Symptoms
Slight fever, general feeling of illness, skin rash that begins on chest, back, underarm, neck and face. Starts out as red bumps that turn into small blisters. Scabs appear in a few days.
Incubation Period: 10 to 21 days, usually 14 to 16 days
School Actions on Communicability:
Contagious a few days before eruption and until vesicles are dry. Exclude until day 6 after rash began or sooner if all blisters have dried into scabs.
Source of Infection and Mode of Transmission
Spread from person to person by direct contact with touching the blister fluid or secretions from the nose or mouth of a person with chicken pox. One attack usually confers immunity. Children on immunosuppressive drugs are at high risk. If you take your child to the doctor, they will want to keep your child separate from other children to prevent further spread.