Baaaad chicken pox - help with itch?

AndreaNZ · #1 09/21/04, 02:56 PM

Hi, all... 12-yr-old DS has bas case of chicken pox, and is head-to-tow in beautiful red spots... and I mean head-to-toe and every place in between, if you get my meaning

. Is there something safe (ie natural, herbal, etc) that he can use to help relieve the itching? Will be going to the pharmcay when it opens, but that's not for a while here in rural NZ.

Thanks

Andrea
NZ

Landlocked Lill · #2 09/21/04, 03:08 PM

Make a warm bath with oatmeal and milk in it and let the poor guy soak.

uyk7 · #3 09/21/04, 04:15 PM

With four kids getting it over a four week time: Aveeno soap and Aveeno lotion.

Ravenlost · #4 09/21/04, 04:28 PM

Yup, what they said...Aveeno or oatmeal baths.

limhyl · #5 09/21/04, 04:39 PM

Try putting the oatmeal in the blender first so it's not quite flour consistency. Theresa.

Jena · #6 09/21/04, 06:53 PM

At the FIRST signs of any cough, get that kid to a hospital! Kids usually don't have problems with chicken pox, but adults do. At 12, it's hard to say if the child is still a child or not (has puberty struck?).

In a bad case of chicken pox, they can get in the lungs and cause viral pnuemonmia. Since antibiotics are ineffective on virus', the only treatment is respiratory therapy, etc.

I told this to a friend who had them (she was coughing on the phone while talking to me). She reluctantly agreed to go to the doctor and they admitted her immediately and kept her for over a week.

Just thought I'd mention it, just in case.

Jena

Maura · #7 09/21/04, 07:41 PM

baking soda

Ti tree essential oil (anti viral)

Lavender essential oil

AndreaNZ · #8 09/21/04, 10:09 PM

Hi, all -- thank you for all the advice! DS is in the throes of puberty, so it's hard to say which way this will go. We ended up being sent by our GP to the Pediatric Acute Assessment ward yesterday afternoon, and they just said it was a very bad case of chicken pox, and to watch for any cough and septicimia (SP?) at the site of any (thousands - grrr!!!) of the lesions.

So far, he's just tired, mildly feverish and miserably itchy, especially you-know-where.

So far, here's what we've tried, what's worked and what hasn't.

Baking soda in a cool (body temp) bath. Works only whiles he's in it (only so long he's willing to be prunelike in the tub).

Calamine directly on the itchies. Doesn't work.

Prescription antihistamine. Worked for about 4 hours after taking it, despite it being meant to last 24 hours.

Baking soda, dry and paste, applied directly. Worked till it flakes off, which is pretty much immediately.

Wash cloth, dampened and placed in the freezer and then placed directly on the worst areas. That is working very well, and we've been keeping one in the freezer and one on at all times, because he's finally stopped twitching in pain from the itch.

Maura -- how does one use the Tea Tree oil? How dilute? Applied directly? I mean, this kid has probably tens of thousands of chicken pox spots....

Thanks again!

Andrea
NZ

westbrook · #9 09/22/04, 04:00 AM

I was told "Do NOt Bathe the child! bathing causes the scabs to soften and come off...ie: scars!" I know this is contrary to what we have always been told.

I gave my sons benadryl so they slept through it. It isn't perfect but it really does help. Tylonal PM in between the benadryl.

ginnie5 · #10 09/22/04, 08:53 AM

keeping the scabs soft helps prevent the scars. Least that's what I've always heard. There are some homeopathic remedies but I can't remember what exactly they are. I have 2 that haven't had CP yet. Wish somebody around here would come down with it!

Jan Doling · #11 09/22/04, 09:32 AM

My little darlings gave it to me when I was 45...which is what I get for having kids so late in life. There is only so much you can do, but the good news is: This too shall pass. Put socks on his hands if you have to. My oldest has a few facial scars from scratching the scabs (she was only 4 then).

dla · #12 09/22/04, 10:32 AM

Benadry cream and caladryl cream are FANTASTIC. Medicated, dry up spots - good for poison ivy as well. (I'd use the benadryl cream in the nether regions; it works well even if you have to rub it in ..around.. the area, if not directly on)
Deal with dry crusty spots with vitamin E oil - I swear by this stuff and it actually nourishes the skin - which needs Vitamin E to heal - while keeping the crusty scabs from being itchy.
(This is why in Biblical times people would "annoint" wounds with oil, it keeps out air (no oxygen 4 bacteria) and feeds the skin)
Good luck - I had all four with it at once at my house!

havellostmywings · #13 09/22/04, 11:05 AM

my son did not get chicken pox until he was 12 also... he was stubborn, i exposed him repeatedly when he was young..

again.. oatmeal baths.. i gave him benadryl and triaminic... he slept thru most of the itching..

thats what helped him..

Lynn in Texas

BamaSuzy · #14 09/22/04, 01:57 PM

Aren't there vaccines against chicken pox now???? My kids had it years ago (they're all adults now) with all three having it in a three week period.....glad I don't have to live through those days again but sure do miss them!

Jan Doling · #15 09/22/04, 02:17 PM

BamaSuzy:
The vacine was rather new then and the pediatrician wouldn't give it because he said it wasn't proven how long it would last & he preferred they catch the pox and be immune for life. Unfortunately, I caught it, too, and was calling him every name I could think of! The baby had it first and survived without a mark as I was still well and took care of her. The older girl and I had it at the same time, so I could not do much for her. I think a vaccine every 10 years would be preferable.

MARY OKREY · #16 09/22/04, 03:44 PM

My daughter had chicken pox in kindergarten and I got them after her, at age 30. I did the oatmeal baths and Benadryl but what helped me the most was to stay very cool. I locked myself in my bedroom, stripped off my clothes and tried to sleep through it. There was not a spot on my body you could touch without touching a chicken pox. When I put on clothes I wore 100 % cotton, I turned the air cond up high and ran the ceiling fan. I thought I was going to die. I was only completely miserable for about 4 days. I was exposed to poxs several different times growing up but never got them. All my friends had them. I hope your son has relief soon.

kitty32_z8 · #17 09/22/04, 03:51 PM

Well bad news. Even wtih the vaccination, you CAN still get them

. Sad but true. You can even get them after you have had them if the first batch was mild. My hubby got them after having them as a child. All of us have had the immunization, but we ALL got them. They also now recommend a shot after 16, saying the shot wears off.
:waa:

homebirtha · #18 09/22/04, 10:21 PM

Oatmeal is great. The best way to use it: Tie a bunch into a pair of panty hose and put in the tub. It doesn't get in your drain, and it works great if you get it good and soaked and squeeze it all over the itchiest places.

Homeopathic Rhus Tox is REALLY good for most cases of chicken pox. Shortens the duraction and diminishes itchiness and number of pox.

Keep telling yourself, this will pass. And he now has REAL immunity.

AndreaNZ · #19 09/23/04, 02:28 AM

Wish I'd thought to look for homeopathic remedies when the spots first started, but this is already day 5, and they are mostly crusted over and starting to heal, albeit slowly. My son says they sting when they first start to crust over, and he has literally thousands of them. I've never seen such a horrible case of chicken pox on a child before.

I'm headed into town tomorrow, and the first stop is the herbal dispensary (where they have medical herbalists on staff), and hope they at least have some burdock root in stock.

Thanks again, everyone!

Andrea
NZ