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Popular myths about chicken pox

Chicken pox is a highly infectious disease and spreads very easily due to its airborne attribute. Due to the dangerous intensity of the disease, many myths related to it have come into existence. Most are related to how it spreads and its after effects. And these myths are believed unnecessarily. Here are some of the popular myths and the myth-busters about chicken pox.

The name chicken pox comes from chickens

This myth is highly misleading and is not at all true. The name chicken pox actually is a misnomer as it has absolutely no relation with chicken. There is no evidence to vouch for the origin of the term. It is probable that this possibility of confusion in the origin of the term arose because of resemblance of the pox to chick peas or because the skin of a sufferer look like as if it has been pecked by chickens if looked minutely. The medical and scientific community believe that the term chicken pox has nothing to do with chickens in particular.

Restriction of dark and oily food because it causes scars and pigmentation

It is a common misconception that dark food like soy sauce should not be consumed by the patient suffering from chicken pox as it may cause scars and pigmentation. If scientific studies are to be believed, scars and pigmentation is only due to infection or if lesions get broken, and not because of consumption of dark food. Similarly, oily food is also restricted. This myth is not entirely misleading as patient’s liver is already affected and the capacity to digest fats is also reduced due to the disease. A more valid reason for such a restriction is that the smoke generated during the preparation of such food in the patient’s house may cause itching of the lesion which may cause as deterrent to effective treatment and can further result in scars and pigmentation. The medical and scientific community believes that restriction of dark and oily food in particular does not cause scars and pigmentation.

Medicine is of no help during chicken pox infection

It is a common myth among people that there is no use of medicine in chicken pox as it is a viral infection and heals itself with time. But scientifically speaking, this is not true. However, the effective and progressive way of treatment is by using anti-viral tablets prescribed by the doctor. These medicines not only reduces the duration and severity of the chicken pox, but also helps in faster healing. It is also found that long term scarring is prevented and most of all, other discomfort like itching and fever can also be reduced. It is therefore advisable for you to take medicine as reports suggest that many a times lack of proper medication has led to worsened condition of the sufferer, and has acted as deterrent to effective treatment even leading to death in some cases. The medical and scientific community is of the firm view that medicine should in no way be avoided.

Patient should remain in solitude during chicken pox infection

Although this myth has nothing to do with the sufferer, the person suffering from chicken pox is always suggested to remain in solitude. The main reason behind this is to avoid the spread of infection to others around as it is a communicable disease. Thus, this myth is not highly misleading due to the contagious nature of the disease. Even if you are not infected by the virus, you can be easily infected just by coming in contact with the infected patient. The virus can spread through droplets from the upper respiratory tract or through discharge from ruptured lesion of the skin. The medical and scientific community believes that the patient should stay in solitude for the benefit of other healthy people.

Restriction of bath during the active disease

It is a very popular myth that a chicken pox patient should not take bath. It is necessary for you to keep this point in mind that there is no restriction for chicken pox patients from taking bath. In fact, proper bath and cleanliness reduces the risk of infection which helps in proper and faster healing. It is highly advisable from scientific studies that lesion should not be rubbed or scratched as it increases the probability of increased infection. The medical and scientific community believes that instead of rubbing down vigorously the patient should dab dry the body with a towel so that it does not break lesion and cause infection.

Chicken pox vaccine is not important for children as it is not a fatal disease

As far as seriousness of the disease is concerned, data suggests that chickenpox has high mortality rate among children, and this disease cannot be taken lightly. In comparison to any other vaccine preventable disease in childhood, chicken pox is highly fatal. Complications like strep infection and shingles which can arise later on are highly dangerous. Although it has been proved that vaccine cannot prevent these complications completely, it surely reduces probable risks and complications. Therefore, children should be vaccinated for chicken pox.

You can be infected with chicken pox multiple times

Well, this is not entirely mythical. Although not very common, the same person can be affected by chicken pox multiple times. As varicella zoster virus mutates very slowly, there are not many different strains. When you get infected again with same strain second time, your immune system recognizes it and soon destroys it. The possibility of chicken pox infecting a person for the second time exists when the strain is very different from the previous one, or because you had mild chicken pox infection at the first time you were infected and your body could not built large enough immunity to prevent re-infection.

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