How to Care for a Child with Chickenpox

By Jane Farrell

The American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) offers tips and strategies for caring for children with chickenpox:

Chickenpox is a highly contagious disease caused by a virus. Although the incidence of chickenpox has declined significantly since the development of the chickenpox vaccine, there are still children who develop chickenpox every year, say dermatologists from the AAD. Fortunately, there is a lot parents can do at home to help ease their children’s symptoms.

“The best way to prevent chickenpox is to get the vaccine,” said board-certified pediatric dermatologist Sheila Fallon Friedlander, MD, FAAD, a professor of pediatrics and dermatology at the University of California San Diego, in an AAD news release. “However, if your child still gets chickenpox, there are many ways to relieve his or her symptoms and prevent skin infections.”

According to Friedlander, the most common symptom of chickenpox is a rash that turns into itchy, fluid-filled blisters and then scabs. The rash usually shows up on the face, chest and back first and then spreads to the rest of the body.

Other signs and symptoms of chickenpox may include fever; tiredness; loss of appetite; and headache.

To help care for children with chickenpox, Friedlander recommends the following tips:

1. Keep your child at home. Since chickenpox is contagious, keep your child at home or limit his or her exposure to other people until all of their chickenpox blisters have formed scabs and no new blisters develop. It usually takes about a week for the blisters to become scabs.
2. Use colloidal oatmeal baths. Available at your local drugstore, colloidal oatmeal will help relieve some of the itch. Add the oatmeal under the faucet while the tub is filling with lukewarm – not hot – water.
3. After bathing, apply a topical ointment, such as calamine lotion, petroleum jelly or another fragrance-free, anti-itch lotion that contains pramoxine. Avoid over-the-counter topical antibiotics as they may cause an allergic reaction.
4. Relieve fever. Ask your child’s doctor about using nonaspirin medications, such as acetaminophen or ibuprofen. Do not use aspirin or products that contain aspirin with chickenpox. The use of aspirin in children with chickenpox has been associated with Reyes syndrome – a severe disease that affects the liver and brain and can cause death.
5. Relieve itchiness. Consider giving your child an over-the-counter oral antihistamine for children. Always follow the directions on the label, and use the correct dose.
6. Keep your child’s fingernails trimmed short. This will help prevent skin infections caused by scratching the blisters. For young children, put socks or mittens over their hands to prevent scratching. To limit scarring, make sure your child does not pick at his or her chickenpox.

“For most healthy children, chickenpox clears on its own without treatment,” Friedlander said. “However, see a pediatrician or board-certified dermatologist if you have a newborn with chickenpox; if your child has a weakened immune system or has trouble breathing, or if any of the blisters become infected.”

Headquartered in Schaumburg, Ill., the American Academy of Dermatology, founded in 1938, is the largest, most influential, and most representative of all dermatologic associations. With a membership of more than 19,000 physicians worldwide, the AAD is committed to advancing the diagnosis and medical, surgical and cosmetic treatment of the skin, hair and nails; advocating high standards in clinical practice, education, and research in dermatology; and supporting and enhancing patient care for a lifetime of healthier skin, hair and nails. For more information, contact the AAD at 1-888-462-DERM (3376) or visit www.aad.org.