Chickenpox is caused by a virus and is a mild but highly infectious disease that most children catch at some point.
Chickenpox is most common in children who are between two and eight years of age, although you can develop chickenpox at any age.
Chickenpox spreads via tiny droplets of saliva and nasal mucus in sneezes and coughs from an infected person. The virus is already in these droplets, which is why it spreads so fast. It takes 10-21 days for the symptoms to show after you have come into contact with the virus. This is called the 'incubation period'.
You are infectious from about two days before the rash appears until roughly five days after. Therefore you or your child should stay at home until all of the blisters have fully crusted over, this usually happens five to seven days after the first blister appears. After the last blister has burst and crusted over, you are no longer infectious.
The most commonly recognised symptom of chickenpox is a red rash, which covers the body. The rash usually starts behind the ears, on the chest or back or on the arms and legs. However, before developing a rash, your child may experience some mild flu-like symptoms such as nausea, fever, headache, generally feeling unwell and loss of appetite.
There is no cure for chickenpox and the virus normally goes after five to ten days, however there are some things that you can do to alleviate the symptoms of chickenpox.
The good news is that once your child has had chickenpox they will very rarely catch it again for a second time. This is because their body develops an immunity to the chickenpox virus, which stops them from becoming re-infected.