Chickenpox in Children (Bouchouika): Symptoms, Contagion and Care

First a little red spot on the tummy, which you take for a mosquito bite. The next day there are ten, filled with clear fluid, and your child is scratching non-stop. Chickenpox, the bouchouika of grandmothers, is one of those illnesses that almost every child catches one day, often at nursery or school.

It is usually mild. But it is treated with a few precise rules, starting with a medicine you must never give, and it can be serious for a newborn or a pregnant woman. Here is how it progresses, how long it is contagious and how to comfort your child.

How does chickenpox progress, day by day?

After contact with the virus, nothing happens for about 14 days: this is the incubation period, the French health insurer describes. Then the illness follows a fairly typical course.

The number of spots varies enormously: from a few to 2,000, according to the French health insurer. The palms and soles are spared, which helps tell it apart from other rashes, such as hand-foot-and-mouth syndrome. If you are unsure, our guide to recognising rash illnesses in children compares the main ones.

How long is chickenpox contagious?

It is contagious from 1 to 2 days before the spots appear until all the blisters have dried into scabs, so about a week. Sources agree on this principle, even if the durations vary a little: about 5 days after the first spots for the NHS, up to 6 days for the VIDAL recommendations.

The virus spreads through the air, in droplets of saliva, and by contact with the fluid from the blisters. That is one of the reasons it travels so fast in a nursery: the child infects friends before anyone knows they are ill. To understand these chains of infection, see our article on contagious illnesses in early childhood.

Chickenpox and nursery: when can they go back?

Countries do not say exactly the same thing:

• United Kingdom and Canada: the child stays at home until all the lesions have scabbed over and no new ones appear.
• France: exclusion is not compulsory, but attending group care is not advised during the acute phase.
• Morocco: we have not found a published national rule for nurseries and nursery schools (search done in October 2026). The establishment's own rules apply.

In practice, common sense matches the most cautious rule: keep your child at home as long as they have blisters, tell the nursery, and remember to warn pregnant relatives or families with a newborn that they met in the previous days.

What care eases chickenpox?

There is no treatment that shortens a simple chickenpox. Care aims to relieve itching, to bring down the fever if it bothers the child, and above all to avoid secondary infections.

For fever: never ibuprofen

This is the most important rule. Ibuprofen and other anti-inflammatories should be avoided during chickenpox: they are suspected of increasing the risk of serious bacterial skin infection, such as necrotising fasciitis, the VIDAL recommendations state, and the NHS advises against them unless a doctor says otherwise. Aspirin is strictly forbidden, because of Reye's syndrome, a rare but serious injury to the liver and brain. Paracetamol is the only fever medicine accepted in this case. The dose depends on your child's weight: ask your doctor or pharmacist, and check the leaflet.

For itching

• A lukewarm bath or shower every day, with a mild soap, then drying by patting, without rubbing. The Canadian Paediatric Society mentions a bath with added baking soda to calm the itching.
• Nails cut short with round-ended baby scissors, brushed and clean. At night, the NHS suggests putting cotton socks over little ones' hands.
• Loose cotton clothes, a room that is not too hot, and plenty to drink. Ice lollies help a child with mouth sores to drink.
• Antihistamines can help against itching: only on the advice of a doctor or pharmacist.

On creams, opinions differ. In France, the advice is to apply no talc, cream, gel or ointment, which encourage secondary infections. The UK's NHS mentions cooling creams or gels sold at the pharmacy. When in doubt, water and soap are enough: ask your pharmacist for advice before any product.

Which complications should you watch for?

Most cases of chickenpox clear up without trouble. In France, complications occur in 1.9% of cases, according to the 2022 figures of the Sentinelles network cited by the French health insurer. The most common is infection of the spots from scratching: a blister that gets bigger, reddens, becomes hot and very painful, or is covered with yellowish crusts as in impetigo. Children with eczema are more exposed: the rash can spread over the patches, as our article on infant eczema explains.

More rarely, chickenpox affects the lungs (pneumonia), especially in infants and adults, or the nervous system. Severe forms remain under 1% and mostly concern adults and people with weakened immunity. The Canadian Paediatric Society points out that it can be very serious in a baby under one month. A baby born to an immune mother is generally protected by her antibodies for 3 to 6 months.

Pregnant and in contact with chickenpox: what to do?

Call your doctor or gynaecologist the same day if you have never had chickenpox, or if you are not sure. Most women are already immune, the Canadian Paediatric Society points out. A blood test can check, and the doctor may offer, depending on the situation, specific immunoglobulins.

The risk to the baby depends on the timing, the French health insurer explains:

• before 20 weeks of amenorrhoea, a risk of malformations and growth delay, estimated at about 2% by the Canadian Paediatric Society in early pregnancy;
• between 21 and 38 weeks, little severity for the child, who may get shingles later;
• around delivery, a risk of very serious neonatal chickenpox, and of pneumonia in the mother.

The chickenpox vaccine is contraindicated during pregnancy. If you are planning a pregnancy without being immune, talk about it beforehand, as our article on vaccines before and during pregnancy explains.

Is there a vaccine against chickenpox?

Yes. It is not part of Morocco's National Immunisation Programme, which covers twelve other diseases, but it is offered outside the programme, at the family's expense. Countries make different choices: the United Kingdom and Canada vaccinate all children, whereas France reserves it for certain groups, such as teenagers and women of childbearing age who have never had the illness. After contact, vaccination within 3 days can prevent the illness in a non-immune person aged 12 or over, outside pregnancy. The arguments for and against are detailed in our article on vaccines recommended outside the national programme.