Chickenpox Scars

How does chickenpox start?

You may have heard that the appearance of rashes on your skin is the first sign of chickenpox, but that’s not actually the case. It’s in fact much earlier symptoms that indicate chickenpox might be on the way.

An aching body, fever or headache often precede chickenpox before rashes appear. After that, rashes will start to arrive in small crops on the back, chest and face. Eventually, they’ll spread all over the body.

How do I know I’ve definitely had chickenpox?

A chickenpox rash will usually appear on the face, back and chest before spreading to the rest of your body. In some more extreme cases, it will also extend to your eyelids, the inside of the mouth or genital area.

There are three stages that indicated a chickenpox rash has developed on your body:

• Small, raised red spots known as ‘papules’.
• Fluid-filled vesicles or blisters that are clear.
• Crusts and scabs where the fluid dries out and becomes cloudy, thus forming scabs that eventually fall off.
• Chickenpox is contagious for around a day or so before the rash appears and until it has completely scabbed over (which might be up to six days after the onset).

The incubation period (i.e. the time between your exposure to chickenpox and the first symptoms) is usually anywhere between ten to twenty-one days. This length of time is commonly why people who have been in close contact with someone who has the virus don’t know they’ve picked it up until after the symptoms develop.

Why have chickenpox scar treatment?

This will be a personal choice for you. It might be that the scars left by chickenpox are large and numerous and therefore make you feel more self conscious.

Equally, you may simply want to have treatment to improve the scars left by chickenpox in order to get your body back to its best.

Whatever the reason for wanting the treatment, we highly recommend having a consultation with us to talk through the options and potential results and side effects, before going ahead.

I’ve heard chickenpox is similar to herpes - is that true?

No. They’re both part of a group of viruses called ‘herpes viruses’, but they’re not the same. Herpes is transmitted sexually and causes genital sores and cold sores. Chickenpox, on the other hand, is an airborne virus that results in rashes potentially all over the body.