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Hi!
My two year old and five year old have just gotten over the chicken pox. I thought I would pass along some things we tried that were helpful.
Daily, I tried to get into them, the following:
Elderberry syrup – 1 Tablespoon 3x a day for little ones. I would give twice as much for teens and adults.
Extra Virgin Coconut Oil – 1 teaspoon 3 x day for little ones. 1 Tablespoon 3x day for teens and adults.
Colloidal Silver - 1 dose three times a day, preferable on an empty stomach.
Vitamin C and D would be good additions, too. I just didnâ€TMt have a good D supplement for little ones and mine were getting C in the elderberry. Still, I wish I had done more vitamin C.
Baking Soda Baths – seem to be really soothing. I notice a great decrease in scratching for several hours after the bath, even on spots that were not underwater. Perhaps this is improved PH?
It appeared that store bought dairy products are not helpful and may be harmful to healing! I ran out of raw milk and raw milk kefir, but one child had a chicken pox in his throat and that sort of thing was very soothing. So, I got a gallon of regular milk from the store and made smoothies with it. Then my two year old took a nap. By the time he got up, he and his 5 year old brother were much worse. It was the biggest change for the worst I had seen at all! The two year oldâ€TMs spots were much angrier looking and the 5 year old just felt awful for the first time! Okay, no more store milk for them when sick!
Sunshine and fresh air are good for everything and I think they are good for chicken pox, too. Unfortunately, days when chicken pox is going around (fall and winter) are not usually warm and sunny. But we had one warm and sunny day during the illness. I took the two year old out for a stroller ride, intentionally leaving his feet, lower legs and head bare to maximize his vitamin D exposure potential. We went out at noon and had a 30 minute walk or so. When I changed him after his nap, his spots looked better! Maybe it is placebo for me, who knows. I know both of our attitudes were better!
Topically I used a number of different things. I used a homemade salve that was olive oil based and had comfrey, plantain and burdock in it. It seemed to sooth the itch. I used straight coconut oil. That also seemed to decrease itching for a time. The plantain salve that I tried seemed to help the itch and decrease the redness of the bumps. That salve had been made from fresh plantain leaves and was likely quite strong. But I didnâ€TMt have a large sample size to really compare results.
Complications of Chicken Pox –
Fever – One of my children had a fever and one did not. The two year old had fever intermittently. The first night his fever was 103.5. He was very hot. He would gulp down the water I gave him during the night. I used oils on his feet to treat the fever. Peppermint oil alone works well. I have a mixture I like that is equal parts of peppermint, ginger, and lemongrass essential oils. This helps with fever and also with nausea. I would consider treating with something over the counter if the fever was prolonged and there was a risk of dehydration. Of course, using those drugs when dehydration is present makes them more dangerous, so proceed with caution.
Pox in throat – very painful. I was spraying Colloidal Silver (10ppm) every time I thought of it into this childâ€TMs throat. If it had been me, I would have tried a salt/cayenne water gargle, but that would be a lot to ask of a 5 year old. If you ever try it, let me know if it helps! My ten year old had a touch of a sore throat this week and ASKED to gargle cayenne, knowing how helpful it is. The sore throat was gone the next day.
Staph infection – we did not deal with this, but it is a complication of chicken pox. Scratching increases the risk, so everything that can be done to minimize the scratching is good. Little ones can wear socks on the hands can help. If pox begin to look infected, taking turmeric internally three times a day will help. (1 teaspoon or 4 casules 3x a day for adults. ? teaspoon or 2 capsules for 9 and up or so, ? teaspoon for 12 months and up, 3x a day (Mix in applesauce or honey.)
Pox near/in eye. My 5 year old had a pox on his eyelid right at the eyelashes. I put salve or coconut oil onto this very often. The pox was right on the lower eyelid near the lashes. Redness spread under the eye and the lower eyelid was swollen. The eyeball was beginning to get bloodshot and had some goo in it, as if it were pinkeye. Perhaps varicella (chicken pox virus) can cause that, or perhaps he had pinkeye also. His sister had pinkeye last week. But he definitely had a pox. Either way, the treatment would be the same. I mixed 1 teaspoon dry chamomile flowers and 1 teaspoon dry eyebright in a mug. I poured a bit of boiling water over it, just to moisten it. When it was cooled to body temperature, or cooler, I put it in a square of cotton and folded the herbs into it and used the poultice over the eye for 10 minutes three times a day. (A chamomile tea bag could be used the same way.) I noticed improvement after the second application. I also put one drop of charcoal tea into each eye after using the poultice. To make the tea, put 1 teaspoon charcoal powder in a cup. Add ? cup water. Mix. Strain out charcoal. The remaining water still has small charcoal particles in it. Drop one drop into the eye 3-4 times a day. Continue at least 24 hours after all symptoms have cleared.
A favorite book of mine is by Edith Schaeffer. It is called, “What is a Family?†It was a really lovely book and my favorite chapter was called, “A Shelter in a time of Storm.†She gave all kinds of ideas for making a sick person more comfortable. I think of that every time my children are sick. It is a special opportunity to love and care for them. I have held and rocked my two year old more in the last week than I have in the last six months. He is usually too busy to be rocked and held. But I have treasured the snuggle time with him. I remember when I went away to college that when I was the most homesick was when I was sick. I had always taken my own motherâ€TMs good care of me when I was sick for granted. It may sound funny that I have “happy memories†of being sick, but I do. I hope my children will, too.
While chicken pox are not fun, having the actual disease is safer in most cases than the vaccine. Vaccines have limited effectiveness and risks that go along with them. I know a number of people that were vaccinated that got chicken pox anyway.
I hope something here will be helpful for others dealing with chicken pox!
~Mama to Many~
