Duration of the disease
After infection, the infection usually runs without symptoms for two weeks (incubation period).After this period, a general feeling of illness with slight fever, fatigue, headache and aching limbs often occurs. One to two days after these symptoms have appeared for the first time, the typical chickenpox rash appears. After one to a maximum of two weeks the rash has healed and all symptoms have disappeared.
If complications occur, or if the immune system of the sick person is weakened, the course of the disease is even longer. In this case a doctor should be consulted. Two to three days after the last symptoms have disappeared there is no longer any danger of infection.
Vaccination against chickenpox in adults
A chickenpox vaccination is only useful for certain groups of people. In general, this only includes people who have never had a chickenpox infection. Within this group, women with a desire to have children should be vaccinated, medical staff, and all people with a suppressed immune system, for example, during certain therapies or organ transplants.
Also people with severe neurodermatitis and lack of immunity and people with close contact to immunocompromised people should be vaccinated. The vaccination consists of attenuated viruses and is therefore considered a live vaccine. For some people (e.g. pregnant women) it is therefore not possible. In these cases, a passive vaccination with chickenpox virus antibodies can be carried out if there has been contact with an infected person.
