Chicken Pox

Overview

Chicken pox, also called varicella (after the varicella-zoster virus), is a mild and common childhood illness that most children catch at some point – it is highly contagious.

It causes a rash of red, itchy spots that turn into fluid-filled blisters. They then crust over to form scabs, which eventually drop off.

Some children have only a few spots, but in others they can cover the entire body. The spots are most likely to appear on the face, ears and scalp, under the arms, on the chest and belly and on the arms and legs.

It is spread quickly and easily through the coughs and sneezes of someone who is infected and is most common in children under 10. In fact, chickenpox is so common in childhood that 90% of adults are immune to the condition because they’ve had it before.

Children usually catch chickenpox in winter and spring, particularly between March and May. Chickenpox is at its most infectious the day before the rash breaks out, before you may even be aware that your child has it.

Symptoms

The most commonly recognized chickenpox symptom is a red rash that can cover the entire body.

However, even before the rash appears, you or your child may have some mild flu-like symptoms including:

feeling sick
a high temperature (fever) of 38ºC (100.4ºF) or over
aching, painful muscles
headache
generally feeling unwell
loss of appetite

These flu-like symptoms, especially the fever, tend to be worse in adults than in children.

Chickenpox Spots

Soon after the flu-like symptoms, an itchy rash appears. Some children and adults may only have a few spots, but others are covered from head to toe.

The spots normally appear in clusters and tend to be:

behind the ears
on the face
over the scalp
under the arms
on the chest and belly
on the arms and legs

But the spots can be anywhere on the body, even inside the ears and mouth, on the palms of the hands, soles of the feet and inside the nappy area.

Although the rash starts as small, itchy red spots, after about 12-14 hours the spots develop a blister on top and become intensely itchy.

After a day or two, the fluid in the blisters gets cloudy and they begin to dry out and crust over.

After one to two weeks, the crusting skin will fall off naturally.

New spots can keep appearing in waves for three to five days after the rash begins. Therefore different clusters of spots may be at different stages of blistering or drying out.

Unusual Symptoms

Most healthy children (and adults) recover from chickenpox with no lasting ill-effects simply by resting, just as with a cold or flu.

But some children and adults are unlucky and have a more severe bout than usual.

Contact your licensed health practitioner straight away if you or your child develop any abnormal symptoms, for example:

if the skin surrounding the blisters becomes red and painful
if you or your child start to get pain in the chest or have difficulty breathing

To prevent spreading the infection, keep children off nursery or school until all the spots have crusted over.

Chickenpox is most infectious from one to two days before the rash starts, until all the blisters have crusted over (usually five to six days after the start of the rash).

If your child has chickenpox, try to keep them away from public areas to avoid contact with people who have not had it, especially people who are at risk of serious problems, such as new-born babies, pregnant women and anyone with a weakened immune system.

Complications of Chicken Pox

Complications of chickenpox are rare in healthy children. The most common complication is where the blisters become infected with bacteria.

A sign that the blisters have become infected is when the surrounding skin becomes red and sore.

If you think that your child’s blisters have become infected, contact your licensed practitioner.

The people who are most at risk of developing chickenpox complications are:

adults
pregnant women
babies under four weeks old
people with a weakened immune system

Adults

Chickenpox can be more serious in adults than in children. Approximately 5-14% of adults with chickenpox develop lung problems, such as pneumonia. If you smoke, your risk of developing lung problems is much greater.

Although it is more serious in adults, most people will still make a full recovery from the chickenpox virus.

Pregnant Women

If you’re pregnant, chickenpox can occasionally cause complications.

For example, your risk of developing pneumonia is slightly higher if you’re pregnant, especially if you smoke. The further you are into your pregnancy, the more serious the risk of pneumonia tends to be.

If you get chickenpox while you’re pregnant, there is also a small but significant risk to your unborn baby.

If you are infected with chickenpox during the first 20 weeks of your pregnancy, there is a risk that your unborn baby could develop a condition known as foetal varicella syndrome.

This syndrome is rare. The risk of it occurring in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy is less than 1%. Between 13 and 20 weeks, the risk is 2%.

Foetal varicella syndrome can cause serious complications, including:

scarring
eye defects, such as cataracts
shortened limbs
brain damage

There have been reports of damage to the unborn baby from foetal varicella syndrome when a pregnant woman catches chickenpox after week 20. But the risk at this late stage in pregnancy is thought to be much less than 1%.

However, there are other risks from catching chickenpox after week 20 of pregnancy.

It is possible that your baby may be born prematurely (before week 37 of the pregnancy).

And if you are infected with chickenpox seven days before or seven days after giving birth, your new-born baby may develop a more serious type of chickenpox. In a few severe cases, this type of chickenpox can be fatal.

See your licensed health practitioner urgently if you’re pregnant or have given birth in the last seven days and you think you may have chickenpox, or if you’ve been exposed to someone who has chickenpox.

People with a Weakened Immune System

Your immune system is your body’s way of defending itself against disease, bacteria and viruses.

If your immune system is weak or does not work properly, you are more susceptible to developing infections such as chickenpox. This is because your body produces fewer antibodies to fight off the infection.

If you have a weakened immune system, you’re also more at risk of developing complications from chickenpox. These complications include:

pneumonia
septicaemia (blood poisoning)
meningitis

See your licensed health practitioner urgently if you have a weakened immune system and you’ve been exposed to the chickenpox virus.

Causes

Chickenpox is caused by the varicella-zoster virus. You catch it by coming into contact with someone who is infected with the virus.

It’s a very contagious infection. About 90% of people who have not previously had chickenpox will become infected when they come into contact with the virus.

The chickenpox virus is spread in the same ways as colds as flu. It’s contained in the millions of tiny droplets that come out of the nose and mouth when an infected person sneezes or coughs. You can then become infected with the virus by breathing in these droplets from the air.

You can also become infected by handling a surface or object that these droplets have landed on, then transferring the virus to yourself by touching your face.

It takes seven to 21 days for the symptoms of chickenpox to show after you have come into contact with the virus. This is called the ‘incubation period’.

Someone with chickenpox is most infectious from one to two days before the rash appears until all the blisters have crusted over. This usually takes five to six days from the start of the rash.

Shingles

If you have not had chickenpox before, you can also catch chickenpox from someone with shingles (an infection caused by the same virus). However, it’s not possible to catch shingles from someone who has chickenpox.

Read Find A Cure – Shingles.

Do

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Diet

Eat an organic, whole foods diet that emphasizes fresh fruits and vegetables and minimizes carbohydrates (avoiding refined carbohydrates and sugars altogether).

Supplements:

At the first sign of outbreak, apply zinc oxide along the path of the affected nerve area two to three times daily. Other helpful nutrients include L-lysine, vitamin B-complex, vitamin B12, BHT, calcium, and high doses of vitamin C plus bioflavonoids. Topical application of vitamin E can also be helpful. Snake vaccine made from venom has also been known to take away the pain of varicella-zoster. Conult a licensed health care practitioner in the case of children.

Prescription and non-prescription medication:

What non-prescription and prescription drugs are you taking? Your non-prescription and prescription are partially the reason that you have this illness or disease – you need to get off these medications but do so only under the guidance of a licensed health care practitioner.

Mind

We know that when the body is out of balance, energy doesn’t flow, leading blockages and eventually disease. Here are some things you can do to combat stress and restore balance:

Go to a Dr Morter BEST (Bio-Energetic Synchronisation Technique) Practitioner.

Stephen Lewis – Find out more by clicking here.

– Find out more by clicking here.

Consider using Mary Millers Iching System Products – ichingsystemsinstruments.com

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