Medicine Online
Any medical inquiries? Search MOL for answers:
NEWS
Home > News > 2006 > March > 14 > Health Tip: If Your Child Gets Chicken Pox
Medical References
Diseases & Conditions
Women's Health
Mental Health
Men's Health
Healthy Choice News
Site Map Links
Medical Tips
Attention, chocolate lovers: You may not be able to help yourselves. Swiss and British scientists have linked the widespread love of chocolate to a chemical "signature" that may be programmed into our metabolic systems.
Read more health news

Health Tip: If Your Child Gets Chicken Pox

(HealthDay News) -- Chicken pox is a highly contagious viral disease that mostly affects children younger than age 10.

Someone with chicken pox typically is covered with itchy, fluid-filled blisters that burst and form crusts. Children with the disease are usually sent home from school for about a week.

While antiviral medicines may help alleviate symptoms, the benefit these medicines give may not outweigh their considerable cost, the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM) says.

In most cases, any treatment should keep children comfortable while letting their bodies fight the disease on their own, the agency says. An antihistamine can help ease the itching, as can a topical lotion.

The NLM warns that a child with chicken pox should never be given aspirin, which has been associated with a deadly condition called Reyes syndrome among chicken pox patients.



-- Deborah DiSesa Hirsch

Last Updated: March 14, 2006

HomeSitemap Contact UsAdvertisingPress RoomGive Us Your FeedbackRead Our Terms & Conditions and Our DisclaimerPrivacy Statement