Should adults take chicken-pox vaccine?

Hello Friends,


These days I have been researching about , is there a need for adults to take chicken-pox vaccine ?
As you may know that, Chicken pox is a very common disease in children and also it is highly contagious, it spreads rapidly to the people in contact of the infected child.
 Symptoms of chicken pox start with runny nose and cough associated with mild fever , next  rash develops starting from scalp and trunk spreading to face and legs and eventually covering the entire body, after a couple of days ,raised spots on the skin turn into blisters and the rash becomes itchy. Usually the blisters will crust over and heal by itself in 8-10 days, but in children as the skin is itcy, scratching is the main problem. Scracthing of blisters lead to infection and reduces rate of healing sometimes leaving scars on the skin.


       Rate of chickenpox infection is dropping down as a result of  widespread usage of chicken pox(varicella) vaccine. Vaccine conatins live attenuated varicella virus, which helps the body to develop immunity against the disease.
Tough chickenpox is less commonly seen in adults, it is more dangerous disease for adults as the complication are very severe.




Currently, 90% of adults are immune to chickenpox because of having had the disease as children. If there is a history of chickenpox disease, you don't need testing or vaccination but If you are uncertain of your medical history then blood testing can be done to see if immunization is appropriate. If your Varicella IgG titres result as negative ,you should take the vaccine. Also if you are sure of not getting the disease as a child you should take the vaccine.


Recommended schedule for adults: Everyone age 13 years and older who has never had chickenpox (two doses, given 4–8 weeks apart, subcutaneously) If you have not got the second dose on time, you should make it a priority, and get the shot next time you visit your doctor.


Side-effects of the vaccine include:  Soreness at the injection site, irritability and mild fever can also occur. One of the rare side effects of varicella vaccine is Herpes zoster (Shingles Disease), Yes, this is possible. The risk of zoster following vaccination appears to be less than that following infection with the varicella virus. The majority of cases of shingles following vaccine have been mild and have not been associated with serious complications.


People who should not receive the vaccine:
          Persons suffering from acute severe febrile illness.
             Pregnant women.
             Immuno-compromised (who have decreased disease fighting ability) individuals as those with HIV/AIDS or those     who are taking chemotherapy treatment for cancers.
            Immunization should be delayed for three months at least if the person has received a blood transfusion.