March, April and May are the months when children are most vulnerable to the childhood illness. And we may see volumes of such cases in March and April just before summer.
What is chickenpox?
Chickenpox is caused by the virus varicella-zoster.
How is it spread?
Chickenpox spreads quickly through the coughs and sneezes of someone who is infected.
What are the symptoms?
Chickenpox often starts with fever, headache, sore throat, or stomachache followed by red, itchy skin rash that usually appears first on the abdomen or back and face, and then spreads to almost everywhere else on the body. The rash is incredibly itchy which can be very distressing for both parent and child. The resulting scratching can lead to secondary infection, sleepless nights and permanent scarring which can be a major concern for parents.
What can be the treatment protocol?
Chickenpox usually isn’t a serious health problem in healthy children. But a child with chickenpox needs to stay home from school. It usually takes about 10 days after the first symptoms before all blisters have crusted over. This is when the person with chickenpox can return to day care, school, or work.
Homeopathic treatment
Variollinum 200 is both prophylactic and curative. This remedy is a nosode and considered specific for chicken pox. The treatment may start with the administration of this remedy. Repetition depends on the individual case.
Other most prescribed remedies are :
Pulsatilla nigrans – Most of the cases gets cured by this remedy. The child is
weepy, clingy, wants to be held and wants to sleep with the parent. The itching is
worse from heat, such as a hot bath or heat of the bed, so they are likely
to uncover, sleep poorly in a warm room, prefer a tepid bath, etc. Despite fever
they may not be very thirsty. There may be some cough, worse on lying down
at night and from the heat of the bed, better with cool air.
Rhus toxicodendron – Tremendous itching and a physical and emotional
restlessness. Bedtime may be hard again, but this time because restlessness
makes the child difficult physically to lie in bed and fall asleep. Itching is worse with cold, and relieved by an extremely hot bath, worse when at rest.
Antimonium tartaricum – The cough alerts the need for this
remedy. The cough may be very moist-sounding and rattly, raising the
concern about bronchitis or pneumonia.
Antimonium crudum – Cough with ill temperament.
Mercurius sol – High fevers, at night, with profuse sweat. Large eruptions with pus-filled blisters and pus-like discharge that may be irritating, with soreness of the
affected skin. Much redness about the eruptions. Narrow range of
temperature comfort – worse with cool and with heat. These kids are
normally pretty sick.
Aconite – Very sudden onset of high fever, most often around 11pm to midnight, with
fear, night-terrors or nightmares, and though apparently awake they don’t respond
as if they were, being inconsolable in their fear. The illness often begins
following exposure to cold wind.
Belladonna – Very hot, dry fever, without thirst, usually of rapid onset, worse in the
mid-afternoon and evening (3pm, fever on waking from the afternoon
nap). Usually prescribed early in the illness, and although the rash has often come out at this point, the rash itself doesn’t seem as significant as the feverish symptoms.
Sulphur – Usually prescribed when the illness has dragged on with slow
recovery, the eruption crusty & weeping after scratching. Patient is worse from warm, uncovering at night.
Supportive care is needed along with Homoeopathic remedies for rapid, gentle cure. Child should be given plenty of fluids and a lukewarm bath with Neem extracts. The child should be dressed in light, loose clothing. Child’s fingernails must be cut to minimise scratching sores and scars.
