Sesi Tanya Pakar bersama Dr. JoAnn Rajah, Pakar Pediatrik, First Step Child Pediatric Clinic

Baik, terima kasih Dr

Hi there. If your child has been exposed to someone who has chickenpox, the risk of him getting chickenpox is there. Your son can still get chickenpox 10-21 days after his last contact with the infected child. If your child is within 3-5 days after being in contact with the sick child, getting the chickenpox vaccine can help to prevent or lessen the severity of the disease.

Hi puan. Kalau anak puan tidak mendapat suntikan atau terlewat, puan masih boleh berjumpa dengan doktor puan untuk pemberian vaksin. Sekiranya, anak puan tidak sihat, dan puan tidak pasti sama ada ini adalah jangkitan cacar air, puan boleh berjumpa dengan doktor untuk pemeriksaan.

Hello. Risiko jangkitan cacar air bagi kali kedua adalah amat jarang. Pada umumnya, selepas jangkitan pertama, virus varicella zoster (cacar air) berubah menjadi tidak aktif atau pendam dalam sistem saraf hos yang dijangkiti. Ia boleh menjadi aktif semula bertahun-tahun selepas itu dan menyebab­kan jangkitan lain iaitu kayap (herpes zoster), terutamanya pada usia lebih dewasa.

Hi there. If your child has already been infected with chickenpox, she does not need to take the vaccine anymore. The risk of second chickenpox is rare. However, the chickenpox virus can still remain inactive in the body, and may cause an infection called herpes zoster (kayap) in the future.

Hi there. Breastfeeding can offer some amount of protection against chickenpox for the breastfed child if the mother has contracted chickenpox before. However, if the mother has not gotten chickenpox before, then the breastfed child will not get any protection against chickenpox.

Hi there. The chickenpox rash can be very itchy. So the role of calamine lotion is to soothe the itch. There are also other soothing lotions that can be applied. But most importantly is to prevent the risk of bacterial infection of the skin by avoiding scratching, keeping the nails short and maintaining good body hygiene.

Hi there. Chickenpox is very contagious. The infection can spread through direct contact with fluid from rash blisters or through breathing in virus particles that come from the blisters. It takes about 2-3 weeks (from 10 to 21 days) after exposure to a person with chickenpox or shingles for someone to develop chickenpox.