Much of Europe and the northeast US are in store for sweltering summer temperatures well above historical norms,

By Timothy Gardner WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Private U.S. nuclear fusion company Helion Energy will provide Microsoft with electricity in about five

Chickenpox is extremely common and spreads easily among children – resulting in that telltale itchy red rash. So it’s no surprise that many parents at some point find themselves asking: can I go to work if my child has chickenpox? What do parents need to know? We talked to healthcare professionals to find out. Can I go to work if my child has chickenpox? General NHS advice is anyone with chickenpox should stay off school or work until no longer contagious (when the spots have all scabbed over). But if it’s only your child who has chickenpox and not you, what then? “Parents can go to work if their child has chickenpox, as long as their child has appropriate care in place,” says Dr Zulqarnain Shah, medical director at SSP Health and GP at SSP Health practice Colne Road Surgery. “Chickenpox is a highly contagious viral infection that can spread easily to others who have not had the illness or been vaccinated against it. Isolating a contact [eg. the parent of an infected child] is not necessary with chickenpox, as it is so common.” However, there may be times when extra caution is sensible. Most of the time, chickenpox is unpleasant but not serious – but it can cause complications in certain cases, such as for newborn babies, and people who are pregnant or have a weakened immune system. So if you are unsure whether you might have contracted the virus from your child and there is a chance of spreading it to somebody potentially vulnerable, it might be a good idea to seek advice. How long does chickenpox usually last? “Chickenpox typically lasts for two weeks,” says Dr Yiannis Ioannou, consultant paediatrician at The Portland Hospital (part of HCA Healthcare UK). “During the first few days of infection, new spots can appear all over the body. However, these should dry up after around five to 10 days. Scabs will form and eventually fall off. You may notice new spots appearing as older ones are healing. This is normal and nothing to worry about, as it can take around two weeks for all spots to dry up. “Unfortunately, it can be spread very easily. Someone infected with chickenpox can spread the disease to others two days before spots appear. Chickenpox can also be passed on through pregnancy. This can pose a threat to your unborn child,” Ioannou adds. “If you begin to suffer from any symptoms related to chickenpox [while pregnant], consult with your doctor as soon as possible.” Shah also suggests checking in with your GP if you are pregnant and your child gets chickenpox, but you’ve never had it before. How do you treat chickenpox? Chickenpox should clear up on its own eventually, so treatment is mostly about easing symptoms and preventing complications. Shah says: “Parents can give their child paracetamol to help reduce fever and relieve pain. Ibuprofen is not recommended, as it can cause a reactive rash. It is also important to keep the skin clean and dry to prevent infection of the blisters. Avoid using aspirin as it may increase the risk of Reye’s syndrome, a rare but serious illness that can occur in children with chickenpox.” Chickenpox can be very itchy. Ioannou says applying calamine can help. “You can often buy this over the counter at your local pharmacy. Dab the lotion directly onto the spots to provide relief.” Keeping babies’ and toddlers’ nails trimmed and clean is also helpful, plus gloves and mittens can help prevent scratching. Are there times when chickenpox requires medical advice for children? Shah suggests chickenpox in children is usually mild. “However, there are certain signs that may indicate a need to speak to a doctor and get additional advice,” he adds. “These include a high fever that lasts more than four days, severe coughing or trouble breathing, severe skin rash, or if the child seems very sick or weak. Parents should also seek medical attention if their child has a weakened immune system.” Ioannou says it’s important to be mindful of dehydration in babies and younger tots too. He adds: “If you are worried about your baby or child it is always important to seek medical advice.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live What is mitochondrial donation treatment and who can get it? Pensioner, 85, shares the simple switch that’s helped him to do 650,000 press-ups Angelina Jolie shares tribute to late mum and urges women with family cancer history to get checked

The film follows a fertility doctor who begins her beloved daughter Mia’s seventh birthday expecting nothing amiss

Disney's stewardship of the Muppets yields a pretty flat set with "The Muppets Mayhem," which milks the idea of the Electric Mayhem Band recording their first studio album for more than it's worth. A horde of celebrity cameos provide occasional pop along the way, but beyond Muppets completists the 10-episode series provides a little too much reason to sound like Statler and Waldorf.

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The Spanish language crime series is set to premiere in May

Space is full of mysteries which we will never likely solve but, generally, we at least know a thing or two about craft we send out into the cosmos. Not so, when it comes to one probe which has just touched back down on Earth after 276 days in orbit. The experimental spacecraft was launched by China’s space agency, ostensibly to test the nation’s reusable space technologies. According to state media agency Xinhua News, the mission’s aim was to help with the development of “more convenient and affordable round-trip methods for the peaceful use of space in the future”. Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter That all sounds pretty similar to what SpaceX and NASA are up to, except that the Chinese spacecraft and its journey have been shrouded in secrecy. No information has been released on the altitude it reached or the systems it tested. We don’t even know where it went or, indeed, what kind of spacecraft it was – not a single image has been released to the public. Commentators on Chinese social media have speculated that Beijing has been developing a spacecraft like the UAir Force's X-37B, an autonomous spaceplane that can remain in orbit for years. However, no one knows how well this is going nor, indeed, if it’s going at all. All we do know about China’s latest unidentified flying object is that it was launched from the Jiquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert on August 5, 2022 and returned to the same site on 8 May, 2023. It follows an earlier mission, carried out in July last year, which saw a Chinese spacecraft fly to the edge of the Earth’s atmosphere and back on the same day. The country’s main space contractor, China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp (CASC), hailed the success of the craft’s brief celestial jaunt at the time. It gushed: "The development of reusable space transportation technology is an important symbol of China's transition from a 'big' space-faring nation to a 'powerful' space-faring one.” Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Oprah Winfrey’s latest book project is one she helped write

The late, great American writer Henry Charles Bukowski, Jr. was once called the “human embodiment of a raised middle finger”—an analogy that Bukowski would probably have welcomed, or possibly even written about himself. Here's what you should know.

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