Chicken Pox: What To Do If Your Child Gets Sick

Chicken pox, or varicella zoster, is a common infection for children. While you as a parent may even remember having chicken pox as a kid, you still might be at a loss as to what to do in order to relieve your child's symptoms. You also need to know how to recognize when a typically non-threatening illness starts to progress into more serious complications. 

Symptoms

The initial symptoms are just like those of the common cold; a runny nose, cough, and sneezing are common. After a day or two, spots will begin to appear. There is no particular place where spots will or will not appear. Some people might have spots only on the tummy, while others might have them over the whole body. Spots can also appear on the legs, arms, face, and genitals. The spots will blister and crust over, eventually scabbing, but new spots will continue to appear. As the virus runs its course, new spots will stop appearing and the old spots will scab. Only at this point is your child no longer contagious. 

The spots can cause scarring if they are scratched or infected. It is best to keep your child from scratching as much as possible, as infected spots will result in high fevers that will need antibiotic treatment. 

Complications

Usually, there are no serious complications from chicken pox, only discomfort and boredom from not being able to leave the house. However, people with weakened immune systems, including infants, can have more serious cases that lead to:

• Group A streptococcal infections that begin on the skin and spread to other soft tissues. 
• pneumonia.
• brain inflammation
• sepsis
• severe dehydration. 

These complications can lead to death. Call the doctor if your child has a high fever that does not subside, develops a hoarse, hacking cough, or becomes listless or lethargic.

Treatment

Often, the best treatment is prevention. Fewer instances of chicken pox are reported each year because of the varicella vaccine. The vaccine is live, which helps your child to fight the infection if they are exposed to it. Usually, this means your child will not contract chicken pox, but even if they do, they will not be contagious and the case will be very mild. Since the vaccine is only truly effective for protecting the entire population from illness (even adults) if over 90% of children are vaccinated, it's important to consider the vaccine as the first line of defense.

If your child is not vaccinated and does contract the illness, you can encourage your child to drink plenty of water, get a lot of rest, and keep the spots clean. Over-the-counter pain medicines can be used for instances of swelling or discomfort from the spots. For more information, contact a pediatrician, like one at Willow Oak Pediatrics.

Share