How dangerous is chickenpox for pregnant women, and how to avoid it during pregnancy? Chickenpox during pregnancy: danger, prevention and treatment Chickenpox in pregnant women 2
Chickenpox is a widespread viral disease, diagnosed mainly in school-age children. In most situations, the disease occurs without any complications and goes away fairly quickly. Along with this, an adult can also get chickenpox if he did not have such “experience” while growing up. Here the prospects are not so rosy: the older the patient, the more difficult he experiences the disease.
The situation becomes especially dangerous if a pregnant woman gets chickenpox. And although such cases are diagnosed extremely rarely, such a possibility should not be completely written off. After reading the information below, you will learn how chickenpox manifests itself in pregnant women, what danger the disease poses for the expectant mother and the developing fetus, and you will also receive recommendations and important accompanying comments regarding the need and procedure for seeking medical help.
The disease begins to progress after the patient’s body is infected with type III herpes virus.
The pathogen is transmitted primarily by airborne droplets or through household liquids. The first signs of the disease appear on average within several days (sometimes up to 3 weeks) after infection.
The list of early symptoms of chickenpox includes the following:
- general deterioration of health;
- loss of appetite;
- increase in temperature;
- headaches.
A couple of days after the first signs appear, the skin becomes blistered with a clear liquid. Every day the number of rashes increases. The peak is reached approximately 5-7 days.
The key danger of chickenpox in the case of pregnant patients is that the latter’s immunity in most situations is seriously weakened, which is why the disease occurs with moderate or severe severity and is accompanied by an increased intensity of adverse symptoms. The possibility of complications cannot be ruled out. They will be discussed in the following sections of the publication.
Possible consequences for mother and child
General information
As noted, during pregnancy the disease being studied today can take on atypical forms. About them in the table.
Table. Possible atypical forms of chickenpox in pregnant women
According to average statistical data, more than 30% of pregnant patients with chickenpox develop a complication such as herpetic pneumonia. This secondary disease is characterized by a very severe course and requires qualified medical intervention. Otherwise, the consequences can be catastrophic – even fatal.
The list of possible complications also includes the following:
- miscarriage in the early stages;
- violations of the formation of the baby’s skeletal system;
- developmental disorders of the main sense organs;
- pathologies of the nervous system;
- formation of rough scars on the skin of the mother and fetus;
- intrauterine death of a developing fetus;
- infection of a child with congenital chickenpox;
- various pathologies that provoke developmental disorders of the baby after his birth.
The list of complications and, in general, the level of danger of chickenpox for mother and child vary depending on at what stage of pregnancy the woman fell ill. Thus, during the third trimester, this disease poses virtually no significant threat and proceeds in the same way as in non-pregnant patients. Information regarding the first two trimesters requires more detailed study.
Chickenpox in the first trimester
During the first 12 weeks, the formation of the main organs and tissues of the future baby occurs. That is why absolutely any disease during this period poses an increased danger. The placenta as such remains underdeveloped, read – unable to provide adequate protection for the developing child.
According to statistics, infection of the fetus occurs extremely rarely, but if intrauterine chickenpox does begin to progress, it will not go away without a trace with almost 100% probability.
The consequences can be very diverse: from disruption of the development processes of tissues, organs and systems to severe pathologies of the nervous system, various deformities and even intrauterine fetal death.
The condition of the fetus is assessed using ultrasound methods. If a specialist identifies severe pathologies and deformities that pose a danger to the fetus or can significantly worsen the baby’s quality of life after birth, the question of artificial termination of pregnancy will be raised.
There is no confirmed information about the relationship between chickenpox and the likelihood of natural miscarriage or miscarriage.
After the 12th week, the likelihood of the fetus becoming infected with chickenpox is almost completely eliminated. By this point in time, the placenta is already able to provide adequate protection to the developing fetus, which reduces the risk of developing various complications to almost 0.
If you get chickenpox in the second trimester, undergo an ultrasound to assess the baby's condition and provide personal reassurance.
What should an expectant mother do?
In most situations, the results of an external examination are sufficient to make a diagnosis. If the disease takes an atypical form, they resort to the use of additional laboratory diagnostic methods. Traditionally, this is a serological study, the essence of which is to determine the presence of antibodies to the chickenpox pathogen in the patient’s body. Possible results are described below.
- If the test gives a positive result, this indicates the presence of chickenpox in the acute stage or indicates that the patient has recently suffered from the disease.
- If the analysis gives a negative result, the disease is either absent, or is in the incubation stage, or there are early stages of the disease.
- If the results are questionable/fuzzy, the test must be taken again a few days later.
Features of chickenpox treatment in the case of pregnant women
Basic information about the features of the treatment of chickenpox in pregnant patients is given in the table.
Table. Chickenpox treatment
| Features of the course of the disease/pregnancy | Treatment procedure |
|---|---|
| If chickenpox occurs without complications and does not pose a threat to the mother and fetus, no specific treatment is used. In such situations, we limit ourselves to treating the blisters with brilliant green or another suitable remedy (as recommended by the doctor). Important! As a rule, chickenpox rashes are very itchy. Of course, you can’t scratch them - you can get infected. To get rid of itching, you can, for example, use calamine lotion. If the infection occurred during the first 20 weeks of pregnancy or on the eve of delivery, the doctor may prescribe immunoglobulin injections. |
|
| If chickenpox takes an atypical form and/or causes serious complications, more serious treatment will be required. As a rule, special antiviral drugs are prescribed, for example, acyclovir. This is used exclusively before the 20th week of the period and only during the first day after the initial symptoms of chickenpox are identified. If the above rules are not followed, the use of acyclovir will not give any positive results and, moreover, will harm the baby. |
Important! During pregnancy, a woman should take double responsibility for her health. Any uncontrolled self-medication is strictly prohibited - drugs to combat chickenpox are prescribed only by a qualified doctor.
To better understand the procedure for detecting symptoms of chickenpox during pregnancy, we suggest that you familiarize yourself with the information below.
So, you have contracted chickenpox. The first thing you need to do is go to an appointment with the doctor managing your pregnancy. In the absence of complications and a serious threat to the fetus, treatment will most likely be limited to treating the rash with brilliant green or another remedy recommended by the doctor.
The decision regarding the need to use additional medications is made only by the doctor and only after a thorough examination of the patient and a comprehensive assessment of possible risks.
First, take a responsible approach to planning your pregnancy. Visit your doctor and get tested for chickenpox antibodies.
A specialist will provide a list of additional examinations and studies. If necessary, immunoglobulin and other medications will be prescribed to help strengthen the immune system and eliminate existing health problems.
Secondly, avoid visiting crowded places, especially hospitals, schools and preschools. Keep contacts with strangers to a minimum. Remember: chickenpox is easily transmitted by airborne droplets even during the initial incubation period, i.e. a person may not have any symptoms of the disease, but may already be contagious.
Thirdly, if you did not protect yourself and allowed contact with a sick person, be sure to go to the doctor. If there are no risks for the baby, the specialist will give an injection of immunoglobulin. This will prevent infection.
Chickenpox is the most popular disease among children, who easily tolerate it, but it is quite dangerous for adults, especially if we are talking about a pregnant woman. It often happens that pregnancy and chickenpox occur simultaneously in an older child. What are the risks of this infectious disease for mother and fetus? Should we worry?
How dangerous is the disease for the fetus?
In adults, the clinical picture of the disease is quite complex, so it is dangerous if a family simultaneously experiences chickenpox in children and the mother’s pregnancy. This can be fraught with dangerous consequences for the mother and fetus.
It is quite difficult to predict exactly how the infection will affect it. In some cases, the disease proceeds without a trace, but often the course is complicated by chickenpox pneumonia in the mother or pathology of the baby’s development.
If pregnancy and chickenpox are observed in a child, and intrauterine infection could not be prevented, the consequences can be very diverse:
- Hypoplasia of the arms and legs.
- Frozen pregnancy.
- Miscarriage.
- Mental retardation.
- Cataract.
- Pathologies of internal organs.
Much depends on the period of pregnancy during which the infection occurred and the general health of the woman. Be sure to contact your treating specialist, and he will accurately determine all possible risks and further therapeutic actions.
Consequences for the mother
Most women who have contracted the virus during pregnancy suffer from pneumonia. In rare cases, pregnancy and chickenpox in an older child provokes the development of the following pathologies for the expectant mother:
- Imbalance of movement coordination (ataxia).
- Inflammation of the brain (encephalitis).
If a mother experiences the following symptoms during pregnancy after contracting the virus, immediate hospitalization is required:
- Difficulty breathing, suffocation.
- Compressive pain in the chest.
- Vomiting, dizziness.
- Bloody discharge.
- Severe irritation on the skin (bloody rash).
- Significant headache.
Treatment
If there is a pregnancy in the family and chickenpox in an older child, the problem requires immediate treatment. To prevent the spread of a viral infection, a sick baby must be isolated and given separate dishes and household items. It is also necessary to carry out the following actions:
- The patient requires bed rest for 3-6 days.
- Create a gentle diet for your baby, completely removing fatty, smoked foods from the diet.
- Children need to rinse their mouths with Furacilin solution.
- If chickenpox conjunctivitis is observed, it is necessary to use Acyclovir ointment to treat the eyelids.
- Chickenpox in children and mother's pregnancy are a dangerous situation. Therefore, it is very important to lubricate the baby’s rashes with Calamine or Fukortsin lotion; you can treat it with a solution of brilliant green as standard.
Important! Do not squeeze or tear the blisters under any circumstances, as this may increase the risk of infection.
- To relieve itching, you can use Penciclovir-Fenistil to treat problem areas.
- To treat pathological processes occurring in the body, the drug “Zovirax”, “Vrolex” is needed. But before use, you should consult your doctor; these products are approved from 2 years of age.
Important! Many medications for chickenpox are very toxic, so children should take them strictly under the supervision of a doctor.
- Chickenpox in a child and pregnancy in a mother is a dangerous “combination.” In this case, the sick child and woman are recommended to receive immunoglobulin injections during therapy. This will significantly speed up recovery and reduce the risk of infection for the expectant mother.
- To avoid adverse effects and complications, it is recommended to use Novirin and Isoprinosine.
- To reduce fever, the antipyretic drug Paracetamol is prescribed.
- To eliminate itching, swelling, and burning, the antihistamine drug “Fenistil”, “Erius”, “Zodak” is needed.
If a child gets chickenpox and the mother is pregnant, then in the absence of acquired immunity after illness with the chickenpox virus, the woman will become infected in 100% of cases.
When a child gets chickenpox, and the pregnant woman has previously suffered this infection, the risk to the fetus is minimal.
Therapy should be comprehensive in order to speed up the recovery process of the older baby and reduce the likelihood of complications in a pregnant woman.
Prevention of complications
The only reliable method of preventing infection is timely vaccination. To avoid the occurrence of chickenpox during pregnancy, it is necessary to take injections on time.
When a woman is “in a position,” her immune system functions for two. If a child gets chickenpox and the mother is pregnant, it is very important during this period to strengthen immunity and health:
- To do this, you need to take vitamins and mineral complexes.
- The diet must be enriched with vegetables and fruits.
- To prevent infection, you should not contact the patient for 2.5-3 weeks, but most likely, pregnancy and chickenpox in an older child will result in the woman becoming infected.
- As a more effective prophylaxis, intravenous administration of the anti-chickenpox immunoglobulin Zostevir is recommended. This method is prescribed for reduced immunity and concomitant diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis.
- If the older child goes to kindergarten or school and there are infected children in his group, the woman should consult a doctor for advice and a preventive injection of immunoglobulin.
- When a child has chickenpox and the mother is pregnant, the sick baby should be cared for by the spouse or one of the relatives.
- A pregnant woman should wear a medical mask in an apartment and not share common household items or dishes. It is important to remember that a person remains contagious only as long as the crusts on the injured skin remain dry.
- The clothes of the eldest son or daughter should be washed separately from the rest, wet cleaned daily and the room ventilated.
Pregnancy and chickenpox in an older child is a dangerous situation, and it is almost impossible to avoid infection, but it is necessary to strictly follow the precautions and doctor’s recommendations to reduce the risk of complications.
Chickenpox in a child and the pregnancy of a mother who was ill in childhood is in most cases safe for the fetus; it is protected by the mother’s strong immunity, developed after the illness. However, in any case, consultation with a doctor is required.
Chickenpox in children and the mother's pregnancy is a rather dangerous combination, but do not worry, contact a specialist, and he will expertly recommend what to do and how to prevent irreparable consequences.
Chickenpox (varicella) is an infectious disease caused by the herpes virus. The virus is transmitted from an infected person to a healthy person through airborne droplets.
If you had chickenpox as a child, then most likely this infection does not threaten your pregnancy and will not affect the health of the fetus. If you have not had chickenpox, then you need to avoid contact with this infection so as not to become infected yourself and not to infect your unborn child.
Is chickenpox dangerous during pregnancy?
If you get chickenpox during pregnancy, the unborn child may develop congenital chickenpox, which is manifested by scars on the skin, low birth weight, and delayed mental and physical development.
The risk that chickenpox during pregnancy will cause certain consequences depends on the stage of pregnancy at which the infection occurred. Chickenpox in late pregnancy is much more dangerous than chickenpox in early pregnancy:
Chickenpox in the early stages can lead to miscarriage, however, if the fetus survives, the risk of complications from chickenpox will be very small (less than 1%).
If chickenpox appears in the second trimester, the risk of consequences is about 2%.
The greatest risk is for pregnant women to become infected in the third trimester. If a pregnant woman becomes infected with chickenpox a few days before giving birth, then the risk of congenital chickenpox in the unborn child is 20-25%.
What should I do if I have been in contact with someone with chickenpox during pregnancy?
First of all, try to remember if you had chickenpox as a child (if you don’t remember, ask your mother).
If you have had chickenpox, you most likely have strong immunity and will not become infected again as a result of contact with someone who is sick. In this case, you do not need to take any action.
If you have received the chickenpox vaccine, you will not be infected and you should not worry.
If you have not had chickenpox, or are not sure about it, then you need to take a blood test for chickenpox antibodies (antibodies to the varicella-zoster virus or Varicella-Zoster). If the test shows that you are immune, then there is nothing to worry about. If there is no immunity, then as a result of contact with a patient with chickenpox, the risk of infection will be about 90%.
Symptoms of chickenpox during pregnancy
The first symptoms of chickenpox may appear 21 days after infection, although you may notice the first signs of the disease earlier (as early as 2 weeks after contact with a sick person).
It is believed that the older a person is at the time of infection with chickenpox, the more pronounced the symptoms of the disease and the more severe it is. The main symptoms of chickenpox in adults (including pregnant women) are:
An increase in body temperature, which is accompanied by headaches, malaise, muscle pain, and loss of appetite.
A rash accompanied by severe itching is the main symptom of chickenpox. Chickenpox rashes look like blisters filled with liquid.
A person becomes contagious two days before the first rash appears and remains contagious for about a week after the last rash appears.
What should I do if I have symptoms of chickenpox during pregnancy?
Chickenpox can be dangerous for you and your unborn baby, so you should consult your doctor immediately. Before visiting your gynecologist, be sure to call him and warn him that you may have chickenpox. Do not show up to your doctor's appointment unannounced to avoid endangering other pregnant women waiting in line to see the doctor.
Treatment of chickenpox during pregnancy
If the diagnosis of chickenpox is confirmed, you will be prescribed treatment with the antiviral drug Acyclovir. You will be hospitalized during treatment.
To make sure that the child is not in danger, the doctor will order several ultrasound scans during treatment and a few weeks after the end of treatment. If the ultrasound reveals severe abnormalities in the fetus, the doctor may recommend termination of the pregnancy.
What should I do if I contracted chickenpox in the third trimester of pregnancy?
As we have already said, chickenpox infection is most dangerous in late pregnancy, especially shortly before childbirth. If you become infected at the very beginning of the third trimester, then chickenpox probably will not cause serious consequences, since by the time of birth your body will have time to develop immunity and pass it on to the unborn child through the placenta.
If you get chickenpox 3 weeks before giving birth, the risk of congenital chickenpox in your unborn child will be increased. However, even if the baby develops symptoms of chickenpox by the time of birth, they will be moderate or mild due to the immunity that will have time to develop by the time of birth.
The most dangerous infection with chickenpox is 5 days before birth or during the first two days after birth, because during this short time your body will not have time to develop immunity and pass it on to the unborn child. In this case, the risk of congenital chickenpox in a newborn will be quite high, and without appropriate treatment, this disease can lead to very serious consequences.
In order to reduce the risk of complications, immediately after birth the baby will be prescribed treatment with chickenpox immunoglobulin. This medicine is obtained from the blood of people who have had chickenpox; This is the same “immunity” against chickenpox that the pregnant woman did not have time to pass on to her unborn child. In order to combat the virus, the newborn will also be prescribed treatment with the antiviral drug Acyclovir.
Prevention of chickenpox during pregnancy
If you already had chickenpox as a child, then you do not need to follow any preventive measures. Even contact with someone with chickenpox will most likely not be dangerous for you.
If you have never had chickenpox, or do not know for sure, then you need to follow the following recommendations from experts:
Avoid contact with small children and do not visit places with large crowds of people.
Do not interact with people who have cold symptoms or skin rashes.
If you have children who have not had chickenpox, they should be vaccinated.
Since you cannot get the chickenpox vaccine during pregnancy, do it immediately after giving birth. This will protect you from the disease (it can be more severe in adults than in children) and protect your future children if you become pregnant again.
Chickenpox vaccination
In Russia there are two vaccines against chickenpox: Okavax and Varilix. Vaccines contain a weakened herpes virus, against which the body easily develops immunity. There is a risk of contracting chickenpox from vaccination, but it is extremely small (according to one study, out of 55 million people vaccinated, only 5 developed symptoms of chickenpox).
The chickenpox vaccine should not be given during pregnancy. If you are just planning a pregnancy, then at least 1 month should pass from the moment of vaccination to the conception of the child (and it is best to wait 3 months).
Chickenpox during pregnancy occurs if a woman did not have this disease in childhood. Immunity weakens during pregnancy, and the likelihood of becoming infected with the herpes virus increases several times. Next, we will consider whether chickenpox is dangerous for pregnant women, whether there is a risk to the fetus, as well as methods of treatment and prevention.
Chickenpox during pregnancy has a typical course. However, with low immunity of the expectant mother, the disease can be severe and accompanied by the following symptoms:
- After the incubation period, pink blisters appear on the skin. At first, their number varies from 2 to 5, then they spread over the surface of the entire body in a few hours, including the face, abdomen, scalp and even mucous membranes.
- Skin rashes are accompanied by severe itching.
- Since your own immunity begins to fight the herpes virus, the temperature rises, sometimes very high (above 38 degrees). This condition is dangerous not only for the mother, but also for the child.
- Common symptoms include weakness and loss of appetite.
The clinical picture of chickenpox is quite clear, so when visiting a doctor there is rarely any doubt about the diagnosis.
What does chickenpox mean for pregnant women?
Chickenpox in pregnant women occurs in the same way as in other people infected as adults. But since the immune defense weakens during this period, the risk of complications increases several times.
The danger is that the Varicella Zoster virus, which causes chickenpox, does not leave the body even after treatment, but remains in a latent form in the blood and nerve fibers. Therefore, even after some time, complications such as herpes zoster, encephalitis, and pneumonia arise.
Chickenpox is also dangerous for pregnant women because the cardiovascular system is also at risk, since herpes also affects it. The strain of the virus affects the skeletal system and may contribute to the development of arthritis.
Why is chickenpox dangerous for the fetus?
If a pregnant woman gets chickenpox, the degree of danger to the baby depends on the stage of pregnancy.
The risks are greatest in the first and third trimester.
The condition of the fetus and placenta is still unstable, so the threat of miscarriage during this period is very high. Also, in the first months of gestation, all vital organs and systems are formed, so their deformation may occur, the child will be born with various abnormalities, sometimes even incompatible with life.
In the second trimester, the risks for the baby are minimal; in the womb he is protected by the formed placenta. At this stage, after the 20th week, it is advisable to collect cord blood from the child and amniotic fluid to determine chromosomal and other abnormalities.
In late pregnancy and immediately before childbirth, chickenpox is most dangerous for the child, as infection can occur when passing through the birth canal. The virus penetrates the placenta, and the baby is born with congenital chickenpox. The disease must be cured before childbirth.
Although chickenpox in a pregnant woman can be transmitted to the unborn child through the placenta and affect its development, this condition is not an absolute medical indication for termination of pregnancy.
Treatment during pregnancy
If a pregnant woman gets chickenpox, treatment is carried out according to the general scheme, only using drugs that are not contraindicated when carrying a child.
To suppress the herpes virus, take Acyclovir according to the regimen prescribed by the gynecologist. The drug is approved for pregnant women and is not harmful to the fetus. To relieve itching, medications are prescribed, for example, Suprastin, Zyrtec, Diazolin, etc.
External treatment of the bubbles is carried out with antiseptics. This will help protect against bacterial infection. Green stuff, Fukortsin (its analogue, only pink), Miramistin, Calamine are suitable. To maintain immunity and more quickly suppress the virus, pregnant women are administered a specific immunoglobulin.
As for general recommendations when infected with chickenpox, the expectant mother needs to be provided with bed rest, often change sleepwear and bed linen. Walking outside should be delayed until complete recovery, but be sure to frequently ventilate the room in which the patient is located.
You can wash yourself during the active stage of the disease, but you should not rub the skin with a hard washcloth. After a shower, it is imperative to treat rashes with antiseptics.
Chickenpox and pregnancy: prevention
If a woman knows that she did not have chickenpox as a child, she should take action before conception. To do this, you need to be vaccinated against this disease. Vaccination gives a 100% result. If you have already been vaccinated in the past, you should be vaccinated again at the stage of pregnancy planning.
The vaccine is contraindicated during pregnancy.
If there was contact with a sick person
If a pregnant woman has been in contact with someone infected with chickenpox, then the likelihood that the virus will be transmitted to her is almost one hundred percent. This does not even require close contact; you can become infected at a distance of several meters, since the chickenpox virus is very “volatile”.
In this case, an emergency injection of immunoglobulin will help protect you. It does not guarantee that infection will not occur at all, but it will reduce the risk of complications for the expectant mother and her child.
Chickenpox is also scary because a woman may not even know that she is in contact with a sick person, because smallpox is contagious already at the incubation stage, even before the first symptoms appear. Therefore, during pregnancy it is advisable to avoid crowded places.
If there are infected people in the family
In a situation where the eldest child or husband in the family already has chickenpox, it is almost impossible for a pregnant woman to protect herself from infection. However, you can act as follows to avoid unpleasant consequences:
- Inject immunoglobulin.
- Take other immunomodulators.
- Do not share dishes or other household items.
- Try to provide patients with a separate room.
Chickenpox during pregnancy is a dangerous condition. The disease affects the child more than the mother. The presence of complications depends on how timely and comprehensive treatment was undertaken.
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The female body during the period of expectation of a child is particularly susceptible to various diseases. Any health problems can have negative consequences for the expectant mother and her long-awaited baby. Thus, ordinary chickenpox during pregnancy can provoke the development of intrauterine deformities of the fetus or even premature birth in the early stages (miscarriage). How to protect yourself from such a disaster and why is a simple childhood disease dangerous for a woman in an interesting situation?
Characteristic signs
Chickenpox is a disease that primarily affects young children. As a rule, children calmly tolerate an unpleasant illness, quickly recover from illness and develop permanent immunity that lasts for life (with rare exceptions). Characteristic symptoms of the disease include:
- moderately elevated body temperature (from 37.5 to 38.5 degrees);
- itching preceding skin rashes;
- general malaise (apathy, weakness, desire to sleep rather than stay awake);
- a rash that crusts over time.
The virus is transmitted from person to person (regardless of age) by airborne droplets, even over a fairly considerable distance. Unfortunately, adults often suffer from chickenpox very seriously, with significant complications.
Illness in the first trimester
So, why is chickenpox dangerous during pregnancy? First of all, it is worth noting that the disease does not always have a detrimental effect on the fetus - there is a fairly high percentage of cases when a woman successfully endures the disease, without harm to her unborn child. However, if the flooring disease is at the very beginning or at the end of the period of gestation, it can be dangerous.
First, let's talk about what difficulties chickenpox provokes during pregnancy at the initial stage. The 1st trimester is characterized by the formation of all the vital organs of the child, so the impact of the virus can be detrimental. The most sad consequences of the illness include:
- fetal death;
- spontaneous miscarriage;
- damage to the central nervous system and the development of neurological diseases;
- fetal limb hyperplasia;
- vision problems;
- skin defects.
Most of the unpleasant consequences of the disease can be detected from the twentieth week of the child’s development in the womb through an ultrasound procedure (ultrasound examination). If severe pathologies are detected, the gynecologist may recommend terminating the pregnancy. You should know that adequate treatment, started on time, can significantly reduce possible risks and avoid the most unpleasant consequences.
Illness in the second trimester
Chickenpox during pregnancy is most easily tolerated in the second trimester. The thing is that the baby is already reliably protected by the placenta, which means the risk of infection is negligible. Infection of the fetus can occur in approximately one case in a hundred, and if this happens, the consequences may be as follows:
- pulmonary diseases;
- scars on the skin;
- blurred vision;
- dysfunction of the urethra.
At this stage, the virus no longer provokes fetal death and does not lead to spontaneous birth.
Illness in the third trimester
What else is dangerous about chickenpox during pregnancy? The 3rd trimester (up to 36 weeks) is also a very calm period - the risk of negative consequences at this time is minimal. However, the last month is very dangerous, as the virus can easily infect a child. According to statistics, approximately every second baby in this case becomes infected, and every fifth is born with congenital chickenpox. The infant’s body has a hard time suffering from the disease, which can result in complications such as pneumonia and other respiratory diseases.
Preventive measures
Chickenpox during pregnancy is an unpleasant and dangerous condition; do not tempt fate and try to prevent infection. To do this, be sure to undergo appropriate research at the planning stage for your baby. You will need to take a blood test to detect the presence of antibodies to the virus. Similar procedures should be done if you did not suffer from the disease in childhood. In the absence of antibodies, it is imperative to get vaccinated, and only three months after it begin active steps to conceive. An additional examination will not be superfluous for women even if you have already had chickenpox - despite immunity, cases of re-infection are known. This is explained by a mutation of the virus or a significant decrease in the immunity of pregnant women.
How to avoid getting infected with the virus without vaccination?
Let us remind you once again that chickenpox during pregnancy is transmitted by airborne droplets. All you have to do is stand next to an infected person to catch the virus. You can minimize risks by avoiding visiting places with large crowds of people. Additionally, it should be remembered that the main carriers of the disease are young children (mostly kindergarten age). Chickenpox has one more feature that is not known to everyone. You should avoid contact not only with people with this disease, but also with those who suffer from shingles - both diseases have the same pathogen.
Pregnancy and chickenpox in a child
Quite often it happens that when having a second baby, young mothers do not evaluate all the possible risks. What to do if your older child brought this disease from kindergarten, and you did not have chickenpox as a child and did not bother with the issue of vaccination?
First of all, try to strengthen your immunity and eliminate additional risk factors. These include bad habits and lack of regular sleep. Be sure to spend more time in the fresh air, ventilate the apartment and reduce close contact with the child as much as possible - entrust the care of him to your parents or husband.
Form a proper diet, add as many vegetables and fruits as possible. Eliminate stressful situations, allow yourself naps and regular rest. To strengthen your body, do special physical exercises for expectant mothers. Such measures will help increase immunity and make it easier to cope with the disease in case of infection.
Treatment
Chickenpox during pregnancy is treated with fairly standard methods. It is recommended to reduce intense fever with the help of approved antipyretic drugs, for example, with the help of Paracetamol. All other prescriptions are aimed at relieving symptoms. Thus, it is recommended to treat the rash with ordinary brilliant green, and formations in the genital area or oral cavity - with the help of special oral antiseptics. Try to limit water procedures as much as possible, make sure that water does not get on the rash. In case of painful itching, try dissolving a Validol tablet in water and treating the rash with it.
Chickenpox in early pregnancy can be treated with the drug "Acyclovir", but after the twentieth week it is not recommended to take this drug.
Remember that any treatment must be approved by a gynecologist. Do not try to cope with the problem yourself - this can lead to serious complications.
Illness and breastfeeding
Now you know how chickenpox is dangerous during pregnancy. The 1st trimester and the end of the baby's waiting period are periods when you should take maximum care of yourself. After the birth of a baby, the course of the viral disease in the mother is the same as in most adults. However, a breastfed baby can easily pick up the virus. Be sure to consult your doctor about prevention methods to rule this out. If your baby has any symptoms of illness, immediately seek professional help from a pediatrician.
A few final words
These are the dangers of chickenpox during pregnancy. The consequences of the disease are quite serious - not so much for the mother, but for the unborn baby. Serious malformations, deformities and pathologies, miscarriage and fetal death - all this can be avoided. Take your health and the life of your child seriously. Screenings and vaccinations can prevent many problems in the future. Be healthy!
