Chicken Pox

Chicken pox, the highly infectious disease caused by the varicella-zoster virus, usually starts with skin rashes that develop into itchy blisters. Most commonly found in children below 12 years of age, chicken pox can anyway affect any person of any age. Apart from kids, pregnant women and people with weaker immune system form the high risk group for chicken pox.

Treatment of chickenpox depends upon the age, personal health and the severity of the disease. Healthy children may not require any medical treatment and can get well through home rest only.

Baking soda is one of the to give relief from the itching when suffering from chicken pox. When you apply baking soda on the skin and when it dries out there, you are relieved of the irritation the rashes and blisters cause.

Ways to use baking soda for chickenpox

Take half teaspoon of baking soda and mix it well into a glass of water. Sponge the chicken pox patient with this water. Let it dry on the skin to give relief from itchiness. You can use up to 3 tablespoons of baking soda in a bowl or glass of water.

Take half a cup of baking soda and mix it with warm water prepared for taking bath. Let the patient bathe with this water. You can even have cool bath instead of warm bath.

Honey is the natural antibacterial component which can excellently cure irritation. It is said that the simple natural sugars contained in the honey along with its anti-bacterial properties create this soothing effect.

Apply honey in thin layer all over your skin where there are rashes, blisters or just itching. Leave for some time and then wash away. Repeat this 3-4 times a day.

Neem or Margosa leaves, also known as Indian Lilac. Neem has significant antiviral properties that can combat varicella zoster virus causing chicken pox. It also relieves of itchiness and irritation caused by rashes and blisters.

In fact, neem is a magnificent herb that exhibits immunomodulatory, anti-inflammatory, antihyperglycaemic, antiulcer, antimalarial, antifungal, antibacterial, antiviral, antioxidant, antimutagenic and anticarcinogenic properties. So it makes sense to use neem leaves. However, giving its strong nature, do not directly apply or let your children ingest neem in any form. For adults, neem is safe to be used.

Ways to Use Neem Leaves You should do all the listed things and not one or two of them.

Hang neem fronds all around the bed of the patient.

Use neem fronds as a fan. Fan the patient with neem fronds.

Prepare a paste of neem leaves by crushing them with water. Apply this neem paste onto the skin of the patient. If the patient is a kid, omit this step.

Once the disease is cured and the scabs have dropped off the skin, give the patient neem bath. For this, soak neem leaves in warm water and bathe with this water.

Oatmeal has been used to prepare a bath for patients of chicken pox and it really soothes their skin by relieving them off the itchiness that they get from rashes and blisters.

1st Way to Prepare Oatmeal Bath

Get this:

Oatmeal- 2 cups

Water- 2 liters

Cloth bag- 1

Bath tub filled with warm water

Do this:

Take 2 cups of oatmeal.

Grind this into fine powder.

Add this oatmeal powder to 2 liters of water.

Leave for about 15 minutes.

Now take a cloth bag and fill this with the oatmeal mixed water. Secure it tightly.

Release the bag into the bathtub with warm water and swirl it around till the time your bath water appears milky.

Now soak in this bathwater to get relief from chicken pox generated itchiness.

2nd Way to Prepare Oatmeal Bath For Chickenpox

Get this:

Oatmeal- 2 cups

Bathtub filled with warm water

Do this:

Blend the oatmeal in a blender or a food processor to get a fine powder.

While filling up the bath tub with warm water, swirl around this powder into the water.

Soak into this milky water.

This method will, however, leave certain bits and pieces of oatmeal on to your skin and hair but will relieve you of the itchiness.

Oatmeal Bath with Essential Oils to Cure

While oatmeal bath can itself help you relieve of the itchiness, you can further improve its effectiveness by adding certain antiviral essential oils.

Get this:

Oats- One handful

Roman chamomile oil- 4 drops Lavender oil- 4 drops

Tea tree oil- 2 drops

Naouli Oil- 2 drops

Clove oil- 2 drops

Rosemary oil- 2 drop

Sock - 1

Do this:

Place the oats in the sock.

Pour the oils over it one by one.

Now start filling the bathtub.

Place the sock under the tap where it is releasing water.

As the water flows into the tub, the, it will take the essence of the ingredients packed in the sock.

Now let the patient soak in this water.

Homemade Anti-Itch Cream for Chicken Pox

Certain essential oils have anti-viral and anti-fungal properties. They can also relieve the itching you get from rashes and blisters on your skin when suffering.

Here is one recipe to make an anti-itch oil for getting such relief. It uses a blend of essential oils good for skin.

Get this: Fine sea salt - 1 tsp

Baking soda - 1 tsp

Bentonite clay - 2 tsp

Witch hazel - 1 tbsp

Peppermint oil - 5 drops

Lavender oil - 5 drops

Ravensara oil - 3 drops

Tea tree oil - 2 drops

Naouli Oil - 2 drops

Clove oil - 2 drops

Rosemary oil - 1 drop

Do this:

Blend all the ingredients together.

Dab the required amount on the rashes and blisters to get relief from itching.

Epsom salt, as against its name, is a mineral compound and not a salt. It consists of magnesium and sulfate and can be very useful in relieving itching due to chicken pox. The minerals in Epsom salt also relieves pain and soothes inflammation of skin.

Epsom salt bath

Take 2 cups of Epsom salt.

Fill your bath tub with warm water.

Add Epsom salt to this water. Mix well with your hand until it dissolves completely.

Now soak in this water mixed with Epsom salt for about 15 minutes. You may like to soak for some more time.

Get out of the tub and gently pat dry body with a towel. Be careful not to damage your blistered skin.

Soak every day in Epsom salt water till you are cured.

2nd way to use Epsom salt for chickenpox: Compress

Get this: Epsom salt- 2 cups

Warm water- 1 gallon (a little more than 3.5 liters)

A clean cloth

Do this:

Mix the Epsom salt in warm water.

Now dip the cloth in this water and saturate it.

Take out the cloth and apply on your skin where there are blisters.

Let the cloth cool down.

Repeat as many a times as you want. You’ll be relaxed.

Essential Oils Bath

Thieves oil is a blend of five anti-infectious, anti-viral, anti-bacterial, and anti-septic essential oils. These five oils are cinnamon, clove, lemon, eucalyptus and rosemary oils. When combined with other useful essential oils and Epsom salt, this oil blend does wonders to cure pox. You can use this for an oily Epsom salt bath.

Get this:

Epsom salt - ¼ cup

Thieves oil - 3 drops

Lavender oil - 3 drops

Melaleuca oil - 3 drops

Do this:

Add all the oils to the Epsom salt.

Let this sit for 30 minutes. This will make the salt absorb all the oils so that they do not float over the bath water.

Add the oiled Epsom salt to your bath water.

Soak for 15-20 minutes or more.

Pat dry gently with a clean towel.

Sandalwood oil is anti-bacterial and anti-viral. Not only this, it is anti-inflammatory and natural calming agent. While you can simply rub sandalwood oil on your skin to treat its inflammation and itchiness, here is a recipe that also use turmeric, yet another anti-bacterial herb having anti-inflammatory properties.

Get this:

Turmeric powder- 1 tsp

Do this: Mix turmeric powder with sandalwood oil to make a paste.

Apply this to your skin with itching.

Let it be there for about half an hour.

Wash off with water and gently pat dry. Take care not to damage your blisters.

This is a Thai remedy for treating chicken pox. People in Thailand use jasmine flowers to make tea as well as for a bath to treat chicken pox. These flowers are easily available at any herbal medicine shops as well as herbal tea shops.

Ways to use Jasmine flowers for chicken pox

Drink Jasmine tea 2-4 times a day. You can find this tea in herbal tea shops. Just steep it in hot water and have it.

Make Jasmine bath. Take a handful of jasmine flowers and grind them. Mix ground Jasmine with some rice water. Now add this rice water to lukewarm bath water. Bathe with this water.

Ginger Bath Remedy This is yet another Thai herbal remedy for This relieves you of the itching caused by the disease. Although you can always drink ginger tea by boiling ginger pieces in water, ginger bath is what will get you rid of itching rather instantly.

Get this:

Ginger powder- ¼ to ½ cup (you can also use fresh ginger pieces).

Bath tub filled with warm water.

Do this:

Mix ginger powder or fresh ginger pieces into your warm bath water.

Soak in this water for 20-30 minutes.

Gently pat dry with clean towel without damaging your skin.

Marigold (Calendula) is a flower which is an effective anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory herb.

It is great for reducing swelling and redness of skin.

Lemon balm

Echinacea

St. John’s wort

Ginger

Pau d’arco

Burdock

Holy basil

Marigold

Chamomile

How to make herbal tea?

Choose any of the herbs listed above.

Take 1 tbsp of this herb and add to a cup of boiling water.

Let it steep for 5-10 minutes.

If you so prefer, you can add honey or stevia leaves for natural sweetness.

Strain and drink this tea several times a day.

Studies have found a link between UV levels in the regions and the prevalence of chickenpox there. In tropical countries, there is much lesser incidence throughout the year. On the other hand, temperate zones have high rates of during winter and spring seasons when sun’s ultra violet radiation (UVR) is at its low in these regions. Not only does sun rays kill many viruses, it also provides with the vital vitamin D which boosts immunity.

Vitamin D is also anti-viral in nature.

Expose yourself to sun to treat your infection as soon as you realize that you have caught the virus. However, if you have active lesions on skin, you should not go for sun exposure. This will turn the wounds into scars.

If you have caught the virus but still have not developed the rashes, you may go for sunshine therapy though. Rashes always appear on skin after 2-3 days after you get infected with the virus.

You’ll have to take the clue from other symptoms of the disease. In fact, exposing yourself daily to mild sunshine for some time seems to be the best policy!

Diet Remedies

Your body needs basic nutrients including vitamins and minerals as also enzymes that may boost its immunity. Not only that, these nutrients also cleanse toxic wastes from the cells to treat, So do not take diet lightly and pay proper attention to it.

Have plenty of vegetables and fruits. They provide you with phyto-nutrients required to strengthen your immune system.

Have juices that are rich in vitamin A and C. Carrot juice with coriander leaves and a dash of lemon juice is good for curing.

Add honey to this to make it more nutritious.

Have vegetable broth.

Make smoothies using kale, cabbage, beet, broccoli, cherries, blackberries, elderberries.

And whatever fruits you have.

Avoid sugary and processed foods as well as sodas.

No intake of dairy products.

No intake of meat, breads or any other food that lays stress on your digestive system.

Avoid salt, chillies, butter and spicy food.

Have lots of water and other healthy fluids.

Precautionary Remedies for Chicken Pox

As long as the blisters are there, you’ll get newer ones because it is very tough to avoid scratching due to the urge of itching.

However, you need to heal those blisters so that they soon convert into scabs and fall off your body. For this, take the following precautions.

Don’t scratch, it will cause scars and increase the risk of infection.

Use cool compresses, even ice packs, to ease the discomfort of itching.

Clip your nails, keep them as short as possible so that you do not scratch accidentally.

Take plenty of rest, bed rest. You are a carrier of infection and should not step out of your home to protect your family and friends from chicken pox.

Also you need to do the cleansing of the blood.

Is anything too hard for God to do? Trust God! All things are possible. May God help you.

Compiled by Mrs. Christiana Moore