What Is Chickenpox, What Are The Symptoms, And How Is It Treated?
Dr. Lisa Owens answers the question: 'What is Chickenpox?'
Dec. 23, 2008 -- Question: What is chickenpox, What are the symptoms, and how is it treated?
Answer: Chickenpox is a highly contagious infection that typically affects children between the ages of five and 12 years of age. Chickenpox usually develops 14 to 16 days after exposure to another person with chickenpox.
Initially a child will develop fever, fatigue, or decreased appetite and then a few days later will develop a red pimply, itchy rash that generally is not painful. Chickenpox can usually be managed with remedies that you have in your medicine closet or remedies that can be purchased at your local pharmacies such as cool baths with baking soda [and] Benadryl, to relieve the itching. And we also recommend trimming children's nails because of the scratching.
On rare occasions we will treat adults or adolescents with an anti-viral called Acyclovir, because they're at higher risk of developing complications. However, healthy children with chickenpox usually do not require any further treatment than what you can find in your own medicine cabinet.
