Chickenpox

Chickenpox is a highly contagious childhood disease that is caused by the varicella-zoster virus, a member of the herpes family. Very few children escape chickenpox infection. It spreads quickly. Coughing and sneezing-even laughing and talking-spread the illness.

A child with developing chickenpox will be contagious for one or two days before any symptoms show. A child who plays with an infected child during this period will almost certainly catch the disease. An infected child is contagious from a few days before symptoms develop until all of the blisters are dry and have formed scabs.

The more intimate and more frequent the exposure to chickenpox, the more severe the case will be. This fact has very important implications, especially if you have more than one child. Children in different stages of the disease should be separated to minimize their exposure to each other. With minimal exposure, the second child to become ill is likely to have a less severe case of chickenpox, with less discomfort.

Chickenpox typically begins with a headache, fatigue, loss of appetite, and fever, much like any other viral illness. A day or two after these early symptoms, a rash of flat, red, splotchy dots erupts, usually beginning on the chest, stomach, and back, and spreading a day or so later to the face and scalp.

The red dots of the rash soon come together to form clusters of tiny pimples, which then progress to small, delicate, clear blisters. Some children develop 3 lesions; some develop 300. Once the rash erupts, expect new crops of blisters over the next three to five days. Scabs, which are the last phase of the pox, form five to six days after the blisters develop. These scabs last for one to two weeks before falling off, exposing tender, freshly healed skin.

Over the course of the disease, the rash shows signs of all the different phases of chickenpox, with some areas that are splotchy and red, some areas of new blisters, areas where sores are crusting over and scabbing, and areas of healing. From eruption through healing, each and every pock is very, very itchy. It is the extreme itchiness of chickenpox that causes the greatest torment.

Chickenpox can be contracted at any age. Because infected adults tend to feel much sicker and more miserable with this disease than youngsters do, it's probably best to have it as a child. Once you have had chickenpox, it is highly unlikely that you will ever suffer through it again.

Supplements and herbs

See age-appropriate dosages of herbal remedies

• Burdock root is high in many valuable trace minerals, and helps to detoxify the body and heal skin lesions. Give your child one dose, twice daily, until he recovers.
• Echinacea and goldenseal help to clear infection, support the immune system, and soothe the skin and mucous membranes. Echinacea is a powerful antiviral. Give your child one dose of an echinacea and goldenseal combination formula, three times a day, for up to ten days or until he recovers.
  Note: Echinacea should not be given on a daily basis for more than ten days at a time, or it may lose its effectiveness.
• If your child is feeling very restless, give him a cup of chamomile tea, twice a day, as needed.
• Red clover, like burdock root, contains many trace minerals. It helps to detoxify the body and aids in healing skin lesions. Give your child one dose, twice daily, until he feels better.

Homeopathy

The remedy can be taken every two to three hours, depending on symptoms. Low potencies are usually best, i.e. 6c or 12c. In all cases, Variolinum can be taken once per day in the 30c. Variolinum (or Varicella) 30c can also be used as a preventive during seasonal epidemics, every third day, or just take Rhus tox 30c, once per day. Calendula tincture, well diluted, is an excellent, non-suppressive external antiseptic and soothing lotion.

• Apis
  Stinging, burning, itching vesicles. Puffed up, tense, pink, glossy skin.
  Puffy eyes or body. Gushing sweats, thirst. Suffocative feeling in chest.
  Fussy, fidgety, jealous child. Irritable, excitable, awkward (a "busy bee").
  Worse: heat (room, bed), touch, afternoon. Better: cold (compress, air).
• Pulsatilla
  Itching rash, vesicles, not better scratching. Crawling, burning, biting.
  Itching returns or worse with heat (getting warm in bed, walking, rubbing).
  Thick yellow discharge from nose, eyes; earache. Crusting after scratching.
  Gentle, timid. Craves attention and sympathy; whining, weepy, cranky.
  Worse: evening, in bed, heat, fat, pork. Better: fresh air, cold compress.
• Rhus tox
  Large vesicles, surrounded by red, inflamed, swollen tissue. Burning, itching, prickling. Gets infected, with pus, even ulcers. Speeds crusting.
  Extremely restless. Feels stiff, aching. Desires milk. Fever and lethargy.
  Worse: night, cold, damp, after rest, washing, initial motion, after scratching (burns). Better: warmth, hot compress, rubbing, stretching.
• Sulphur
  Itching vesicles, burning or bleeding after scratching, form thick yellow crusts. Red lips and ears. Throbbing, burning. Lethargic, hungry, cranky.
  Worse: hot, 11 a.m., standing, bathing. Better: warm compress, open air.

Back To Top