes zoster on her chest and back. "I got herpes zoster three weeks ago, and I got better after taking medicine. At that time, the doctor said that it was occasionally contagious and asked me to stay away from children. I didn't think so. I didn't expect it. Alas, I regret it."

I see. It seems that the grandma’s shingles virus was transmitted to her grandson, causing him to get chickenpox.

We often encounter patients with herpes zoster in our outpatient clinic, and we are often told to try not to come into contact with the elderly and infirm, as well as infants and children. Because shingles and chickenpox are the same viral infection, chickenpox is just more contagious. Moreover, chickenpox attacks are more serious, especially in adults. Chickenpox pneumonia, encephalitis, thrombocytopenic purpura, etc. may occur in some cases.

At the same time, only people who have had chickenpox or are infected by this virus can get shingles. Although the virus in the acute phase of herpes zoster is extremely low in contagiousness, it is somewhat unpredictable. Therefore, the elderly and infirm, infants and children should try to stay away from patients in the acute phase of herpes zoster.