Chicken pox

Chicken pox: Cause,Signs,Symtoms,Treatment & Cure
Chicken Pox, also called varicella, contagious viral disease that affects mainly children. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 4 million people develop chicken pox each year, and more than 95 percent of Americans will have had chicken pox by the time they reach adulthood. Chicken pox - CAUSE Chicken pox is caused by varicella-zoster virus, a type of herpes virus. The virus spreads through the air via infected droplets emitted from the nose or mouth while coughing or sneezing. Touching the fluid from a chicken pox blister can also spread the disease. Chicken pox is contagious for approximately seven days during a person’s period of infection. Contagiousness begins about two days before symptoms appear and continues until all blisters have formed scabs. Doctors recommend keeping the infected person isolated from others during those seven days.               Chicken Pox: Sign and Symptoms Typically, chicken pox begins with a low fever, headache, rash, and a general feeling of sickness, or malaise. The rash, which usually covers the face, scalp, and trunk of the body, starts as red bumps but quickly develops into small blisters.  The rash and the blisters are extremely itchy. As the disease progresses, the blisters break open and form scabs, which fall off after about one to two weeks. The incubation period—the time between initial infection and the first appearance of symptoms—is approximately two weeks. Chicken pox - TREATMENT & HOMEOPATHIC MEDICINES Antim tart., Rhus tox, Kali mur., Pulsatilla, Aconite, Ars-alb, Apis, Belladona, Sulphur etc are known to work in cases of chickenpox. Chicken pox - CONVENTIONAL TREATMENT Treatment of chicken pox is usually limited to bed rest, acetaminophen for relief of fever and discomfort, and measures that soothe the itching, including lukewarm baths and application of topical medicines such as calamine lotion. Excessive scratching can cause infection of blisters, which can lead to scarring. Acyclovir, an antiviral drug, is used to treat severe cases of chicken pox, particularly in patients with a weakened immune system. REFERENCE WORKS Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine, 14th ed, McGraw-Hill Davidson's Principles and Practise of Medicine, 17th ed, 1996, Churchill Livingstone New Manual of Homeopathic Materia Medica & Repertory, William Boericke, 2nd revised ed., 2001, B. Jain