What To Do When Chickenpox Hits Your Home
Every household with children gets it eventually – the dreaded chickenpox. Chickenpox is one of those illnesses that people don’t seem to worry about so much, some even going as far as purposely exposing their children to others who have it, to get it out of the way. For me, I personally wouldn’t intentionally infect my child with chicken pox and cause that discomfort.
Okay, it is most common in young children and is usually mild, but can be very uncomfortable for your child, even more so when adolescents and adults get it as it can make them very sick. So, I do get why some parents would prefer to get it out of the way when children are young.
The problem with chickenpox, and the reason it spreads so easily, is because it is contagious before the rash even comes out. It can spread from 2 days before the rash appears and it often spreads without anyone knowing their child even has the pox yet.
Chickenpox actually begins with a fever, aches and pains, so is hard to diagnose from that. Within 1 or 2 days your child will get a rash which is when chickenpox is then diagnosed. But all that time beforehand, when you just thought your child was under the weather, that’s when they’re infectious.
And chickenpox are the worst when you’re a child. I remember how awful they were when I was a child, and the more someone tells you not to itch them, the more you have to. I still have little scars from where some of my worst ones were.
The eldest 2 of my sons have both had chickenpox too. For 2 weeks, T had the blisters, and the day his started to fade, C came out in them. Luckily they didn’t need to miss any school though as it was during the school holidays. J is yet to have them, although chickenpox does seem to be going around at the moment, my nephews having it only a couple of week ago, but so far he seems to have dodged the dreaded pox.
Chickenpox can be very itchy, however scratching chickenpox spots can be very harmful to the skin. Repeatedly itching the spots can cause broken skin causing even more infections, and like I mentioned above, scarring can occur.
How To Treat The Symptoms
Unfortunately, chickenpox cannot be treated as it is a virus and so antibiotics wont help. What you can do though, is treat the symptoms and help to make the child feel as comfortable as possible until the spots have gone.
Finding products to control the itch is paramount to help sooth the skin and stop infection. Care have a whole range of over 80 remedies for minor ailments, including Care ViraSoothe Cooling Gel and Spray Gel which are ideal to help cool and soothe the unpleasant symptoms like the itching and help to keep any infections at bay.
If you’re child is feeling really achy and in pain, then paracetamol can really help ease that. Although it’s important to note that Ibuprofen should never be given for a child suffering with Chickenpox as that itself can cause serious skin infections.
There are also non-medicinal ways in which you can help sooth the itch and get rid of the virus. Here are a few which we found worked for us:
- Drink plenty of fluid to avoid dehydration
- Put socks on your child’s hands at night to stop scratching
- Use cool wet cloth to keep to itch at bay
- Give baths in cool or lukewarm water every 3 to 4 hours for the first few days.
- Oats in the bath can also dull the itch
- Pat the skin to dry. Do not rub
- Wear lose clothing – anything to keep pressure off the spots
There is really no quick fix for chickenpox, but by keeping their temperature down and combating the itch, the rest is just a case of sleep and a lot of rest until the virus has gone.
3 Comments
Margaret
Great advice – lots of TLC and cuddles really helps
Tee simpson
Virasothe was a godsend when mine got chickenpox. Glad they have all had it now.
Shannon Hart
Never knew that you couldn't give your child ibuprofen when suffering from chickenpox… lucky I didn't give it to my kids! Guess I will switch to paracetamol in the future 🙂 thank you!