My kids have the chicken pox and luckily for me and them they were vaccinated earlier. It’s not been that bad. The vaccination has helped. Immediately, my thoughts were, what food I prepare and what do I do with the rashes and blisters. Everyone I spoke to, said no chicken, no eggs.
But the doctor said that there are absolutely no diet restrictions. Chicken pox has nothing to do with chickens! The disease is called chicken pox because the body looks like it’s been pecked by chickens. At least that’s one version of it.
My boys have been eating chicken. But, I prepare lots of soups. Fruits, like watermelon are wonderful.
No side effects.
Anyway, after doing some research and talking to the doctors, neighbors, colleagues and friends, generally, home remedies should include the following:
(1) Diet
Water – is the magic drink – getting our kids to drink plenty of water can sometimes be challenging. My younger son is especially rebellious when it comes to drinking water. Yesterday, I showed him a shrunken vegetable. He drank at least 5 glasses after!
Fruits – are always an important remedy. It boosts the immune systems while helping flush out toxins and digestion. Some of my sources explained that stay away from acidic fruits because it aggravates the rashes. The jury is out on this one. In any case, there are lots of fruits to choose from. The best perhaps, is going with apples, bananas, some grapes, pears and of course the humble watermelon and papaya.
Vegetables- Similar to fruit, vegetables is a must... Children may not want to eat very much during this time and vegetables may not be so appealing. I added them to the soups. You can carve out funny faces on the carrots or stuff some cheese in a tomato.
Avoid - Fast or junk foods, oily and sugary foods. These foods do not have the nutritional value and could aggravate the rashes.
Avoid foods that are hard to digest like red meat and such.
(ii) Skin.
Neem
– if you have access to neem leaves 
– add them to a warm bath of turmeric. Poor over the skin before your actual bath to help soothe the skinClick here for some information on neem and neem based products
Oatmeal bath – Mix oatmeal with lukewarm water. Add honey as it has anti bacterial properties.
Bitter gourd leaves – similar to neem leaves. Mix the bitter gourd leaves to some turmeric and pour over the body.
By the way, chicken pox is caused by the varicella-zoster virus. There are antivirus medicines that the doctor would give along with calamine lotion to sooth the itches and also avoid scars.
Because of the earlier vaccinations, kids generally don’t suffer as much. All they need is some good food, easy to chew and digest because their appetite would tend to be poor for about 5 to 7 days.
Please share your experiences and home remedies.
Happy Cooking and Teaching!
