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Complications
By Mayo Clinic staffChickenpox is normally a mild disease. But it can be serious and can lead to complications, especially in these high-risk groups:
- Newborns and infants whose mothers never had chickenpox or the vaccine
- Adults
- Pregnant women
- People whose immune systems are impaired by medication, such as chemotherapy, or another disease
- People who are taking steroid medications for another disease or condition, such as children with asthma
- People with the skin condition eczema
A common complication of chickenpox is a bacterial infection of the skin. Chickenpox may also lead to pneumonia or, rarely, an inflammation of the brain (encephalitis), both of which can be very serious.
Chickenpox and shingles
Anyone who had chickenpox is at risk of a latent illness called shingles. After a chickenpox infection, some of the varicella-zoster virus may remain in your nerve cells. Many years later, the virus can reactivate and resurface as shingles — a painful band of short-lived blisters. The virus is more likely to reappear in older adults and people with weakened immune systems.
Shingles can lead to its own complication — a condition in which the pain of shingles persists long after the blisters disappear. This complication, called postherpetic neuralgia, can be severe.
A shingles vaccine is available and is recommended for adults age 60 and older who have had chickenpox in the past.
Chickenpox and pregnancy
Other complications of chickenpox affect pregnant women. Chickenpox early in pregnancy can result in a variety of problems in a newborn, including low birth weight and birth defects, such as limb abnormalities. A greater threat to a baby occurs when the mother develops chickenpox in the week before birth. Then it can cause a serious, life-threatening infection in a newborn.
If you're pregnant and not immune to chickenpox, talk to your doctor about the risks to you and your unborn child.
- Harriman KH, et al. CDC Traveler's Health: Yellow book. Varicella (chickenpox). http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/yellowbook/2010/chapter-2/varicella.aspx. Accessed July 20, 2010.
- Albrecht MA. Clinical features of varicella-zoster virus infection: Chickenpox. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed July 20, 2010.
- Albrecht MA. Prevention of varicella-zoster virus infection: Chickenpox. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed July 20, 2010.
- Whitley RJ. Varicella-zoster virus. In: Mandell GL, et al. Mandell, Douglas, and Bennett's Principles and Practice of Infectious Diseases. 76th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Churchill Livingstone Elsevier; 2009. http://www.mdconsult.com/book/player/book.do?method=display&type=bookPage&decorator=header&eid=4-u1.0-B978-0-443-06839-3..00137-5--s0040&displayedEid=4-u1.0-B978-0-443-06839-3..00137-5--s0045&uniq=210636258&isbn=978-0-443-06839-3&sid=1027882434#lpState=open&lpTab=contentsTab&content=4-u1.0-B978-0-443-06839-3..00137-5%3Bfrom%3Dtoc%3Btype%3DbookPage%3Bisbn%3D978-0-443-06839-3. Accessed July 20, 2010.
- Albrecht MA. Treatment of varicella-zoster virus infection: Chickenpox. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed July 20, 2010.
- Burnell PA. Varicella (chickenpox, shingles). In: Goldman L, et al., eds. Goldman: Cecil Medicine. 23rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2007. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/210636258-4/1027901179/1492/1333.html#4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-2805-5..50403-1_16674. Accessed July 20, 2010.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, et al. Recommended Immunization Schedules for Persons Aged 0-18 Years — United States, 2010. MMWR. http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/recs/schedules/downloads/child/2010/10_0-18yrs_11x17fold-booklet-pr.pdf. Accessed July 20, 2010.
- Chickenpox. The Merck Manuals: The Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals. https://merck.com/mmpe/sec14/ch189/ch189b.html. Accessed July 20, 2010.
- Herpes zoster vaccine Q&A (shingles). http://198.246.98.21/vaccines/vpd-vac/shingles/vac-faqs.htm. Accessed July 20, 2010.
- Varicella. In: Ferri FF. Ferri's Clinical Advisor 2010. St. Louis, Mo.: Mosby; 2009. http://www.mdconsult.com/book/player/book.do?method=display&type=bookPage&decorator=header&eid=4-u1.0-B978-0-323-05610-6..00031-7--s29000&uniq=210636258&isbn=978-0-323-05610-6&sid=1027914876#lpState=open&lpTab=contentsTab&content=4-u1.0-B978-0-323-05610-6..00031-7--s29000%3Bfrom%3Dtoc%3Btype%3DbookPage%3Bisbn%3D978-0-323-05610-6. Accessed July 20, 2010.
- Hoecker JL (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. July 27, 2010.
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