5 Tips on Living with Chicken Pox
Chickenpox is an infectious disease caused by the varicella-zoster virus. While it does occur in adults, most cases are reported to be in children under the age of 15 years. Symptoms can last for ten to fifteen days and can cause a considerable amount of discomfort, however, once the infection has passed, the individual has usually developed a resistance to the virus and does not get affected again.
If you are suffering from chicken pox, you may be wondering if there is a particular lifestyle that could enable you to live a normal and comfortable life. In this review, I am going to give you the top 5 tips on living with chicken pox. In selecting these tips, I focussed mainly on two items that are crucial concerning living with chicken. First, the well-being of the individual living with chicken pox is given the highest consideration, and secondly, the people close to the patient who may contract chicken pox. In a nutshell, you need to:
- Obtain medications and treatment aimed at easing the symptoms
- Minimise your movements to and from places.
- Avoid inappropriate direct contact with the rashes
- Consult your personal physician or doctor frequently.
- Avoid some of your lifestyle activities that may lead to complications.
Obtain Medications and Treatment Aimed at Easing the Symptoms
The immune system of your body combats the varicella virus in persons with chicken pox. While this is happening, you are affected by some symptoms that make you uncomfortable and unable to have a normal life. At this stage, it’s important that you seek out medications that decrease the seriousness and severity of the symptoms. To avoid dehydration, you should drink sufficient amounts of water every day. The symptoms of headaches, pains, aches and fever can be put under control by intake of paracetamol and ibuprofen, but the latter is not recommended for those under 12 years of age. Oatmeal bath and other creams such as calamine lotion have been proven to ease and combat the itching symptom. You should apply them on the rashes so as to reduce the intensity of skin itching. If itching is problematic to you at night, you need to take a dosage of antihistamine tablets that will significantly help you. It is advisable that all medication be taken only after consulting with your doctor.
Minimize your Movements to and from Places
If you have chickenpox and are a student or a working class individual, it’s necessary that you avoid school or workplace during this entire period. This also applies to other patients who in one way or another are required to move between places frequently. By doing this, you will decrease the chances of spreading chicken pox to colleagues and friends that are vulnerable. As you already know, chickenpox is a highly contagious disease. Secondly, the symptoms can be worsened by your movement. Headaches and fever are prone to becoming severe if you are in movement, especially in the scorching sun. But before you limit your movement, ensure that everything is taken care of and is in place such that when chicken pox disappears you can easily resume your normal life with no complications. The body is already weakened by the viral infection and excessive exertion will only serve to prolong the illness and delay full recovery, therefore care should be taken that the patient get sufficient rest during the illness.
Avoid Inappropriate Direct Contact with the Rashes
Rashes happen to be the most common of the symptoms of chicken pox. Once they appear, they may stay on the skin for quite some time as sores but will eventually crust. Before crusting, the rash develops into fluid filled blisters and you are highly tempted to touch them, especially if there is itching. Scratching them or coming into contact with them in an inappropriate way causes the sores to burst and release a fluid. This fluid contains the varicella virus and may spread the chicken pox especially if someone else was involved in relieving your itching. This may also make the rashes take a longer time to heal and crust than they could have if they were not interfered with. Chicken pox continues to be contagious until scabs have formed over all of the blisters, therefore it is paramount to reduce contact with those who have not contacted the disease yet during this stage of the disease.
Consult your Personal Physician or Doctor Frequently
You need to contact and consult your doctor as often as possible especially if the disease is taking on a course that you do not understand. They will help you understand chicken pox better and will come up with recommendations and prescriptions of medications best suited for you. You should at this point know that not all recommended chicken pox treatment medications are suitable for everyone. Your doctor understands your health and condition better than you do and hence is best suited to handle the disease.
Avoid Some of your Lifestyle Activities that May Lead to Complications
People with chicken pox are prone to developing some complications resulting from the disease. The good news is that you can save yourself from some of these complications if you avoid some of the things that bring them. First, you need to keep the rash spots clean and covered to avoid bacterial infection that could cause another illness, but if it has already happened, you need to go for antibiotic medication. Pneumonia and encephalitis, which are inflammation of the lungs and brain respectively, are complications likely to develop although they are rare. Smoking increases the chances of developing pneumonia and therefore you need to avoid it under all circumstances. In case there is the development of complications that you are not sure about, consult your doctor.
Chicken pox in adults can be more severe than when it occurs in children, it is important that adults with the disease are responsible for their own well being and do everything necessary to ensure their recovery and prevent the spread of the disease. The good news is that once you have chicken pox as a child you will not get it again as an adult.
