Herbal Treatment for Chicken Pox

Late in the day I suspected that Chazaq (my 2yr old) might have gotten chicken pox. At about 2 a.m., he woke, irritated and complaining and still hot. I confirmed my suspicion when he said his tummy hurt, he was still warm and a couple pox have popped out on his tummy and one on his head...hear we go! So I thought I would gather my thoughts here in a post before I lay my head down to sleep (at 4 am!) knowing that when I wake, I will be 'doctor mom'. So I thought I would share my notes with you and make further notes in the comment section of this post (in case you want to subscribe to the comments) as to what I did and its results.

When I treat things herbally, I like to hit it from every angle possible. The pox were no exception to this rule! My strategies: I wanted internal solutions for calming, soothing and building up the internal health/immunity to speed healing and speed the process (it is a very trying, uncomfortable and stressful experience...every moment seems as if it is an hour sometimes)! Calming and soothing nervine herbs that I like to use are catnip, lemon balm, chamomile, passionflower, linden flower and Valerian. Because it is a virus, I want to focus on herbs that are strong anti virals. Some strong anti virals (that I know I have) are Goldenseal, Echinacea, Olive leaf and St John's Wart. I also wanted external solutions to treat the skin's irritation, itching and healing so no scaring would occur and the outbreak would be more tolerable. Infection is a concern here, if pox get opened. So topically, we want to treat with antibacterial herbs, drawing, healing and soothing, anti itch and skin repairing herbs; sandalwood, calendula, chickweed, plantain, lavender, tea tree and oats are good for that. There MAY be a need to manage fevers if they get too high are cause one not sleep. I am generally one who thinks fevers need to run their course - but it is good to be "at the ready" as I always like to say. Boneset, burdock,elderflower and catnip are good at that. (As are cool baths or clothes behind the knees, neck, feet and bends of the arms. I have a good supply of ingredients on hand and would rotate remedies as needed and repeating ones that were most effective. The following suggestions are the remedies other have has success with, so i thought would list those here as well too.

Internal treatments

Tea: (Chazaq LOVES tea!)
1 part calendula
1 part red clover
2 parts oats (milky tops)
2 parts lemon balm
1 part passionflower

Mix together and store in airtight container. 1tsp of mixed herbs to 1C water. Cover while steeping cool and drink as often as possible.

Tinctures/Syrups:

Tincture for itching and rash
2 parts burdock root
1 part echinacea
1 part valerian

( How to make a tincture.)

Give 1/8 tsp every 2 hours. Since tinctures take time to make, it you don;t have this premade, you can mix the single premade tincture together (store bought or homemade).

Super Immunity Syrup,
2 parts oat
1 part astragulous root
1 part burdock root
1 part echinacea root and tops
( I am assuming you know how to make a syrup. If not - please ask in the comments and I will post it when I can.)

1 tsp every hour at the on slot of the infection. After the first 24 hours, give 4-6 time daily until symptom are gone.

External Treatments
Powders: Powdered Lavendar and Calendula. Slippery Elm.

Disinfectant Powder
1 oz green clay
1T calendula flowers powder
1T comfrey root powder
1/2T golden seal or olive leaf powder

Sprinkle on sores.

Poultices: Chickweed and/plantain poultices. Calendula and Plantain poultice for swelling redness and fever reduction. Chamomile also good for swelling. Slippery Elm mixed with Calendula flowers. Tumeric Paste to draw and dry.

Infusion Baths:
* Fill a thin cloth bag with oats, calendula flowers and baking soda and put that into the bath. The kids would squeeze the oat milk onto their skin and even rub the bags over the irritated areas. These baths did wonders to relieve the itching and calm the children in another family. Also Epsom Salt Baths.

Essential Oils: Lavendar, Tea Tree (Melaleuca) externally on pox or mixed with calamine lotion. (I have had great success with Lavendar, Chamomile, Tea tree for Chiggers, so I would like to see how it does on pox!

This post was shared at Wild Crafting Wednesday .