This used to be one of the most common childhood diseases, however use of the chickenpox vaccine has significantly reduced its presence in the community. The first symptoms can be a fever or runny nose followed by a rash which appears in crops of small, watery blisters on the back, chest andor scalp. Your child is contagious one day before the rash appears and until no new blisters have appeared for 24 hours. Most children with chicken pox break out with new spots for three to five days and are no longer contagious after six to seven days into the illness.
The incubation period of chickenpox is 10 to 21 days after being exposed to someone who has the disease.