Varicella

(var-e-sel'lah,) or CHICKEN-POX, [From L. varicula, a small, distended vein.) (Med.) A disease characterized by vesicles scattered over the body, which are glabrous, transparent, and about the size of peas. They appear in succe ive crops, are covered by a thin pellicle, and, about the third, fourth, or fifth day from their appearance, burst at the top, and concrete into small, puckered scabs, which rarely leave a pit in the skin. V. is not contagious. At times, it prevails epidemic ally. The treatment is extremely simple; rest, abstinence, and the antiphlogistic regimen being all that is generally required. [s. 930]