What precaution should be taken for children with varicella?

Children with varicella, commonly known as chickenpox, should be placed under droplet precautions. This is because varicella is highly contagious and can be transmitted through respiratory droplets that are expelled when an infected person coughs or sneezes. The virus spreads through the air and can infect others even before the rash appears, making droplet precautions necessary to minimize the risk of transmission to other individuals, especially those who are immunocompromised or have not had the disease.

In the context of the other options, airborne precautions are generally utilized for diseases that are transmitted through smaller airborne particles that remain suspended in the air for extended periods. While varicella may also require airborne precautions in some settings because of a secondary transmission route, droplet precautions are specific to its most common method of transmission. Contact precautions are more relevant for infections transmitted through direct contact with the patient or contaminated surfaces, while isolation precautions serve as a general measure but do not specify the mode of transmission as effectively as droplet precautions do. Thus, understanding the specific transmission routes associated with varicella highlights why droplet precautions are the appropriate choice.