Free guide · Scarlet Beast En español →
Chickenpox in a baby or child: the signs, what helps at home, who can get very sick, and when to call
For anyone looking after a baby or child with chickenpox, or with an itchy, blistering rash that may be it: a parent, a grandparent, a foster parent, an aunt or uncle. This page passes on, by name, what four pages of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) say: the signs day by day, how it spreads and for how long, what helps the itch and the fever at home, who can get very sick, what to do after an exposure, the vaccine, and the signs that mean a call to the doctor. The only medicines it names are the ones CDC names, and it gives no amount of any of them. It builds the questions to ask on the phone or at a visit. Take only what you need today.
A word with a dotted line under it, like this, opens its official definition, quoted from a U.S. government glossary.
Right now
- Never give aspirin to a child with chickenpox. CDC says the use of aspirin in children with chickenpox is associated with Reye’s syndrome, a severe disease that affects the liver and brain and can cause death.
- For the fever, CDC says to use non-aspirin medications, such as acetaminophen, and that the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends avoiding ibuprofen if possible. This page gives no amount: read the label, or ask a provider or pharmacist.
- Call the doctor if the one with symptoms is less than 1 year old, older than 12, pregnant, or has a weakened immune system (CDC).
- Call the doctor for any of these (CDC): fever longer than 4 days, or above 102°F (38.9°C); skin that becomes very red, warm, or tender, or leaks pus; difficulty waking up or confused behavior; difficulty walking; stiff neck; frequent vomiting; difficulty breathing; severe cough; severe abdominal pain; a rash with bleeding or bruising.
- It spreads easily, from 1 to 2 days before the rash until all the lesions have crusted (CDC). If someone who was near your child is pregnant, is a baby, or has a weakened immune system, tell them so they can call their own doctor; telling them is our line, the call is CDC’s.
If you believe it is an emergency, such as a child who cannot be woken or who is struggling to breathe, call 911. That line is ours: none of CDC’s four pages names 911; they say to call the doctor.
More help
- Fever, by age: Fever in a baby or child: when to call, and what helps.
- If someone at home is pregnant or there is a new baby: Pregnant, or with a new baby.
- For a visit: Get ready for your appointment. No insurance: When you need a doctor and can’t pay.
- More pages about a child’s health: Looking after a baby or child: find the right page.
- All our free tools.
A rash or an itch, and not sure this is the right page? The pages on this site for a rash, an itch or something going around at home, on one list.
Looking after a baby or child? The pages on this site for a baby or child, on one list.
This page and its wording were written with AI (Claude) for Scarlet Beast (our AI policy). No doctor, nurse or pharmacist has reviewed it. The facts were read on October 10, 2026 on four pages of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): “About Chickenpox” (reviewed April 24, 2024), “Chickenpox Symptoms and Complications” (May 10, 2024), “How to Treat Chickenpox” (April 24, 2024) and “Chickenpox Vaccination” (August 21, 2024), and on their Spanish versions. The page says which page it is passing on, and what is marked “ours” is our own. The 911 line is ours: none of the four pages names 911; for every sign on its list, CDC says to call the doctor. So are the lines to call the office before you go, to tell the people who were near your child, and to ask the school for its own rule: the pages say when a person is contagious, and give no back-to-school sentence. Medicines: aspirin (never), acetaminophen, ibuprofen (with the pediatricians’ caution) and calamine lotion are named because CDC’s treatment page names them; this guide gives no amount, and names no antiviral medicine and no brand of vaccine. The two languages: CDC’s Spanish pages say the same things as its English pages; the one difference we found (the vaccine is “about 90% effective” in English, “casi el 90 %” in Spanish) is shown where it is used. What we left out or did not read: CDC’s pages for health care providers and for public health; its photos page, so the rash on brown or black skin is not described here; its vaccination impact page; the Vaccine Information Statements; its shingles pages, beyond what the About page says; its list of adults for whom the vaccine is especially important; and who is eligible for the Vaccines for Children Program, which these pages do not say. This page saves nothing and loads no tracking.