Parents love their children and are aware of common childhood infectious diseases. However, many parents still hold misconceptions about highly contagious childhood illnesses like chickenpox. For example, incorrect beliefs such as "everyone has to get chickenpox once in their lifetime" or "chickenpox just results in itchy skin and is no longer a concern once it clears up" need to be corrected as soon as possible.
Chickenpox is an acute contagious disease caused by the "varicella-zoster virus", which mostly affects children under 12 years of age. The virus is primarily transmitted through droplets and is highly contagious. Although patients develop lifelong immunity after contracting chickenpox, this does not mean that infection is "necessary". It is important to know that chickenpox sufferers (especially children) experience significant discomfort from the itching all over their bodies. If they scratch through the blisters, this can lead to bacterial infections, or even scarlet fever caused by Streptococcus pyogenes, posing a greater threat to their health.
In addition, the varicella-zoster virus remains dormant in the human body after the symptoms have subsided and can reactivate many years later, causing "herpes zoster" (so-called "shingles"), the complications of which, such as postherpetic neuralgia, can have a long-term impact on patients.
Why is infection not considered "inevitable"? In fact, there are already relevant preventive vaccines available for children of appropriate age. Besides the single varicella vaccine, there is also a tetravalent vaccine against four diseases, which can complete two doses of vaccination as early as when the baby is 15 months old, thus protecting children from chickenpox even earlier.
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