BellaOnline Forums Beauty and Self Body Care Chicken Pox!

My daughter was just diagnosed with chicken pox and I was wondering what I could do to help her with the itching, besides Benadryl. I have scars on my face from when I had chicken pox as a child ~ my daughter calls them 'craters' and she's concerned that she'll have craters too. Plus it is so hot ~ between the itchy pox and the sweaty heat, she's absolutely miserable.
Justine

Hi Justine:

How old is your daughter? My kids ages 9 and 10 haven't had Chicken pox yet. Hopefully she is dealing with it okay.

I read that baking soda or oatmeal in a bath is soothing. I have had eczema my whole life and can tell you that the oatmeal does work for stopping itchies and also getting a pair of cotton gloves - Walgreens has them (I picked up a pair today). Wearing a pair to sleep in will keep from scratching.

Here are two sites with some tips - one states elderberry juice helps with the fever:

http://www.tipsofallsorts.com/chickenpox.html#relief

http://www.chclibrary.org/micromed/00042360.html

Good luck

Try hydrocortisone cream or calamine lotion for the itching. Benadryl will help calm her down and keep her from scratching too much. Aveeno makes a line of oatmeal-based bath products you can get at any drug store or Wal-mart. Several baths a day will help.

Hi Bonnie,

Thanks for all the great advice ~ and the links! My daughter is 11 and so far she's handling it in her usual manner ~ one minute she's miserable, the next she's trying to impress me with her rendition of Napoleon Dynamite's dance routine, then she's miserable again.

So far she's only complained that her bottom itches ~ her bottom seems to be getting the full force of the pox and we haven't yet decided if this is a good thing <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Thanks again,

Justine

Hi Deborah,

We're using the Benadryl caplets sparingly. It knocks her right out. She has been taking lots of showers which seem to relieve some of the itching. I think I'll put some kind of oatmeal remedy together for her and see how that works.

Thanks!

Justine

Hi Justine:

Glad the information helped out. I also take Benadryl at night - in Rx form to knock me out and it really does the trick. You need to make sure you take it early to give you plenty of hours of sleep. On my itchy days I take one at 8 pm.

I saw on television today something called a cooling spray for itches...I think it was more geared towards pooison ivy...but Im sure it would work just fine for popx as well.
I think it is made by cortaid.
As a kid I remember sitting in a cold tub when I had my pox.

I had a horrible case of chicken pox at about the same age, and my face was a solid mass of pox with almost none on the rest of my body. One day, I counted 80 pox on my face. I made my mother cover up all the mirrors after that. However, I only would up with one perfectly circular scar just to the left of my left eye and that's it.

Whether your daughter scars or not is going to depend a lot on her genetics and if she picks at them.

My son and my youngest daughter got chicken pox twice.

When I had chicken pox, I remember my mother making me take an oatmeal bath...I think she threw oatmeal into the tub and I sat there for a while. It's supposed to alleviate the itching and scaring. I have no idea how <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />