How to treat chickenpox in children?

Chickenpox (in a life - a chicken pox) is caused by a virus of herpesIII type (a virus of chicken pox). When the child has had chickenpox, the virus goes into a latent state and disappears into nerve cells. After several decades, the virus can become more active and cause another disease - shingles.

The virus of varicella is transmitted airborne when talking, coughing, sneezing. In the external environment, the virus is very unstable and dies within 10 minutes outside the body. Chickenpox is a very contagious disease, susceptibility to which is one hundred percent. Patients with chickenpox become infectious about a day before the appearance of a characteristic rash and remain five days after the appearance of the last rash.

Symptoms of chickenpox in children

The most characteristic symptom of chickenpox in children is, of course, rash. It is because of the rash that this disease is calledchickenpox, although with the present smallpox, in addition to the rash, chickenpox has nothing in common (and thank God). For many, chickenpox is associated with a rash, and treating chickenpox for them means smearing a rash with a green.

First the rash has the form of red tubercles, similaron the pimples. It can appear on the face, the scalp, limbs, trunk, sometimes even the mucous membrane of the mouth. After a while the rash turns into bubbles with a clear liquid, then they burst, dry up, and in their place appear crusts.

The rash with chickenpox appears "waves" (the so-called polymorphic character of the rashes), a poet on the child's body can simultaneously have both tubercles, and vesicles and crusts. The rash causes severe itching.

Rashes may be accompanied by fever(the temperature rises to 38-39 degrees), lethargy, loss of appetite. If the child combs the rash, the wound can get pathogens, and chickenpox will be added secondary cutaneous infection.

Chickenpox gives persistent immunity - you can only be ill once in your life. For the prevention of chickenpox, you can get vaccinated, but the vaccine gives immunity for only a few years, then the vaccine will need to be repeated.

How to treat chickenpox?

Effective drugs that allow you to "overcome" the herpes virus, does not exist, so, in fact, treating chickenpox means alleviate symptoms disease and wait until the body itself cope with the disease.

First of all, you need to "figure it out" with a rash. The rash causes severe itching, and the baby begins to itch. When combing, the wound appears, in which the infection can get. And when combing the crusts on the skin can remain for life a trace. Therefore, parents need to think not about how to treat chickenpox, but about how, how to relieve itching and prevent the baby from combing the rash.

To combat itching and to protect against bacteria eruptions a couple of times a day smeared with antiseptics. The most common remedy is green(brilliant green solution), but solutions of other antiseptics - rivanol, methylene blue, fucocine, manganese, can also be used. If the rash appeared on the mucous membrane of the mouth, you should regularly rinse your mouth with a weak solution of miramistin or furacilin. Rash in any case can not be soaked!

It is necessary to watch, that at the child always wereshort-cropped and clean nails - then less likely that he will infect the wound. If the child is very small, it is better to put on cotton mittens. Underwear and bed linen should be soft, from natural fabrics. Change it should be every day.

In order to knock off heat, it is possible to give antipyretics based onparacetamol. The main thing is to keep the dosage correctly. If the itching is very severe, the doctor may prescribe antihistamines. If the vesicles start to fester when a secondary skin infection is attached, antibiotics are prescribed. With a weakening of immunity and a severe course of the disease, an immunoglobulin is prescribed - it helps the body produce antibodies and shortens the course of the disease.

It is important not only to treat chickenpox with medicines, but also follow the child's diet. At the time of illness you need to exclude from the dietsharp, spicy, salty dishes, smoked meat, fatty meat, potential allergens. It is better to give milk soups and cereals, steamed meat, fish. You need to give fresh fruit, berries and vegetables and juices from them. But acidic fruit to the child is contraindicated - they irritate the mucous membrane.

Very important provide a sick child with a plentiful drink - diluted water with fruit juices (only not sour), fruit drinks, herbal teas and decoctions. It is possible (and necessary) to give the child vitamins to strengthen the body.

If your child has chickenpox, do not panic. If properly treated with chickenpox, it will go without complications, and in childhood, the disease is much easier than in adulthood.