Chicken pox is a common childhood illness. Knowing the signs and symptoms of chicken pox is a good thing for a parent to know.

A common childhood disease that a majority of the child get is chicken pox. Although it is becoming less common due to the fact that there is a vaccination for this disease it is always a good idea to know what the symptoms of chicken pox are in case your child should get this.

Chicken pox is caused by the infection of the viral virus. This virus usually develops symptoms within 7 to 21 days after the initial period of exposure. Chicken pox is highly contagious and very easily spread. The virus is actually contagious for 1 to 2 days before the symptoms of chicken pox appear.

The main symptom of chicken pox is that of rash that develops over the truck of the body and spreads to the face, legs, scalp and other parts of the body. This rash is very itchy to the child. Sometimes these rashes will develop further and become fluid filled but not all the time. The rash will usually have a new batch of rashes that develop 4 days after the first batch forms. Within 5-7 days the rashes will begin to scab over. And sometime within 7 to 21 days these scabs will fall off. Scarring rarely occurs in these cases unless the itching is uncontrolled, by uncontrolled itching it could cause scarring on the body. A child over a course of a chicken pox term will develop over 300 rashes and lesions.

Other common symptoms of chicken pox include, fever, headache, slight abdominal pain, and lack of appetite. Sometimes slight ulcers will form within the mouth but this does not happen with every case and can be quite rare. These are common but the most common symptoms if that of the itchy rashes.

There are other less common and more worrisome symptoms of chicken pox. These include redness around the site of the rashes, any sign that the child is experiencing any neurological difficulties such as speech slurring, dizziness, or trouble walking. These are not normal symtoms of chicken pox and if they are present a health care provider should be notified immediately and you will be directed to the best course of action from there.