Chicken pox remedies: Maria Muscarella offers soothing herbal solutions.

'Tis the season once again for chicken pox, or the varicella-zoster virus, to rear its bumpy head. This highly contagious viral infection is contracted by both adults and children but most commonly occurs in those between the ages of five and ten. Though chicken pox is most often contracted by unvaccinated children, ten to thirty percent of children vaccinated for varicella-zoster will also come down with the virus at some point in their lives.

Chicken pox spreads through droplets of saliva--via a cough, sneeze, the sharing of lollipops, etc.--or direct contact with the open blisters. After exposure to the virus, it takes between one and three weeks for signs of illness to appear, which usually begin with mild symptoms such as malaise, fever, headache and loss of appetite. But the most common symptom of chicken pox is red, itchy skin eruptions. The virus' rash usually begins on the face, scalp, or trunk of the body but can spread to other areas. In more severe cases, a child may even develop pox inside the mouth, eyes, genitals and other areas of mucous membranes. One to two weeks after symptoms appear, these little red dots develop into itchy, fluid-filled blisters that scab over as they begin to heal. The contagious period for spreading chicken pox begins a few days before symptoms appear and lasts until the blisters have scabbed over.

What can be done for children during this stressful time? The best things we, as parents and guardians, can do are provide support to their immune system and keep them from scratching! Scratching the blisters can lead to scarring and an increased risk for a secondary bacterial infection. (You might try putting socks over your child's hands to prevent them from using their fingernails to scratch.)

Severe complications from chicken pox are rare, but, as with all illnesses, they can happen. A thousand hospitalizations and 100 deaths occur each year from chicken pox. Be sure to tell your health care practitioner if you think your child has the virus, as they can help answer your questions and concerns.

In the boxes above and to the left are a few herbal recommendations that can help support your child through what can be a difficult healing process.

OTHER PLANT HELPERS:

* Garlic, licorice, and reishi and shitake mushrooms are fantastic for supporting the immune system. Try making a yummy soup with some of these herbs. Throw in some kale, seaweed, carrots, and burdock root for a nutrition-packed meal.

* Skullcap, catnip, milky oats, and chamomile are wonderful herbs to take internally, as a tea or glycerite, to help your child relax, sleep and get relief from the itch.

* Elderberries, echinacea, lemon balm and licorice would make a tasty syrup, tea, or glycerite for immune-support and anti-viral activity.

* A warm tea of catnip, chamomile, elder flowers and peppermint is a gentle remedy to help bring some fever relief.

* During the oozing stage of the virus, a mix of slippery elm and comfrey powder is wonderful to sprinkle onto the sores to help healing and speed up the formation of protective scabs.

* When the sores have crusted over, try using lotions or salves that contain chickweed, lavender, St. John's wort or calendula. These herbs are fantastic for nerve healing and will help keep the skin supple to preventing scaring.

'CHICKEN POX BLUES CREAM'

This recipe makes a fun blue cream with a heavenly scent and can be Used during any stage of the virus!

* Start with 1 tbs of cream/lotion base. (Calendula creams for infants make a nice base.)

* Add 3 drops of lavender essential oil and 3 drops of German (or blue) chamomile essential oil to the cream base.

* Mix it up well. Then, add 1 tsp of fresh oat milk. (The oat milk can be made by pouring 1 cup of boiling water over 2 tbs of oats. Let the water and oats sit for 20 minutes. Then, strain the oats through a muslin cloth and squeeze out the gooey oat milk.)

* Use 1 tsp of this oat milk in your cream and save the rest of the oat 'tea' for the bathtub.) Store the Chicken Pox Blues Cream in a glass container away from light.

To use: Gently massage the cream into the rash spots to decrease redness, inflammation and itching. These essential oils traditionally help decrease healing time and inflammation, while their fragrances ease the nerves and calm the child.

OATMEAL BATHS

Oats are amazing when it comes to soothing itchy skin and over-stimulated nerves.

While running a bath, make the following oatmeal:

* Place 1 cup of oats in 6 cups of water and boil for 5 minutes.

* Strain out the oats, wrapping them in cheesecloth or a sock, and pour the oat water into the bath water.

* Test to make sure the bath water isn't too hot before your child gets in.

To use: While the child relaxes in the milky water, use your 'Sock o' oatmeal' to gently wash your child. This is extremely soothing to irritated skin. You could even make a paste out of the oatmeal and place it directly on itchy spots.

Maria Muscarella is a Clinical Herbalist, Registered Nurse, and two-time chicken pox veteran who has pursued her passion studying and teaching herbal medicine and medicine-making for over ten years. She teaches at AB Itch and the Mountain Spirit School of Herbalism and can be contacted for clinical herbal consultations at the Viriditas Healing Center & Apothecary in Asheville; www.viriditashealing.com or 828-251-8688.