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HEALTH |
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Spurt in chickenpox cases
Pratibha Chauhan
Tribune News Service
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Do’s and don’ts
- The moment rashes appear consult a doctor.
- In case chickenpox is confirmed school absentism for 21 days in case of children and office in case of adults, to save others from getting injected.
- Do not scratch rashes and use soothing skin lotions.
- Patient must take a bath daily and change clothes twice a day, to prevent skin diseases.
- In case a woman gets it 10 days before delivery, there are almost 30 per cent chances of the child being born with it, which can be fatal.
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Chandigarh, November 23
There is a sudden spurt in the number of chickenpox cases pouring into city hospitals and private clinics, with both children as well as adults being gripped by the viral disease. “On an average almost 10 cases of chickenpox are coming to my clinic every week, which is pretty unusual as the disease strikes mostly by the end of December,” said Dr Mahesh Hiranandani, who runs a children’s nursing home in the city. With the complications in case of adults being much more, doctors say the earlier the child is afflicted with chickenbox the better it is. “The earlier the better”, is the most common phrase used by doctors, while discussing the severity and complications of the disease which in earlier times was called “chotti mata”. Doctors in government hospitals, too confirmed that with change in weather more and more cases of chickenpox were coming to them. “Since I am getting almost three cases daily, it means the problem is much more as only few consult a skin specialist,” says a dermatologist in the
government hospital. Another private doctor said she had got over 25 chickenpox cases in her clinic in Sector 18, during the past five days.“It might sound unbelievable, but it is true that even in a city like Chandigarh, many people still follow age old beliefs of not cooking inside the house, giving the patient cold food and not giving a bath for 21 days,” Dr Hiranandani said. He said these were all myths, which should be done away with as not giving a bath to a patient would lead to severe skin infections, leading to chances of scarring. The first and foremost tip that doctors give is that a person afflicted with chickenpox must not go to the school or to the office. “The initial symptoms of fever, running nose and cough could be similar to viral but the moment rashes start appearing, a doctor must be consulted immediately,” suggests Dr Hiranandani. Doctors say medical advice must be sought so that anti-virals and skin lotions can be given to soothe the skin, which is covered with rashes all over the body. The unprotected population comprising those who have never been struck with chickenpox or those who have not been vaccinated against it are likely to fall prey to it. “It is a fact that those who have got it once will never be affected with it a second time but it is wrong to say that every individual is bound to get it once in his life time,” Dr G.S. Sandhu, Medical Officer, General Hospital, said. Talking about the efficacy of the chickenpox vaccine, they say it should be given to a child after one year of birth, as till that stage he is protected by the mother’s milk.
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