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All about Chicken Pox |
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by tinker79  (September 2006) (rank 243rd) |
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To keep your child with the chickpox as comfortable as possible here is a few guidelines that helped me.
- Supply pain relief - such as Children's Tylenol. Never give a child with chickenpox asprin as it has been linked with Reye's syndrome, a potentially life threatening complication.
- Dress your child lightly- cotton is the best choice as it is less irriatating to the skin and also it's breathable material.
- Supply cooling relief- a cool bath will help lower the child's temperature and also cool the itchy spots. If there is only one or two that's particularly itchy you could also use a cool, clean facecloth..
- Itch relieving bath - with colloidal oatmeal or baking soda also works well 1/2 a cup of baking soda to a shallow bath, and a full cup for a deep bath. Spread the bath water all over the affected areas. I would let my kids soak in the tub for as long as they wanted to. Usually about 15-20 minutes.
- Keep your child fresh and clean - shower and shampoo helps keep the sores clean and prevent infection.
- Control the scratching- if they need to scratch do so with a cool facecloth. Clip their nails short as soon as the chickenpox hit. Scratching with sharp nails leads to infection that also can lead to scarring. If you have younger children let them wear clean mitts or gloves to bed or during the day to help them from stop scratching.
- Use calamine lotion- it also helps with the itching. You just want to put this on the pox itself.
- Also keep your kids out of the sun - I was told this by my doctor that if they become sunburned during incubation period of chicken pox that they will have a worse case of it. Once chickenpox is over the skin remains more vulnerable to sunburn for about a year. Apply sunscreen of SPF of 15 or higher.
- Also be on the look out for signs of infection. -Redness around them or the sight of puss. You can use Neosporin or Polysporin on them, but if there is more than a few sores infected see your doctor or pediatrician.
Hope these suggestions help and also inform you about chickenpox!
