Chicken pox is a common infectious and highly contagious acute viral disease. It is common during childhood and children between the ages of five and nine are affected more than any other age group during any part of the year, but most frequently in the cold season. However, infants under the age of six months have some immunity against this disease and it is relatively uncommon in children above 10 years of age.

Symptoms of Chicken Pox:
Chicken pox usually begins with a low-grade fever, a mild headache, loss of appetite and a feeling of weakness. Rashes, which appear in crops, and later desiccate in form of scabs, characterize chicken pox and these symptoms of the disease are manifested about 2 weeks after exposure to it. They appear on the skin, first as tiny red spots, mostly on the upper back or chest. In more severe cases, rashes may also appear on the face and on the lower body also. The spots turn into blisters and many of them become pustules and form scabs, which fall off.

Lesions come in successive crops, so that some are drying whilst others are beginning to form. The extent of the rash varies from person to person. Some patients have only a few spots; while others are have in the mouth, ears, and nose, as well as over most of the body limbs. The duration of this disease ranges from 10-21 days, but is can usually be extended between 14 and 17 days. Later on, the skin is cleared after a few days. One attack of the disease usually confers life-long immunity.

Causes of Chicken Pox:
A virus causes chicken pox and in children, it is a comparatively mild illness, so it is good to succumb to the infection in the early years. An attack of this disease in an adult can be quite severe. Chicken pox is highly infectious and spreads from one suffering person to a healthy person. It can also spread by inhalation of dust contaminated by dried scabs. The real cause of the disease, as in most cases of fevers, however, is persistent wrong feeding, leading to a natural healing crisis.

Treatment of Chicken Pox by Nature Cure:
Diet:
The patient should be given plenty of fruit and vegetable juices in the beginning of the treatment. Lemon juice will be especially beneficial. If possible, warm water enema should be taken daily to cleanse the bowels. As the condition improves, the patient can be placed on an all-fruit diet for further two or three days. Thereafter, he may be allowed to gradually adopt a well-balanced diet, with emphasis on fresh fruits and raw vegetables.

Soup prepared from carrots and corriander has been found valuable in chicken pox. About 100 grams of carrot and 60 grams of fresh corriander leaves should be cut into small pieces and boiled for a while. The residue should be discarded and the soup should be taken once a day.

A mild sedative herbal tea can also prove beneficial in the treatment of this disease. This tea can be prepared from any of the herbs like camomile, basil, marigold and lemon balm. A little cinnamon, honey and lemon may be added to this tea. It should be sipped very slowly several times a day.

Water Treatments:
Application of mudpacks of the abdomen twice a day in the morning and evening and repeated application of chest pack will be beneficial. Lukewarm water baths can be given every day to relieve itching. For better results, neem leaves can be added to this water.

A natural remedy for relieving the itch caused by chicken pox is an oatmeal bath. This bath is prepared by cooking two cups of oatmeal in two litres of water for 15 minutes. This mixture is then put into a cloth bag, preferably cotton, and a string is tied tightly around the top. This bag is allowed to float in a tub of warm water, swishing it around, until the water becomes silky. It should, however, be ensured that the bag is not broken. The patient with chicken pox must splash in the water, with the pouch of oatmeal in the tub. The water should go over all the scalds. However the patient should, not be allowed to catch cold.

Green pea water is another effective remedy for relieving irritation of the skin. The water in which the fresh peas have been cooked can be used for this purpose. For controlling the itching caused by chicken pox baking soda is also an effective remedy. Some baking soda should be put in a glass of water. The patient should be sponged with this water, so the soda dries on. This will keep him away from scratching the eruptions.

Home Remedies:
Certain home remedies have been found beneficial in the treatment of chicken pox. The use of cider vinegar is one such remedy. Half a cup of cider vinegar should be added to a bath of warm water. This will relieve irritating condition of the skin. During chicken pox the use of vitamin E oil is beneficial. This oil should be rubbed onto the affected areas. It will have healing effect. The marks of chicken pox will fade away by this application.

The patient should be kept in bed in a well-ventilated room in isolation until all the scabs fall off. The nails should be cut short to prevent frequent scratching, as scratching can introduce infection and the spots thus infected will take longer to clear than usual and may leave permanent scars. Wearing cotton gloves at night will avoid the risk of scratching while the patient is asleep. Itching can be reduced by the application of talcum powder.

Treatment of Chicken Pox by Aromatherapy:
Essential oils help tremendously by reducing the itchiness and stopping infection of the pox themselves.
Soothing, antiseptic, healing oils: Tea-tree, Eucalyptus, Bergamot & Lavender.
Soothing anti-itch oil: Chamomile.

Treatment of Chicken Pox by Magnetic Therapy:
Mixed magnetized water should be taken regularly three times daily. After the eruptions appear, the patient should take North Pole magnetized water four times daily. In case of intense itching, north-pole oil should be applied on the eruptions. However, as a preventive measure, the magnets should be applied to the palm of hands for 15 minutes once daily. Children should be prevented from scratching the eruptions to avoid scars.