Doctors’ Answers to “Frequently Asked Questions” – Chicken Pox
These comments are made for the purpose of discussion and should NOT be used as
recommendations for or against therapies or other treatments. An individual patient is
always advised to consult their own physician.
Chicken Pox Symptoms [posted
11/24/98]
Question: What are the symptoms of chicken pox and what do the spots look
like? I have itchy spots all over my side and chest, a headache and a sore throat.
Otherwise healthy 43 year old!
Answer: They usually start on the head or occasionally the chest.
Small pustules on a base of a red welt like lesion.
Chicken Pox [posted 8/6/98]
Question: If a person who has already had chicken pox comes in contact with someone
who is contagious, can the first individual be a carrier of varicella and give it to a
third person who has never had it before?
Answer: Not unless they transmit particulate matter from the pustules to
another. Chicken Pox is incredibly infectious – easily transmitted across a room, for
example. One does not have to come up with vectors, the virus is quite good enough on its
own.