EVOLUTION

So spots (red spots, boils, pustules) appeared in different rashes on days 1, 2, 3 and 4 (day 1 being the first day I saw some spots on my body). These rashes came after an episode of fever with sweats. I felt very weak during these first days. My throat was sore, but I didn't get any headaches. Gargling with sea salt in water helped my throat a lot.

Day 4 was definitively the worst. I felt like crying, my body was full of horrible spots and pustules and I felt very weak.

On day 5 there were no more new boils and the skin was no longer red. Inflammation of the skin was gone. On day 6 my throat was no longer sore, and my body temperature was normal. No more fever, no more sweats, no more chills.

I had a bit of a cough starting on day 6, but it didn't progress to anything serious.

Some spots started to scab or crust over. Scabs were brown, and crusts were yellow. Both scabs and crusts looked perfectly normal, with no signs of infection.

On day 9 my first crust fell off on its own.

Note: It's very important not to touch the spots, to prevent bacterial infections and scarring. Be patient and let the body heal itself.


During the different stages I kept on having my warm baths with sea salt.

Day 4. My skin is red and looks irritated. Some pustules are growing while the big one continues to crust over.

Day 6. The skin looks much better. The big blister continues crusting over.

Day 7. 

Day 8. 

Day 9. The skin looks healthy. The big spot is still crusting over.

TREATMENT: FIGHTING IT BACK

I decided to fight chicken pox back by taking a warm bath (not hot!) with three tablespoons of sea salt and two tablespoons of rosa mosqueta salts  twice a day (I tried one with oatmeal, but I didn't feel as soothed as with the sea salt). I also had next to me a bowl with some warm water (again, not hot!) with a green tea bag in, and I would apply the tea bag on the skin when I felt my skin was burning.

It felt very important to me to keep the skin clean, as the main complication in adult's chicken pox is bacterial infection of spots. I changed my bed linen every day, and used a clean towel every time.

Gargling with a teaspoon of sea salt in water helped my throat a lot.

I daily drank two liters of water with fresh lemons in it to boost my immune system, and to help reduce the redness and inflammation of my skin. I also drank lots of green tea and fruit juices.

I paid a lot of attention to my food intake. I chose to eat foods to feed the skin with the correct nutrients: avocados, olive oil, almonds, eggs, cantaloupe, spinach, tomatoes, salmon, tuna, and whole grains. In this way I was stimulating the production of collagen, essential for skin regeneration, while trying to prevent scarring.

I also started taking a daily multivitamin supplement on day 4.



Obviously I didn't touch my spots, and I wouldn't even rub them with a sponge. A light pat on the body after my bath with a clean towel was enough. I chose to wear comfortable clothes that were loose and easy to put on and off without rubbing the skin.



Note: An infected spot/pustule/blister shows redness coming outward from the spot and leaks pus. You can sometimes see some blood on it. The skin around the spot is very red and feels hot to the touch. In this case antibiotics are required to fight the infection.

A VISIT TO THE DOCTOR

On Sunday morning, after another night of fever, sweats and chills, my skin looked red and irritated. No itchiness but a burning sensation instead, especially on my face,- the kind of feeling you get after getting sunburned.

I went to the doctor, still believing this was an allergic reaction of some sort.

The doctor examined my spots and blisters, and told me this was the chicken pox. She told me to go home and rest until it went away, and to take some paracetamol only if I felt I needed some. She suggested that I should take some antihistamine if it got worse. I told her that my spots were not itchy, and she said that it was strange, but that there was no doubt it was the chickenpox because my spots were in different stages of the disease and because of the fact that some spots were on my scalp.

So I went back home and decided to fight this thing back.

Note: Never take an aspirin and avoid ibuprofen too. Use of aspirin has been associated with a serious condition called Reye syndrome. Ibuprofen has been associated with more severe secondary infections.


There are some antiviral medicines for chicken pox, and they are usually prescribed to people who are likely to suffer from complications, such as people who have a long-term illness, people with impaired immune system, pregnant women and babies born early or with a low birth weight and whose mother had chicken pox.

Antiviral medicines can be taken by mouth (orally), by an injection (intravenous), or applied on the skin (topically). Acyclovir is the antiviral medicine used most often to treat chicken pox. Antiviral eye ointments are also available and prescribed if you develop chicken pox blisters in your eyes.

    

FIRST CHICKEN POX RASHES

On Friday night I found some red spots on my belly. They were not itchy.

During that night I had some fever with sweats and hot and cold flashes. When I woke up on Saturday, I had a few more spots on my face, some of them were red and some were pustules, as if I was suffering from a bad acne breakout. None of them were itchy.

My throat was still feeling sore.

It didn't cross my mind that this was chicken pox. I thought I was experiencing an allergic reaction to something I had eaten or that my liver was a bit congested. I thoroughly exfoliated my skin and had a nice and long hot bath with sea salt.

The first spots normally appear behind the ears, on the face, over the scalp, on the chest and belly, and on the arms and legs.

These spots develop a blister on top (some are red spots that develop into what looks like a raindrop; others are pustular) and can become intensely itchy after about 12-14 hours. Itchiness never developed in my case. I wonder if the fact that I exfoliated my skin and having a bath with sea salt helped. I've read that sea salt in water acts through osmosis. Osmosis happens when there is a solution imbalance (in this case salt) between two liquids with a permeable barrier (in this case our skin). It's not usual to experience a non-itchy chicken pox, so I thought this was quite a plausible explanation.

Note: Apparently a hot bath with sea salt during the first two days helps to bring out the rashes, accelerating the process. If you only have one spot, and you want to make sure it's the chicken pox, soak in a hot bath with salts for 30-45 minutes. If it's the chicken pox more spots will appear after the bath.


Unfortunately, the spots can be anywhere on the body, even in your most intimate parts. You should seek medical assistance if a blister starts growing inside an eyelid, which can be a problem.

THE DAYS PRIOR TO THE RASH

The two days before the first rash appeared I felt weak and very tired. I didn't give any importance to these symptoms. Some muscles ached too. My throat felt sore. I thought I had caught a cold.

These flu-like symptoms tend to be more common and worse in adults than in children.

THE INFECTION: HOW DID I GET THIS?

Despite my family's efforts for me to catch the virus as a child, (chicken pox parties and so), I never caught it, so I entered adulthood knowing that this could happen.

The virus is extremely contagious: it can be spread when an infected person coughs or sneezes, or by touching the fluid from a chicken pox blister. The virus can even be spread by touching an object that has been previously contaminated by fluid from blisters or by the coughing and sneezing of a person with the disease. Also, an adult suffering from shingles can give you chicken pox if you're not immune.

Pets don't get chicken pox. Humans are the only species that suffer from it.

Someone with chicken pox is most infectious during the two days prior to the chicken pox rash.



It can take from 7 to 21 days for the first symptoms of chicken pox to appear.


I have absolutely no idea of who passed me the virus. But I am making sure I am not passing it to anyone. I am not leaving my house until all of my spots are completely dry and have crusted over.

REASONS TO SHARE MY EXPERIENCE WITH YOU

Hi, I have decided to share my experience because I would like to help others to know more about the process, stages and treatments of this terrible virus. My doctor didn't give me much advice on the subject, other than to rest a lot until it went away. Every day I've been looking for answers on Internet: Are my spots normal? Are they infected? What does an infected spot look like? Are crusts yellow? ...

I hope this blog will be helpful to others in my situation.


Thanks for stopping by.