Quick tips for helping with symptoms

1. Bicarbonate of Soda added to the warm/tepid bath water - 1/2 to 1 cup to the full bath water
2. Calamine lotion - applied to spots, or put in the bath
3. If you find Calamine lotion too drying, try Aqueous Calamine Cream or mix with your own Aqueous creams like E45.
4. Older children can be given a paintbrush so they can paint their own spots with Calamine
5. Paracetamol and Chlorphenamine (Piriton) will all help - particularly good before bed to get them through the night
6. Dead Sea Bath Salts, can be drying, but very effective - also good for psoriasis
7. Ice lollies can soothe mouth sores (if you worry about sugar, you can get sugar free)
8. ViraSoothe Chickenpox Relief Cooling Gel (from 6 mths onward)
9. Eurax Lotion
10. Frequent warm baths
11. Australian Tea Tree Cleansing Soap, a soothing antibacterial antifungal soap
12. Babies can be given mitts to stop scratching
13. If scratching the trunk is bad at night, try putting the little one in a long sleeve poppered vest with loose pj bottoms
14. Make sure the little ones drink plenty to avoid dehydration
15. Keep clothing light and loose as possible, but covering up may help if scratching is a problem - although if scratching isn't too bad it might be better to keep them just in a nappy
16. Keep the child's finger nails as short and as clean as you can, to prevent infection when scratching
17. Add 2 cups of ground oatmeal to the bath water
18. Bio-Oil can be used after suffering from Chicken Pox to reduce scarring caused by scratching the rash.