Surviving Chicken Pox

As many of you know, we were visited by the chicken pox virus this fall. Since our four children were not fortunate enough to catch the virus at the same time, we learned to know The Pox well during it's extended visit! I was asked by a reader to share any hints on dealing with this virus.

Thankfully, we did not have any serious complications. The baby only had six spots. The others were well speckled but not seriously ill. Our four year old had the worse case but even his were nothing unbearable. Since my husband's niece had life threatening complications from the chicken pox virus last year, I did not take it for granted that we escaped so easily.

Each of the children seemed to have about two days when they were first breaking out when they were the most uncomfortable. Several of them ran a low fever for the first day or two. If they seemed too miserable, I gave them some Tylenol to help with the fever. After that, they seemed to almost ignore their spots. If they complained about the itching, I left them rub on some anti-inch cream but itching didn't seem to be a big deal to them.

Oatmeal baths are often recommended for the chicken pox. If you've priced oatmeal baths at the drugstore, they are rather overpriced, in my opinion. Crystal shared a "do it yourself" version she found here . Basically all you do is blend oatmeal in your food processor, blender or coffee mill until a fine powder. Add to a warm bath, stir around, and let your child enjoy a soothing soak! Simple! And Cheap! My children had differing views on oatmeal baths from love to sheer hate!

The primary goal at my house was distraction! Only when the children were bored did they seem to mind the pox. Since the chicken pox coincided with a few weeks of dreary wet cold days, keeping them busy was more difficult. We pulled out games, puzzles, books and anything else we could think of to keep their mind off themselves.

We typically avoid the use of screen time at our house. I'd much rather see our children actively involved in something, anything than watching a screen. But my desperation must have showed those few weeks. My husband downloaded Tux Paint, a free computer drawing program for children. I also let them play with the phonics games at Starfall.

That is a few things that helped us through the chicken pox! If you have any other hints, please share them! Though I don't expect to need them, maybe they'd be helpful for another reader!