When can they go back to nursery?

When every blister has crusted or scabbed over — that is the test, not a fixed number of days. Typically 5 to 7 days after the rash starts.

Why do new spots keep appearing?

Chickenpox arrives in waves, so new spots emerge while earlier ones are already blistering or crusting. Having three stages visible at once is the normal picture.

What can I give for the fever?

Acetaminophen. Never aspirin — in a child with chickenpox it is associated with Reye syndrome, which affects the liver and brain and can be fatal. Check combination remedies for salicylate or acetylsalicylic acid too.

They've been vaccinated. Can they still get it?

Yes, usually a much milder version with fewer spots. It is still chickenpox and still contagious, and the crusting rule still applies — which is easy to overlook when there is very little to see.

When it happens · 3 min read

Chickenpox: what to expect

A few spots yesterday, dozens today, and they are miserable and scratching. Somebody at nursery had it two weeks ago and now you are counting days.

The two things worth knowing are when they can go back, and the one thing you must not reach for.

Last updated August 19, 2026

The stages, and why it looks like it is getting worse

The rash moves through a sequence — flat spots, then raised ones, then blisters, then dry brown crusts — and it does this in waves rather than all at once.

So at any given moment a child has spots at three different stages, and new ones are appearing while the first are already scabbing. That is the normal pattern, not a sign it is spreading out of control.

It is very itchy, and it spreads all over the body, including places nobody expects — scalp, mouth, nappy area.

The crusting rule

Contagious from 1 to 2 days BEFORE the rash appears, and for another 5 to 7 days after — specifically until every blister has crusted over.

That last clause is the actual test, and it is a state rather than a date. Children should stay home from nursery or school until every blister has scabbed or crusted. Not most of them.

The pre-rash contagious window also explains why exposure is usually invisible: whoever passed it on was infectious before they had anything to see.

Never aspirin

This is the one hard rule on the page. Never give aspirin to a child with a fever — and chickenpox is the illness that made this a public health warning. Aspirin in a child with chickenpox is associated with Reye syndrome, a severe illness affecting the liver and brain that can be fatal.

Acetaminophen is the alternative for discomfort and fever.

This matters more than it sounds because aspirin hides in combination remedies under other names — salicylate, acetylsalicylic acid. If you are giving anything beyond plain acetaminophen or ibuprofen, read the label rather than assume.

The itch, and when to call

Comfort measures do most of the work: cool baths, loose clothing, keeping nails short so scratching does less damage. The risk from scratching is a bacterial infection getting into an open lesion, and scarring.

Call rather than wait if a spot becomes hot, spreading and increasingly painful, which suggests a lesion has become infected; if the fever is very high or persists beyond a few days; or if the child is drowsy, unsteady, or seems very unwell in themselves rather than just uncomfortable.

A child who has had the vaccine can still get a milder version with fewer spots. It is still chickenpox, the same crusting rule applies, and it is easy to miss precisely because it looks like so little.

Common questions

When can they go back to nursery?: When every blister has crusted or scabbed over — that is the test, not a fixed number of days. Typically 5 to 7 days after the rash starts.
Why do new spots keep appearing?: Chickenpox arrives in waves, so new spots emerge while earlier ones are already blistering or crusting. Having three stages visible at once is the normal picture.
What can I give for the fever?: Acetaminophen. Never aspirin — in a child with chickenpox it is associated with Reye syndrome, which affects the liver and brain and can be fatal. Check combination remedies for salicylate or acetylsalicylic acid too.
They've been vaccinated. Can they still get it?: Yes, usually a much milder version with fewer spots. It is still chickenpox and still contagious, and the crusting rule still applies — which is easy to overlook when there is very little to see.

If it's this, not that

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Where this comes from

Every claim on this page traces to one of these. See every source we use →

Written from the sources named above, and it is not a substitute for your own doctor. If something feels wrong to you, that instinct is a good enough reason to call — you know yourself and this family better than any page does.