Nutrition for chickenpox

Chickenpox (chickenpox) is an infectious disease caused by the herpes virus that affects the mucous membranes and skin cells. It is transmitted by airborne droplets from a person infected with chickenpox. Basically, children from six months to five years old get sick with chickenpox, in exceptional cases, teenagers and adults can get chickenpox, in which case the disease is more difficult.

1. Chickenpox symptoms: The acute stage of the disease – an increase in temperature to 38-39 ° C, rashes all over the body, except for the soles and palms, in the form of pink spots with transparent bubbles filled with liquid, itching.
2. Development of the disease – within one or two days, the bubbles become crusty and dry, after a few days the temperature rises and rashes appear again, irritability, weakness, sleep and appetite disturbances appear.
3. Completion of the course of the disease – begins from the tenth day after the onset of the acute stage, the crusts on the skin disappear within two weeks, after which there is a slight pigmentation of the skin.

With chickenpox, a diet should be followed to reduce the level of toxins in the body that irritate the skin and mucous membranes of the digestive tract.

Why You Should Diet

How important is diet for chickenpox in children? What can be given during such a diet to a child, and what can not? These are the most common questions parents ask when their child has chickenpox. As with any other ailment, chickenpox therapy must be supported by a balanced diet. The doctor should explain what kind of diet for chickenpox in children, and what role it plays in the further recovery of the child:

• During the diet, the absorption and digestion of the food consumed is facilitated.
• Proper balanced nutrition saturates the body with all the necessary vitamins, carbohydrates and minerals, which contributes to a speedy and complete recovery.
• Diet helps to relieve the symptoms of the disease.

A diet for chickenpox is not a categorical phenomenon, since it must be observed only in the acute period of the disease. When the child’s condition returns to normal and the disease begins to subside, then you can slowly return the child to the usual diet, but do not forget to strengthen the immune system.

Nutrition specifics

The body of each person is individual, so only the attending physician can prescribe the necessary diet for chickenpox in children, while the nutritional habits are the same for everyone. The advice and recommendations of a doctor will help alleviate the course of the disease, therefore, it is imperative to adhere to and follow these principles when compiling a menu for a child:

1. During illness, the child’s body is severely dehydrated, and therefore it is important to maintain water balance. In addition, the liquid contributes to the rapid elimination of all pathogenic microbes and viruses from the body. The best option in this case is warm boiled water in large quantities. Older children can be given to drink mineral water without gas, diluted juices from fruits and vegetables, weak tea.
2. Very often, children lose their appetite during illness, as the body spends all its strength on fighting the infection. If the child does not want to eat, then you do not need to force him to do this, over time, when the disease recedes a little, the appetite will appear again.
3. It is important that during the diet, a sufficient amount of proteins enter the child’s body, which are part of low-fat fish, lean meats and low-fat cottage cheese.
4. Fresh vegetables play an important role during the treatment of chickenpox in children, so they must be ingested by the child. Vegetables can be used to make salads. If there are wounds in the oral cavity, then, in order to avoid complications, vegetables should enter the body only in boiled and grated form.
5. During the illness, the body is weakened, and it becomes difficult to digest food, therefore it is desirable that during this period the child consumes mostly grated food. A diet for chickenpox in children of 10 years old includes the use of beets, carrots and cabbage, in this case it is not necessary to grind vegetables – you can make stew from them.
6. When compiling the menu, it is important to avoid adding foods that contribute to the development of an allergic reaction, as this can cause itching and new foci of inflammation.
7. You need to cook food only for one time, since heated food is considered stale when following a diet for chickenpox in children.
8. If sores from chickenpox appeared even in the mouth, then the products should be boiled to a puree state. In this case, it is advisable to cook only soufflé from meat and fish.

What can you eat

The list of what can be consumed with chickenpox is quite extensive, so there should be no problems with compiling the menu:

1. Cereals: oatmeal, buckwheat, semolina, rice and corn grits. Of all these ingredients, you can cook cereals with milk, but without sugar. When cooking, it is desirable to boil them as much as possible. Such cereals do not irritate the gastric mucosa, they are quickly absorbed by the body.
2. Lean meats: beef, veal, chicken. Lean varieties of fish.
3. Dairy products.
4. Vegetables and fruits. When choosing fruits, it is important that they are not acidic.
5. Herbal teas, jelly, fruit drinks, infusions of berries and herbs, boiled or mineral water without gas, fruit and vegetable juices diluted with water.
6. It is useful to use greens both fresh and dry.

What not to use

It is equally important to know during a diet for chickenpox in children what should not be given to a child so as not to harm him and not aggravate the situation:

1. From the diet should be excluded all fatty, salty, sour, spicy. In addition, you should refrain from eating sauces and adding seasonings to food.
2. Give up everything sweet and hard to digest by the body – sugar, honey, sweets, chocolate, cakes and cookies, nuts.
3. Sour berries and fruits. It is better to refuse citrus fruits for a while, as they not only irritate the mucous membrane, but also act as a strong allergen.
4. During the acute period of chickenpox, it is better to refuse to drink undiluted milk. Since this product itself has a fatty consistency, this adversely affects the skin during illness and prevents the rapid healing of sores.
5. Raw onions and garlic can irritate the mucous membranes and skin, while preventing rapid healing.

Causes of chickenpox

Chickenpox is caused by the Varicella Zoster virus (a virus of the third type, a family of herpes viruses). It is poorly stable in the external environment and is capable of replication only in the human body. The pathogen quickly dies when dried, heated, exposed to sunlight, ultraviolet radiation. The source of chickenpox is infected people within two days before the appearance of the first rash and five days after the formation of the last nodule.

Transmission of the Varicella Zoster virus occurs:

• by airborne droplets (when sneezing, talking, coughing);
• transplacental route (from mother to fetus through the placenta).

Due to the weak resistance of the herpes virus of the third type, contact-household transmission is rare. However, it is impossible to 100% exclude infection with chickenpox through third parties (through common things, toys, towels).

Most often, small children who attend children’s groups get sick with chickenpox. Newborns are protected from infection by antibodies obtained from the mother. According to statistics, about 80-90% of the population has smallpox before the age of 15. In large cities, the incidence is twice as high as in small towns.

Chickenpox pathogenesis

The entrance gate for Varicella Zoster is the mucous membranes of the respiratory tract. Penetrating into the body, the virus accumulates in the cells of the epithelium. After it affects the regional lymph nodes and enters the bloodstream. Its circulation with the blood stream causes the appearance of signs of intoxication.

Replication of the varicella-zoster virus in the epithelial cell leads to its rapid death. In place of dead cells, small cavities are formed, which are soon filled with an inflammatory fluid (exudate). As a result, a vesicle is formed. After opening it, crusts remain on the skin. Under them, the epidermis is re-formed. In severe forms of chickenpox, vesicles often progress to erosion.

Attention!

The administration is not responsible for any attempt to use the information provided, and does not guarantee that it will not harm you personally. The materials cannot be used to prescribe treatment and make a diagnosis. Always consult your specialist doctor!