Also known as varicella, chickenpox is a virus that often affects children. It is characterized by itchy, red blisters that appear all over the body. Chickenpox was once so common it was considered a childhood rite of passage. It is very rare to have the chickenpox infection more than once.
It is a highly contagious disease caused by the initial infection with varicella zoster virus (vzv). The disease results in a characteristic skin rash that forms small, itchy blisters, which eventually scab over, it usually starts on the chest, back, and face then spreads to the rest of the body, other symptoms may include fever, feeling tired, and headaches. Symptoms usually last five to ten days. Complications may occasionally include pneumonia, inflammation of the brain, or bacterial infections of the skin among others the disease is often more severe in adults than children. symptoms begin ten to twenty-one days after exposure to the virus.
CAUSES
Chicken Pox
The varicella-zoster virus causes the chickenpox infection. Most cases occur through contact with an infected person. The virus may be contagious several days before blisters appear, and it remains contagious until all blisters have crusted over. It is spread through:
Saliva
Coughing
Sneezing
Contact with blisters
SYMPTOMS
A rash is the most common symptom of the chickenpox. However, you will be contagious several days before the rash develops and will experience other symptoms first, such as:
Fever
Headache
Loss of appetite
About two days after you experience the symptoms mentioned above, the rash will begin to develop. The rash goes through three different phases before you recover from the virus. These phases include:
Developing red or pink bumps all over your body
Bumps filled with fluid that leak
Bumps that scab over and begin to heal
The bumps on your body will not all be in the same phase at the same time. New bumps will appear throughout your infection. You are still contagious until all the bumps on your body have scabbed over.
The spots normally appear in clusters and tend to be:
Behind the ears
On the face
Over the scalp
On the chest and belly
On the arms and legs
However, 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, these develop a blister on top and become intensely itchy after about 12-14 hours.
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.
Many cases of chickenpox are diagnosed based on physical exam of blisters on your (or your child’s) body. If a diagnosis can’t be made, lab tests will confirm the cause of the blisters.
HOMOEOPATHIC APPROACH
Homeopathy offers a selection of remedies for the treatment of chicken pox. Homeopathy works by giving a tiny dose of a remedy whose characteristics are similar to those of the person who needs that remedy. The remedy stimulates the individual’s own vital force, or immune system, encouraging the body to heal itself.
Homeopathic medicine relies not only on identifying the symptoms of the disease, but on a variety of personality traits, the person’s mental state and other characteristic symptoms a patient exhibits which correlate to any particular remedy. When choosing a correct remedy for the treatment of chicken pox, all aspects of the patient must be taken into account.