What do I need to know about chicken pox and how to treat it?

Описание: Chicken pox is actually a very common childhood disease, but there have been less cases since more and more children have been getting the vaccination. There is a vaccine available, and it can be given to small children and adults alike, but there have been known cases where children do get chicken pox after they get the vaccine--but the case is usually shorter and more mild. So it's still always worth getting the vaccination.

Now chicken pox usually lasts about 5 days, and it's usually associated with a fever--and the worse the rash, the higher the fever. The rash will go through about five different stages, and the child will normall have a ton of different blisters and sores on their body, going through various different stages at once, because they can continue to get new sores during that 5-day period. They start out with small red bumps, and then they become thin-walled water blisters, then they turn to cloudy blisters, then open sores, then dry brown crusts.

A lot of parents want to know when they can take their children back to school or let them interact with other kids, and it's usually not a problem once all the sores have crusted over and the child doesn't have a fever. A lot of parents want to know "When did my child get this?" and "Where were they exposed?" Actually, the incubation period can be 10-21 days--so your child can be exposed for 2-3 weeks before they actually start to show signs or symptoms.

If you're ever concerned at any point during the course of the chicken pox, it's always best to call the doctor and have the child checked out. But there are a few specific reasons why you'd want to call: if your child has an extremely high fever if your child is just looking and acting very sick, is feeling lethargic, or isn't eating well, or is vomiting and isn't able to keep food or fluids down--those would all be reasons to go to the doctor and to be seen as soon as possible. Also, some kids have chronic infections, like lung problems, heart problems, and you probably want to have them seen because their bodies may not tolerate illness as well as a child who doesn't have preexisting chronic conditions.

Your child is likely to itch a lot when they get chicken pox, but there are a few things you can do at home to help: give your child a lukewarm bath and discourage scratching as much as possible, because that will actually make the sores worse. And you can use different calamine lotions, benadryls, and call your doctor for over-the-counter medications that are safe for your child's age and weight. It would also be best to give your child a soft diet, because their stomachs might be a little bit irritated while they're sick, so yogurt, pudding, those kinds of things that their body doesn't have to work very hard at digesting. And lots and lots of liquids are best.

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