Most children contract this childhood disease before age nine.
It is caused by a virus and first manifests itself as a fever and headache, usually starting between seven and twenty-one days after exposure to the virus.
Twenty-four to thirty-six hours later, small round "pimples" appear on the face and body.
They are filled with fluid and look like water blisters. The fluid leaks from the swollen areas of the skin, forming a crust. These eruptions continue in cycles, lasting from three days to one week. The blisters and crusts are infectious and itchy, and scratching them can lead to infection and scarring. Once the scabs are gone, the individual is no longer infectious.

Chickenpox usually runs its course in two weeks, although the infection can be serious in newborns. Adults who contract the infection tend to have more severe cases than children do. One bout with chickenpox generally affords life immunity against the illness.

Second attacks are possible but rare. However, the virus that causes chickenpox Varicella-zoster, is the same virus that causes shingles in adults. This virus can lie dormant for years, then resurect as shingles in adulthood. A person can contract chickenpox (but not shingles) from direct contact with a shingles rash.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Drink freshly made juices with protein powder and brewer's yeast added.
Also drink pure vegetable broth.

When the fever drops and the appetite returns, use a "starter diet" consisting of only mashed bananas, avocados, fresh raw applesauce, and/or yogurt. Do not use cooked or processed foods.

Do not give any cow's milk or formula to a feverish infant.
Instead, use pure, freshly made juices that have been diluted with a combination of 4 ounces of steam-distilled water and 100 to 1,000 milligrams of vitamin C for each 4 ounces of juice.
Infants who are six months old or older can have almond milk, available in health food stores. Give a sick infant lots of water to prevent dehydration.

Take care not to scratch the pocks.
Keep a child's nails short and clean, and bathe the child often. Put mittens on a young child's hands if necessary. Use hot baths made with tea prepared with the recommended herbs, or ginger baths using cool water. Sponge the affected area with the tea. Wet compresses help to control the itching; use these often.

Keep infected children separated, and keep an infected child away from elderly people, newborn babies, and pregnant women who have not had chickenpox.

Never give aspirin to a child who has a fever.
Studies have shown an increased risk of Reye's syndrome, a rare and potentially fatal disorder, in children given aspirin for fever.

If you are unlucky enough to contract chickenpox in adulthood, contact your health care provider. Use a fasting prograrn to help speed healing.

CONSIDERATIONS
Fetal exposure to chickenpox has been associated with an increased risk of birth defects.
If the sores become infected, an antibiotic ointment is usually prescribed.

Two books we highly recommend...click on images for details
	TODAY's HERBAL HEALTH FOR CHILDREN Louise Tenney Prescription for Nutritional Healing Dr. James F. Balch, M.D. Phyllis A. Balch, C.N.C.