What is the Chickenpox Vaccine?

The vast majority of you reading this article, whether you remember it or not, will have gone through the itchy agony of chickenpox. Many of us have been left with scars from spots our parents couldn’t quite stop us itching, but not all children and parents today need to experience chickenpox distress. This is due to the chickenpox vaccine.
What is Chickenpox?
Chickenpox is generally relatively mild and only lasts between 5 and 10 days. In rare cases though, it can be very serious and even life-threatening to a small subsection of infants, the elderly and people with weakened immune systems. Although anybody can develop serious complications, there is no way to predict who will.
Chickenpox itself is highly contagious and can be spread through direct contact or through the air by sneezing and coughing. It can also be contracted through contact with fluid from chickenpox blisters.
The symptoms of chickenpox are generally an itchy rash that forms between 200 and 500 blisters over the entire body. Besides the rash, symptoms can include headaches, coughing and general discomfort that usually lasts between five and ten days.
What is the Chickenpox vaccine?
The vaccine gives those who receive it protection against the chickenpox infection. Whilst those who receive it will still contract it, the symptoms they will experience will be milder. Two doses of the vaccine give about 98% protection in children and about 75% protection in teenagers and adults according to the Vaccine Knowledge Project at the University of Oxford.
How does the Chickenpox vaccine work?
A live, attenuated (weakened) strain of the varicella-zoster (chickenpox) virus is injected which stimulates an immune response but does not cause the disease in healthy people.
It is this reaction that enables vaccinated people to become immune or protected from the chickenpox virus, ensuring that they do not develop the full-blown disease at a future point.

30-year-old female with acute chickenpox infection 

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Who should have the Chickenpox vaccine?
Who has access to the vaccine varies significantly depending on which country you reside:
In the United States, the vaccine is recommended for all children under the age of 13 who have not had chickenpox, as well as all adolescents and adults who have not been vaccinated and have not had chickenpox.
Australia has a similar system, where the vaccine is free for all children at age 18 months under the National Immunisation Program (NIP). In New Zealand, the vaccine is recommended and funded for children turning 15 months and for children turning 11 years of age who have never been infected with or previously immunised against chickenpox.
Meanwhile, in the United Kingdom, the NHS has not included the chickenpox vaccine as part of the routine childhood schedule. Instead, it only recommends it for those in close contact with people who are particularly at risk of complications from chickenpox such as healthcare workers who are not immune to the disease or those without a fully working immune system.
Is the Chickenpox vaccine safe?
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, “The chickenpox vaccine is very safe, and it is effective at preventing chickenpox. Vaccines, like any medicine, can have side effects. Most people who get chickenpox vaccine do not have any problems with it. The vaccine is usually given in two doses. Side effects are more likely after the first dose than after the second.”
The common side effects of the Chickenpox vaccine are:

• Sore arm from the injection
• Fever
• Mild rash
• Temporary pain and stiffness in the joints

Because the chickenpox vaccine is live, there is also an extremely small risk that a recipient could pass on the virus who is not immune to chickenpox. The person who has been vaccinated may also, in some cases, develop a localised chickenpox type rash around the site of the injection or elsewhere on the body.
According to the Vaccine Knowledge Project at the University of Oxford, “The chickenpox vaccine should not be given to people who are clinically immunosuppressed (either due to drug treatment or underlying illness). This is because the vaccine strain could replicate too much and cause a serious infection. This includes babies whose mothers have had immunosuppressive treatment while they were pregnant or breastfeeding.

Left shoulder of elderly man with chickenpox, showing the complications of developing the disease at a later age.

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

The chickenpox vaccine is not recommended for pregnant women as a matter of caution. Women who have had the vaccine are advised to avoid getting pregnant for one month after vaccination. However, studies have been carried out on pregnant women who have accidentally received chickenpox vaccine before they knew they were pregnant. These have not shown any link between the weakened virus in the vaccine and any specific problems in babies born to these women.”
Multiple studies have shown that the vaccine virus does not pass to babies through breast milk, so it is, therefore, safe for breastfeeding women to be vaccinated. For further information on all the above, see this Public Health England statement
Other skin diseases
Whilst the chickenpox vaccine is a great step in reducing the numbers of children suffering from this condition, there are still many that there are sadly no vaccinations for. This still includes everything from psoriasis to skin cancer.
Whilst no vaccine is available, pre-emptive protection and early diagnosis can mean all the difference in the world. Our guide on How to Protect Kids from Skin Cancer gives all the information you need to know on the best way to protect your little ones.
Early skin cancer diagnosis
The most dangerous types of skin lesions are skin cancer moles. Normal moles are natural and do no harm. But they always pose a certain risk: if a mole changes in colour, size or form it can be dangerous due to skin cancer risk. Make sure to have a mole checked out if you don’t trust it. A quick, easy and reliable way to do this for your entire family is through the SkinVision service. 1.3 million people globally trust SkinVision to help them monitor their skin from the comfort of their own home. The service has already found over 27,000 skin cancers and helped save the lives of both adults and children.
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Check risky skin spots with the SkinVision app for possible melanoma skin cancer symptoms. Make pictures, get moles analysed, and track them over time

How to use SkinVision

This video quickly lays our how to use SkinVision, to ensure that you can make the most of the program.

The SkinVision service is used by over a million people across the globe and has helped in the recognition of over 27,000 skin cancers. It is our aim to save 250,000 lives in the next decade.

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5 Essential Steps to Healthy Skin

Our skin is our largest and most visible organ. It is comprised of three layers: the epidermis (outer layer), the dermis (middle layer), and the subcutis (base layer). This multi-layer organ is not only our shield from the environment and the element keeping our internal organs in place, but it is also a dynamic part of our body constantly regenerating, exuding protective substances, and creating vitamin D to keep our bodies operating efficiently. Despite that the skin is such advanced system capable of maintaining itself, what can we do keep a healthy skin?

Scan your skin with SkinVision for signs of skin cancer. Monitoring your skin with self-checks can help you keep it healthy.

While our skin is skilled at taking care of itself, there are still plenty of healthy skin practices we can all embrace to prevent skin damage and allow our skin to function and look at its best. Here are five essential steps to healthy skin.

1. Avoiding causes of oxidation: smoke & sun

Oxidation is the process by which our skin breaks down from free radicals. Things such as pollution, solar radiation, and cigarette smoke can cause the generation of free radicals that harm the proteins (such as collagen and elastin), lipids, and DNA in our skin. This damage presents itself as wrinkles, thickening, discoloration and an overall lack of elasticity. At worst, it can also cause cancer.

For this reason, it is best to avoid the agents of free radical damage in order to maintain healthy skin. Since the sun and cigarette smoke are the main drivers of free radical production, what you can do to protect your skin is to avoid smoking (or breathing other people’s smoke), limit your exposure to the sun, and always apply SPF protection. You can also use antioxidants such as vitamin C, Vitamin E, Selenium and Catalase to fight against free radical damage and keep a healthy skin.

2. Your skin is what you eat

It may seem like a no-brainer, but how we nourish our body affects our skin health. Certain foods and substances can be especially damaging to our skin, while others can keep it youthful and glowing. So, how do we sort out the good from the bad? There are a few rules of thumb:

Sugar, the bitter truth

The good news is not all types of sugar are the same. Sugars in fruits, while still encouraging production of AGEs (advanced glycation end-products), don’t cause blood sugar to spike as dramatically as foods on the high glycemic index, such as processed foods, cake, and high fructose corn syrup. Vitamins, fiber, and antioxidants present in fruit balance the sugars, while also providing your skin with beneficial properties.

Damage from sugar can also be reversed. Many people who cut sugar from their diet report clearer and more vibrant skin.

Your fruits and veggies

While sugar is particularly damaging to our skin, other foods help our skin by providing it with all the nutrients it needs to function properly. As you may have heard before, eating lots of fruits and vegetables is the key to a healthy body and, as it turns out, to healthy skin.

Fruits and vegetables contain vital antioxidants that help fight free radical damage. There is a buzz around new and upcoming “superfoods,” a term that is mostly used to drive sales than to indicate nutritional value. Variety is essential to our nutrition, so instead of focusing only on superfoods, if you eat a wide, colorful range of fruits and vegetables – especially those dark, leafy greens – you will help your body and skin stay healthy regardless of any temporary hype. It’s also important to note that fruits on the high glycemic index, such as bananas and pineapple, should be eaten in moderation as they are more likely to cause a spike in your blood sugar levels.

Water

Water is what our body needs to survive and what our skin needs to look and feel fresh. Drinking plenty of water keeps our skin cells hydrated, reduces the appearances of fine lines and wrinkles, and keeps our skin feeling supple. How much water you need varies based on your activity level, height and weight and the climate you live in, but the general advice from doctors today is to drink between half an ounce and an ounce of water for each pound you weigh. What’s most important is to listen to your body and, when you feel thirsty, reach for water over soda or any other beverage.

Vitamins & Minerals

Certain vitamins and minerals contain antioxidants that can have powerful effects on our skin by limiting the damage caused by free radicals. Look for foods that contain selenium, vitamin A, vitamin C, and vitamin E to boost skin health. Healthy fats, such as omega-3s and omega-6s, often found in fish, nuts, and olive oil, are also beneficial to our skin, as they have been shown to lower our body’s inflammatory response and aid in our cell membranes’ ability to hold water.

While discoveries in nutrition happen all the time, if you eat plenty of natural products in a wide range of colors, avoid processed, sugary foods, and drink plenty of water, your body and skin will have the nutrients they need for optimal health.

3. Lifestyle: sleep & stress

Skin health isn’t separate from our overall health and well-being, and as we are learning more and more, everything is connected. There exists no body process in isolation; everything affects everything else. Accordingly, it only makes sense that our lifestyle plays a significant role in keeping our skin healthy.

Stress

There’s no doubt that in modern life, stress can be challenging to manage. Taking the time to relax, breathe, and exercise is essential for boosting circulation and giving our skin time to repair itself.

Sleep

Another essential activity to prevent stress from affecting your body and look refreshed is sleep. When we sleep, we may be tuned out, but our body works hard to repair cells and produce important molecules, such as collagen. Blood flow to our skin also increases when we sleep, allowing new cell turnover to occur and giving our skin that healthy glow we all seek. Most doctors recommend 7 to 9 hours of sleep a night for maximum benefit.

4. Cleansing & hydration

Once our environment and what we put in our body is taken care of, we can turn to the surface-level things we can do to keep our skin healthy. A daily skin care routine that includes SPF protection goes a long way in keeping our skin clean and clear.

A skin care routine doesn’t have to be complicated. Ensuring your skin is cleansed from dead cells and pollutants will keep pores clear and help prevent acne and pimples from forming. Cleansers and exfoliators are products we can use for this process. While a cleanser should be used daily, an exfoliator can be used about two to three times a week. After cleansing, toning is an important step that helps us prepare our skin for a moisturizer and remove any lingering dirt or residue left after washing the face. Finally, moisturizing and sunscreen are not to be forgotten. Moisturizer is key as it re-hydrates the skin after natural oils have been stripped off through hot showers and products. You can look for a moisturizer with SPF or apply sunscreen after your moisturizer to block the sun’s harmful rays.

There are countless skin care regimens and products you can use to fight skin aging and address other skin issues; finding what works for your skin type is key. But the most important takeaways for healthy skin is that we keep our skin clean, hydrated and protected from sunlight.

5. Healthy skin = skin cancer screenings

Last, but certainly not least, regular skin checks are vital to our skin health. Skin cancer can often be detected early by staying attuned to moles and abnormalities appearing on our body. By checking the skin for changes every month, we can spot any suspicious moles or other skin spots. Consult a healthcare professional in time if you notice any melanomasymptoms, changes or irregularities.

SkinVision helps you detect signs of skin cancer and get to the doctor in time.

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