My daughter recently had chickenpox so I thought id share some things that I have found helpful
In this blog I cover tips on how to relieve itching, prevent scaring and some do's and don'ts
1. Take oatmeal baths.
To make your own very simple DIY oat bath click here
Even some of the mildest bath and body products contain synthetic ingredients including perfumes, alcohols and parabens, which can cause skin irritations, so be careful what you buy
A simple oatmeal bath will have a huge benefit and its so cheap and easy to make (click here to make)
If you want to buy our oat bath with added Lavender, Chamomile, Calendula and Cocoa you can get our refill packs herehttps://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/1285417285/oat-bath-refill-pack-oat-lavender, you get around 20 baths for children making it around 70p per bath, plus you get two cotton pouches which are reusable
Oats have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. They act as a natural cleanser removing dirt and oils from the skin whilst keeping the skin moisturised so you do not need to add anything else to your bath
What do you wash with when you have Chickenpox?
I personally wash my daughter (age 4) in our Oat and Milk Cleanserhttps://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/1217572162/organic-facial-cleanser-eczema-body-wash. its 100% Organic and 100% Natural. It can be used as a body wash, a facial wash and a bath soak so you get 3 products in 1 and you get around 40 washes per bottle.
(I also get loads of Mum's telling me its been great for their child's eczema and I have clients that use it for their psoriasis.)
Tip: After the bath, pat the body dry rather than rubbing it (Or you could just wrap your little one up in a towel until they are dry). If you start rubbing them you may cause them to itch more.
2. Drying out spots
The first question people seem to ask when their child gets chickenpox, is how to dry them out fast. So lets talk about drying chickenpox out.
The only reason I know off why parents want to speed up the drying process is because they are told they are no longer contagious once they are scabbed over. However it normally only take around a week for them to dry out, so I personally would just let them dry naturally.
When the skin dries it itches more. When the chicken pox change this is when they tend to itch more, because the skin is changing. When scabs form the skin becomes tight so again this can create more itching. If you try to speed up the drying process you maybe creating more itching so my personal advise would be to let them dry naturally.
However if you still want to dry them out quickly some things you could use are:
Baking Soda, Bentonite Clay, Zinc Oxide - Mix with water into a paste and apply to the spots
But as I have said I would not suggest drying them out, instead I would acutally suggest keeping the skin moisturised
Keep the skin moisturised
Dry skin will usually cause irritation, so keeping the skin well moisturised should help with the itching when the spots start to scab
I used Calendula Balm on the spots which you can find https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/1482606091/handmade-calendula-balm-eczema-balm its Shea Butter based so a natural anti inflammatory, It contains high strength vitamin E Oil so great for stopping the scabs to scar, and the Manuka oil, Lavender oil and beeswax all have antibacterial properties
You simply put the balm on the spots and let it do its magic
If you want a cooling gel grab yourself an aloe vera plant and use the gel straight from that, its 100% natural and you can keep it in the fridge - See below video:
Tip: Put aloe Vera in water for around 3 hours first to remove the latex (yellow substance)
(as with everything you put on your skin you should always patch test first as some people have allergies to Aloe Vera)
3. Keep hydrated
Lily lost her appetite and had quite a few spots in her mouth, so it made it hard for her to eat as much. I made some ice lollies from strawberries and yogurt which she had for breakfast, then she had tesco ice lollies for lunch haha.
Whatever you do its so important to keep your little one hydrated. Drink lots of water, squashes, eat yogurts, ice lollies etc.....
4. Keep them busy
Yes I know you are probably going to be stuck at home for at least a week, however what I mean is, the more occupied they are the less likely they are to be thinking about scratching
I told Lily anytime her pox were itching to scratch me, so all week I've been hearing "Mummy my chicken pops are itchy come here to I can scratch you" haha it's turned into a little fun game for her
But whatever it is TV, Computer, Games anything that keeps them occupied will help.
At night time they will probably want to scratch more and you don't really want to keep a child entertained at bedtime, because you want them to go to sleep. With Lily I just read her more stories than usual so that she would fall asleep whilst I was reading. She woke up at 10pm scratching once so I gave her, her little popper game thing to keep occupied which did help a little to take her mind off it and shes been using her ipad a lot more than usual but hey its working i'm going to do it
Just keep topping up the scabs with the balm and it should help with the itching
How to stop chickenpox from scaring
Scars are a natural part of the body’s healing process. When the skin is damaged, the tissue breaks causing a protein called collagen to be released. Collagen helps the damaged area to heal and strengthen, creating a scar.
If you follow the above, this should help reduce your scaring
Here are some other do's and don'ts which you may find useful
Do's
Make sure fingernails are cut short, so that if your little one does itch, it causes less damage to the skin
Make sure hands are clean. You do not want to scratch your chicken pox with dirty hands as this could then cause an infection
Wear mittens (mainly for babies)
Wear loose fitted clothing made from natural fibers
Keep our young ones busy. The more they are occupied the less they will think about scratching
Don'ts
Pick your chickenpox scabs - they will scar
Scratch your chickenpox (easier said than done but hopefully the above will help)
Use ibuprofen unless your GP tells you otherwise (I am not medically trained this is just information I was given)
I have also heard that you can dry chickenpox out by using head and shoulders shampoo. I personally would not do this because if you read the ingredients on the bottle its not something you want on your skin. Its designed for your hair not for your skin.
If you have any other tips, or questions please comment below
Thank you
Samantha x