Chickenpox in babies: care and remedies

Chickenpox is a viral infection which normally happens during the springtime. Though chickenpox clears up on its own it can cause severe symptoms in babies especially newborns as they do not get the vaccines before they are one-year-old. Here is a full guide for the parents.

Cause

Chickenpox is a viral infection. The varicella-zoster virus is responsible for chickenpox. Once a person gets the virus, he automatically gets immune to the virus for the future.ly a person with a very weak immune system can get chickenpox virus for the second time.

Common symptoms of chickenpox in babies

There are several signs that you will notice in your baby if she got chickenpox

• Itchy and crusty rash, which is slightly reddish and appears first on the face, neck or chest before spreading to the other areas of the body.
• Fever with a temperature of around 101°F to 102°F, which may start before the rash.
• Loss of appetite, which also includes changing in breastfeeding habits
• Changing in regular sleeping habits, sue to itchiness and pain on the rashes.
• Tiredness and fatigue which increases sleepiness.
• Excessive crying.

In the case of chickenpox in newborns, they may not have a fever. Newborns have a less developed immune system, so their body does not respond to any infection all the time by increasing the body temperature. Normally chickenpox does not cause any stomach problems, such as diarrhoea or stuffy nose or congestion. These symptoms may be caused due to another virus. In case your baby is less than three months old and showing the symptoms of chickenpox, immediately consult a doctor.

How long is a person contagious?

Approximately before two days of the rashes appear, a person becomes contagious and stays contagious until all the blisters become encrusted and dry. So, keep your baby off from a person who has chickenpox for about 7 to 10 days.

Prevention and treatment

The CDC or Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends vaccination to babies at the age of 12 to 15 months and also on 4–6 years of age. In case any parent misses the vaccination at the given time range, they also can get their child vaccinated. A vaccination is able to stop the spreading of the disease and almost eliminate the risk of a child gets the disease. In case a vaccinated child gets chickenpox, it won’t be that much severe. But, this scenario is very much uncommon.
In order to prevent chickenpox, ask your children to wash their hands before they eat anything or after they come home after playing outside. Avoid those people with any recent exposure to chickenpox. 

As chickenpox is caused by a virus it can not be treated with antibiotics. But in case any bacterial infection develops around the blisters, the doctor may prescribe antibiotics. Rubbing or scratching generally lead to this kind of infections. In order to prevent this clipped your baby’s nails and keep mittens on their hands. In case there are any complications, your baby’s doctor will prescribe some antiviral medications. 

You also can give oatmeal bath to your baby, apply calamine lotion to the blisters, which will give your little one relief. Keep her hydrated and let her rest a bit.

For most of the babies, chickenpox is a normal viral infection and clears up by its own. But in order to eliminate the severity of the disease, it is important to consult a doctor and get the needful precautions. Vaccination is the best way to prevent this disease.