A Pox No More

It is one of my earliest childhood memories: I am three years old and standing by a bathtub, furiously scratching the itchy lesions just recently slimed with fluorescent pink calamine lotion in a vain attempt to alleviate the misery of chickenpox. Thanks to a wildly successful vaccine that has now vanquished what was once a ubiquitous viral infection, my memories of chickenpox are a woeful experience that few children today will ever experience. Varicella infection, popularly known as chickenpox, is one of the more well-known viral rashes of childhood. The incredibly contagious virus - it is estimated that one ill person can infect up to 12 to 18 people over the course of their disease - is spread by respiratory droplets sprayed by coughs and sneezes as well as by direct contact with the rashy lesions that shed the virus (1). Infection causes a typically mild skin infection of week-long duration that is characterized by a hallmark itchy papular rash, a fever, and a small dose of hardship. Anywhere from 200 to 500 lesions may form, progressing from flat itchy pox to fluid-filled vesicles that rupture and crust (2).