Chickenpox is a highly contagious disease, predominantly in children, and prone to outbreaks. The cause is due to Varicella-Zoster virus, which affects the skin, mucosa, and nervous system.
Although the course of chickenpox is relatively short, it could leave a serious complication for infants, significantly unsightly scars over the body. Therefore, the discovery and treatment will soon be essential. The following article will teach you how to get rid of chickenpox in children quickly and without scarring.
Children are more likely to have chickenpox than adults
All ages can get chickenpox. The susceptible ages are children aged 6 months to 7 years. Adults are less susceptible to infection because they have more immunity than children. Only about 10% of adults over age 20 have chickenpox.
The disease is usually benign, except in cases of encephalitis. Chickenpox is transmitted by the respiratory tract, caused by viruses in the saliva and the fluid in the blisters of patients that might spread to the surrounding environment.
In most cases, humans can only get chickenpox once, which is called lifelong immunity. However, in rare instances, chickenpox can occur again, especially when it is the first time when they are too young. Possible complications of chickenpox are oral mucositis, laryngitis, pneumonia, and encephalitis, which may compromise the child’s neurological function.
What are the symptoms of chickenpox?
When the virus enters the body, young children usually have a mild fever, anorexia. Meanwhile, adults show high fever, headache, muscle aches, nausea. After that, the body will begin to blister in the head, face, limbs, and body. Vesicles have a few millimeters in diameter. If it is severe, the blisters will be larger, or when infected it will appear cloudy color pus.
The fever will dwindle as the watery blisters become scaly and then discard on their own a few days later. However, these lesions might result in scars if the skin is not taken care correctly. Usually, the disease will be only less than two weeks.
How to get rid of chickenpox from your children
Currently, chickenpox does not have specific medications, only symptomatic treatment, which is to prevent infections. Here is the complete guide for how to get rid of chickenpox at home quickly and without scarring.
1) Body hygiene is the number one priority
A common myth about how to get rid of chickenpox is that it will heal faster if you keep your child away from water. On the contrary, poor hygiene care will increase the risk of infections and scarring. However, you should know how to give your children a washing up in the right way.
- Have your child stay in a cool, clean room
- Bath with cold water or lukewarm water with an antiseptic Do not get the water too hot because it might cause more damage to the immature blisters. You may also add a few drops of lavender oil in the bath for the antimicrobial effects if your child is not allergic to it
- Wear clean and spacious clothing.
- Keep the nails short and hands clean, wear gloves for your children
- Use sterile baby powder to keep the child’s skin dry and clean
Also, it is necessary to protect the skin from sun exposure and to avoid scratching scratches.
2) Have your child rest at home
When your kids have chickenpox, they might be contagious to other kids who have not had chickenpox or have not had the vaccine. Therefore, home care is essential. Also, you should give your child a break to recover faster. Give your child at least five days at home after the first chickenpox develops. You should also know tips to take care of young infants because chickenpox is more common in that age group.
3) Symptomatic treatment for itchiness and fever
- If your child is in serious discomfort, you can use ice cubes on the itchy blisters for 5-10 minutes to bring some relief. Remember to put the ice on a sterile swab instead of applying the cube directly
- When the blisters are broken, apply methylene blue on the lesions. Do not use antibiotic ointment like tetracycline
- When children are sick and have a high fever, acetaminophen may be given. Absolutely do not take aspirin or aspirin-containing medicines for children. When used with these drugs, there is a risk of Reye syndrome (a major metabolic disease involving brain and liver damage leading to death).
4) Other medications
Absolutely obey your doctor’s prescription. Do not take medication or listen to tips that use the wrong medication, leading to severe chickenpox infection and the incurable complications. During the first 24 hours, at the onset of the rash, doctors will prescribe acyclovir antiviral drugs to help shorten the duration and severity of the disease.
5) The best diet for chickenpox
Ensure the hydration of your kid, especially when your child has a fever or feeling fatigued, is very important. Drinking water helps purify the body and cell proliferation. Not only that, this step also helps to rehydrate the skin, thereby reducing the itching sensation and healing the scar due to chickenpox.
- Make sure they drink 1.5 – 2 liter of liquid per day. If your child does not want to drink fresh water, they may drink herbal tea instead.
- Herbal tea helps soothe the oral blisters (if there are any). In addition, herbal tea also helps children to sleep easier while combating itchiness. Honey can be added to enhance the flavor of the tea and increase the speed of recovery for children.
Make sure that your children eat enough healthy foods. Your kids might have difficulty in swallowing because of the lesions in their mouth so soft and digestible food is the best choice for them. You could make them chicken soup with carrot and coriander, the vitamin A in carrot will aid the healing of the skin and coriander is known to have a strong antimicrobial effect.
Ensure the sufficient intake of vitamin C as it is one of the most crucial agents to enhance the immune system and combat the virus, which will help your child get rid of chickenpox in the shortest time. Vitamin C is rich in citrus fruits such as oranges, lemons or tangerines. Other fruits and vegetables like strawberries, cabbage, and broccoli also contain a large amount of vitamin C.
The final words
I hope that guide for how to get rid of chickenpox will be helpful if your children catch chickenpox. However, you should consult a pediatrician thoroughly about using any alternative remedies at home. And remember that you must not deliberately give your child any medication without a prescription.
You should also bring your child to the clinic when the following conditions occur:
- Children high fever many times. With chicken pox, fever in the first few days is normal. But if your child still has a high fever in the later days of the illness, the mother should take her to see the doctor.
- Severe chickenpox rash, redness or burning. Your child may have a bacterial infection and need antibiotics to treat it.
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