Difference Between Measles and Chickenpox

Measles vs Chickenpox

Measles and Chickenpox are two kinds of diseases that are characterized by different symptoms and treatment procedures. Chickenpox is a disease of the childhood and is caused by a virus called Varicella Zoster. Measles is also a disease of the childhood.

Chickenpox is an extremely infectious disease. Measles is not very contagious and it can be controlled by a vaccination called MMR that is administered to the infant. In fact in several countries MMR is administered to all the new-born infants.

On the other hand chickenpox can easily spread from one person to another person just by virtue of personal contact. In fact there is vaccination for chickenpox too. On the other hand rest and medication alone are the prescribed cures for chickenpox.

The virus that causes chickenpox is considered extremely active and dangerous particularly for the first three or four days. On the contrary measles is most unlikely to develop further once the baby is vaccinated. It is less dangerous than chickenpox. This is also an important difference between measles and chickenpox.

This only goes to prove that measles has become a very rare disease nowadays thanks to the vaccination available in virtually every country. Of course it still occurs in impoverished countries.

Both the diseases differ from each other in terms of their symptoms too. In the case of measles the early symptom is the presence of a red rash on the chest area of the body or on the area of the respiratory tract (viajennaatdhead inc). The infant is accompanied by cough and congestion too. Nasal tract gets infected much. At the end the rashes may appear near the eyes and on the nose too.

On the other hand the virus that causes chickenpox belongs to the family of herpes virus. One of the starting symptoms of chicken pox is that the infant would develop fever and the temperature of the body may go up to 102 degrees Fahrenheit. It would gradually rise up further.

Rashes begin to appear on the parts of the body, namely, torso, face and the scalp. On the first day these rashes may appear red but gradually turn into blisters within two or three days. When medication starts, these blisters would start drying out gradually. It is important to note that the drying out of the blisters takes place very slowly and gradually. The period of recovery is slow in the case of chickenpox and normal in the case of measles.