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Chicken pox history essay
Epidemiology chickenpox
Chicken pox history essay
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The Chickenpox virus is a horrible and painful infection. The highly contagious virus, known as Chickenpox, can be a fatal disease if not properly taken care of. The Chickenpox disease, etiology, signs and symptoms, history, and prevention is important for every individual to know about so they can be aware. The Chickenpox infection has been researched throughout the years, and the CDC continuously informs people how important getting vaccinated is (National Institutes of Health, 2017). Chickenpox is a viral infection that causes an itchy, almost blister-like rash (Mayo Clinic, 2017). Chickenpox is highly contagious (Mayo Clinic, 2017). The Chickenpox virus occurs between 10 to 21 days after exposure to the infection (Mayo Clinic, 2017). Usually, the infection lasts 5 to 10 days (Mayo Clinic, 2017). Moreover, the Chickenpox rash goes through three phases: raised red bumps, fluid-filled blisters, and crusty scabs (Mayo Clinic, 2017). Papules, or raised red bumps, break out all over the body and last many days (Mayo Clinic, 2017). Small fluid-filled blisters, also known as vesicles, form after the papules, and eventually break and leak …show more content…
In 1992, there was approximately 158,000 people reported to have Chickenpox across the world (National Vaccine Information Center, 2017). As a result, there are 100 deaths that are publicly known (National Vaccine Information Center, 2017). These deaths consisted of mainly adults (National Vaccine Information Center, 2017). Chickenpox is more serious in adults than in children (National Vaccine Information Center, 2017). Adults, infected with the Chickenpox virus, have a 20 percent chance of developing severe complications, such as pneumonia (National Vaccine Information Center, 2017). Other Chickenpox complications that may occur are lesions, bacterial infections, and brain inflammation (National Vaccine Information Center,
You woke up a week ago feeling odd. You were not sure what was wrong, but your body was full of aches, you felt hot to the touch, and you kept vomiting. Your mother told you to lay down and rest, hoping it was just a cold. After a few days, you began to feel better, well enough that you wanted to return to the river to watch the trade ships come in. Now, unfortunately, your symptoms have come back with a vengeance – your fever is back along with intense abdominal pain, your mouth is bleeding without being wounded, and every time you vomit, it appears black in color. Also, when you look in the mirror, your skin has changed from the sun-kissed color you have always been to a dull yellow hue. The doctor comes in to examine you; he makes many “tsk tsk” noises and hurries out of the room with a cloth over his face. The doctor mumbles to your mother that he believes you have Yellow Jack and there is nothing more he can do, you are going to die. Your mother weeps uncontrollably yet you cannot react because another horrendous pain in your head has doubled you over. Soon, as you stop shaking and begin to relax, the sounds of the doctor and your mother become white noise and your surroundings begin to dull until you prove the doctor right; another person fell victim to the infectious Yellow Fever virus.
Shingles has affected many people over the years. New discoveries are being made every day to treat Postherpatic Neuralgia and just the overall virus. If a cure is found for shingles, it should also work for chicken pox. They are the same virus, but chicken pox is the initial stage. A cure for shingles would help the young and old.
Many people can remember a time when they were a little kid and tiny little red bumps began to form on different locations of their skin. The small bumps began to spread and began to itch. Remembering the pink color of the calamine lotion that was used to soothe the itching sensation, realizing that these bumps were chicken pox. It is common knowledge that once a person contracts chicken pox and the outbreak clears up, the person will not get an outbreak again. Yet there are unknown complications that may develop later in life from having the chicken pox. Herpes zoster, or commonly known as Shingles, is one of these complications. Not only is this a very painful condition, but can lead to other complications as well (Sampathkumar, P., et al, 2009).
The 1878 yellow fever epidemic in Memphis proved to be fatal, killing almost all who got infected. The disease traveled up from New Orleans infecting and killing many on its way. Memphis was going through reconstruction and was becoming the center for merchants and travelers. Furthermore, Memphis began to become overly populated only increasing the devastation that would be caused by the yellow fever. This was a confusing period were even medical professionals did not know where the disease came from or how they could to stop it. The epidemic caused panic and challenged the state government of Tennessee and made changes to it that are still in effect today.
The Mumps virus seems to have been around since ancient times. Research says that the virus has been documented or recorded by the Hippocrates in 5th century BCE (Mumps Epidemiology and Prevention of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases). We give credit to Johnson and Goodpasture for helping determine how the virus is spread. This particular virus has been and still is known worldwide but became a reportable disease in the United States in 1968. The history behind the Mumps is not very detailed but today we are able to prevent this disease here in the US.
Shingles is caused by a varicella virus. Shingles is a reactivation of chickenpox. If you had chickenpox as a child you are more likely to get shingles as an adult. If you had chickenpox the virus travels to the nerve cells called dorsal root ganglia. They are bundles of nerves that transmit sensory information from the skin to the brain. From there the virus can hide from the immune system and remain inactive, but alive for many years in most cases for a lifetime. If and when the virus becomes active it becomes known as shingles. The virus spreads to the ganglion and the nerves connecting to it. The virus can spread anywhere from the spinal cord to the bloodstream. Shingles itself is not transmitted from person to person. The name for the pain that shingles causes are called posterpetic neuralgia (PHN). Words to
Nearly 1 in 3 Americans will develop a shingles infection at some point in their lifetime, according to statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While shingles is often associated with those over the age of 50, anyone who has had chicken pox is at risk for developing the viral infection, even children on rare occasions. As such, it's important to not only understand the causes of shingles and potential treatment options for the condition, but also the internal and external symptoms of the infection.
It was spread very slowly and less broadly than other viral illnesses which took a long time to identify the infection in the first two weeks. Infection of smallpox started to grow between 7 to 10 days when the scabs formed into bruises. The signs and symptoms of this disease include high fever, widespread rashes, redness, muscle pain, headache, common cold, vomiting, nausea and many more. Consequently, the virus was found in the bone marrow along with bloodstream in huge numbers. There are different types of the smallpox disease with other classifications.
Chickenpox is one of a highly contagious ailment. It is also known as Varicella as it was caused by varicella-zoster virus. The common victims of chickenpox are children and it is a condition which occurs one or other times in childhood. Sometimes adults may do get it.
If you ever had the chicken pox then you have the shingles virus. Shingles occurs when the varicella virus is awakening in the body. Signs of the shingles include tingling and a lot of pain also includes a blistering rash. Early symptoms of the shingles include fever and general weakness. Then a few days later you start to notice pink or red patches and rash like on one side of your body. The shingles often appears around the rib cage or waist. This is referred to as a shingles band or the shingles girdle. This can cover a wide area on one side of the body and it can be very painful if you wear tight clothing. Then there’s the ophthalmic shingles, it affects the nerve that controls the facial sensation and the movement in your face. This can appear around your eyes on the forehead and the nose. The symptoms for this are headaches, redness and swelling of the eyes, this can cause the eyes to have double vision or blurred vision. The rash that shingles develops is blisters with fluid inside them similar to chicken pox. New and new blisters continue to develop for a couple of days. It’s...
Chickenpox is spread only between humans. There is no evidence of other carriers. One can catch chickenpox from surfaces that are contaminated with the exudate, linens and objects. As well, inadvertent contact with a person infected by the disease is easily spread to others via their respiratory system – coughing, sneezing and even just talking. Since the disease is airborne, it is quite easily transmitted to another by simply inhabiting the same room for over 15 minutes (Chickenpox, 2017).
Shingles is a painful disease that is caused by the same virus that causes the chicken pox. The shingles virus affects about 1 million people per year in the United States alone. Shingles, also known as herpes zoster, occurs in people who have already had chickenpox when they were younger. Shingles causes a painful skin rash that usually appears in a band, strip or a small area on one side of the face or body. Most individuals who develop shingles are older than 50 years or have other medical problems like cancer because procedures like chemotherapy weaken your immune system. People who are immune-suppressed from medications they take, like steroid medications are also vulnerable because their immune system is weak, letting the shingles virus take over. Many things can weaken your immune system, for example having chronic diseases like diabetes, lupus, or HIV. Having poor nutrition, getting an injury, or having an organ transplant can all increase the chances of letting the shingles virus reactivate. Shingles and chickenpox is caused by a certain form of herpes virus. The virus that causes cold sores and herpes isn’t the same as the virus that causes shingles. Chicken pox never actually leaves the body after fully recovering from it; it actually remains in the nerve tissue until later forming into shingles. Chickenpox goes into a dormant sate and waits to be woken up and later causes shingles. It is still not fully understood why chickenpox reactivates to cause shingles. If someone has shingles and you come in contact with them you won’t receive shingles. There is a possibility though that if you haven’t gone to the doctor to get your chickenpox vaccine, and you have never gotten chickenpox before and you come in contact with a pe...
Gone are the days of the chicken pox parties. These parties happened when one child became infected with the chickenpox, the neighbors and friends would bring their children over to expose them to the virus. This would attribute to the immunity they achieved once recovering from the virus. Those born after 1995, may have attended one, but most likely they had received the varicella vaccination. This would give them the immunity needed without having to suffer the itchy rash and fever often associated with the virus. Before the use of the varicella vaccine, “approximately 11,000 people were hospitalized for the illness in the United States each year, and 100 died per year”, states Rhonda (478). Diseases
When looking back on history, it is evident to see that humans by nature are warriors. Humans often find themselves fighting mysterious battles against disguised enemies. Throughout history the earth has been afflicted with mysterious diseases, which tend to invisibly cause the preponderance of civilizations to perish. The evolution of infectious diseases has and always will provide challenges for humankind (Hoff, Smith, and Calisher 6-7). Over the course of time, humans gradually developed a preference to live in large urban settings. Urbanization and the cross-cultural interaction of civilizations have both strongly provoked widespread illness, which is known as an epidemic or pandemic based upon size. An epidemic is when a common disease affects a large number of people within a particular region (Lamb). A pandemic is similar to an epidemic but is even more widespread than an epidemic, and spreads throughout entire continents or even the world. Despite the slight variation in meaning, most pandemics are interchangeably denoted as epidemics (Friendlander 13-14). Epidemics and pandemics have formed the course of human history by inflicting lifestyle alterations and abruptly killing large masses of people. When one thinks of widespread disease it is easy to think that pandemics and epidemics are things of the past. Unfortunately, epidemics are commonly found today in poorer countries and major pandemics are still on the rise, such as the modern disease AIDS (Lampton 12-15). Nonetheless, epidemics and pandemics affect large portions of the world’s population; thus, these ongoing diseases will always influence the history of mankind because they force transformation amongst even the strongest civilizations.
Chicken pox, also known as varicella, is a contagious viral disease. Varicella was first recorded more than 400 years ago. It is caused by the varicella-zoster virus, or VZV. VZV is a type of herpes virus. The varicella-zoster virus can cause two diseases. It can result in chickenpox or shingles. Chickenpox is typically mild, but can sometimes cause serious complications. chickenpox can be serious. A vaccine was developed for VZV in 1944, but before then it was a common adolescent disease. For children, chickenpox is not a serious illness, but if an adult that did not have chicken pox as a child contracts it, it can become serious. The same virus that causes chicken pox can also cause shingles. After having chicken pox, the virus lies dormant in in your body, but has the possibility of re-emerging as shingles during adulthood.