Symptoms often develop 14 to 16 days (range: 10 to 21 days) following contact with someone who has chickenpox or herpes zoster (shingles). At home, it is typically not essential to prevent contact with other children because chickenpox is contagious even before the rash shows and they have already been exposed. People who have had chickenpox are usually immune to the disease. So, if you had chickenpox as a child, you are unlikely to acquire it again as an adult.