Ever met an adult who's never had the chicken pox? Chances are you haven't. Twenty, even 10 years ago, having the chicken pox seemed to be a rite of passage for young children. You itched, you scratched, you got bored hanging out at home for a week before heading back to school to show off your war wounds (or scars). Today, the majority of North American children are being vaccinated against the disease in an effort to eradicate it, as with the Measles, Mumps and Rubella so many years ago. But just what is chicken pox, how dangerous is it and can we really get rid of it? This guide will help answer all of your questions.

What is chicken pox? Also known as varicella, chicken pox is a very contagious and common childhood disease. It's caused by the varicella-zoster virus and is characterized by a fever, red, blister-like spots and an itchy rash all over the body. It most commonly affects children under the age of 10.

Chicken pox symptoms. The classic red, itchy rash doesn't usually appear until one or two days after your child begins to feel ill. First, she'll have symptoms that could be mistaken for a cold or flu - a mild fever, sore throat, headache or stomach pain are common complaints. Then come the spots. Often starting off as small red bumps that look like pimples or bug bites, these spots are extremely itchy. They appear first on the face, back and abdomen, soon spreading to pretty much any other place on the body, including the scalp, mouth, nose and genitals. In all, your child may get anywhere from 200 to 500 pox. If she has eczema or another skin condition, the outbreak will likely be more severe.

Over a few days, the spots "will develop some texture to them so you'll be able to feel them and then they'll get filled with clear fluid," explains Dr. Robert Baltimore, Professor of Pediatrics at the Yale University School of Medicine and a member of the Committee of Infectious Diseases for the American Pediatric Association. In other words, a fluid-filled blister appears over each spot. Over a couple of days, the fluid turns cloudy and the blisters dry up and develop a crust or scab. As long as your child doesn't scratch (which could transfer bacteria to the blisters, causing infection), he shouldn't get any scarring from the spots.