The Most Common Childhood Disease

For my generation, chickenpox was a childhood rite of passage.  I can remember getting it from the other kids at my babysitter’s house where it spread like wildfire.  The itching that came with it was like no other.  Mom dabbed the pink stuff (Calamine lotion) on the blisters which helped for a bit but then the itching would resume again.  They told us not to scratch which was impossible.  Fortunately, the rash cleared up in what seemed like forever without any scarring or infections.  The best part for us kids was that having chickenpox meant no school for a few days.

The name, chickenpox, has been said to have come from the appearance of a chicken’s dimpled skin after having its feathers plucked.  It is an extremely contagious viral infection caused by a member of the herpes virus family, the varicella-zoster virus. It causes a blister-like rash and red spots that start on the trunk and face and then spread to the entire body.  Chickenpox mostly affects children and most have no complications but it easily infects anyone who is non-immune.  Those at risk for complications include teens and adults, newborns and people with weakened immune systems such as HIV+/AIDS patients and cancer patients.  Some complications can include encephalitis, pneumonia and the most common-skin infection.

Before the vaccine was developed, there were many old wives’ tales floating around about chickenpox.  It was believed that restriction of foods which are dark such as soy sauce or chocolate would decrease the risk of scarring.  Another myth was that one cannot bathe or wash your hair because wind will enter the body and cause rheumatism in old age.  In the past, parents would have ‘chickenpox parties’ where their children would be exposed to a child who was currently infected with the virus.  This was not always a good idea since complications can arise for some children. While these old wives’ tales are not helpful in the treatment of chickenpox, there are some tried and true practices that pediatricians still recommend today with the major one being oatmeal baths to calm the itching and irritation. I have also seen references to applying to the rash anything from honey to sandalwood oil to extract from green peas to a paste of marigold flowers.  I personally think oatmeal baths are wonderful for any type of skin irritation.

In 1995, the first chickenpox vaccine was given.  It is recommended that two doses be given and is approximately 98% effective when given as directed.  Before the vaccine, about four million people contracted chickenpox each year and 150 died from it.  The vaccine has since changed that and, now, more than 3.5 million new cases of varicella are prevented each year.  There has been an overall decline in incidence of varicella of 82% of the once most common childhood infectious disease.