It was Saturday, 11th
Jan 2014. I had come to Chennai to see my
brother, who had 100+ fever from Thursday that week. He came to me and told, “I
have a blister in my skin newly da”, and showed a white, round blister in his
shoulder. My mother saw that and told, “This is Chicken-pox”. To play
it down, it just told “Go and sleep, we will see doctor. Its only 5.30 AM.”
Nothing changed when we met our doctor. He confirmed it to be Chicken pox.
2 weeks of suffering for
him, that finally he woke up and had his first shower. In between, some ground
rules were set for us at home: No hair cut, no shave, no nail cuts even.
By 25th, I
came again to see him, and it was high time I had to take a hair-cut and shave.
Both were pending for long time due to this. So, on 25th, visited my
favorite Green Trends, and did a make-over. The Nepali bhai who did this
asked,”Sir, head massage karenge?” I obliged without knowing what was in store
for me.
Woke up on 26th morning, and found something was not well with
me. There were lot of skin wounds in my head, and one small red blister in my
shoulder. After shower, when I wiped it with towel, it broke and I forgot it
with that. Had a sumptuous meal, slept well, to wake up with fever in evening,
and the blister had come again, somewhat bigger. All the way I was thinking
something was wrong in the head massage. Some sort of skin allergy I thought.
Since it was a Sunday post-noon, there was no doctor available in vicinity to
get checked. Since some alarm rang in my mind, I cancelled my Bangalore trip
that night.
I slept around 10 PM.
Suddenly after sometime, I felt like someone was holding a ball of fire near my
face. My sleep got disrupted and I went and saw my face in a mirror…there were
some 20-25 blisters, white in color, and it took an hour for me to sleep again.
Monday, I knew very
clearly that I had taken Chicken pox infection. And my brother and mother
started yelling to me, “Don’t see the mirror!!!” I understood something was
terribly wrong with my face. But I did religiously follow it.
It was really a
punishment having this infection. I did not feel hungry during normal times in
the day. I slept and slept, and will feel hungry at 2 / 4 AM. Had to drink
something and again sleep after sometime.
By the end of first
week, I had blisters throughout my body. I couldn’t rest my head on a pillow,
since there were too many boils in my head. And after all this, in next two
weeks my health did improve. In second week, whatever you eat / drink, you will
feel hungry every hour / two. And you have to actually keep feeding yourself,
which is a pain again J. It took almost 13 days from appearance of
blisters for them to dry.
Now, after 20 days, I
feel much better and looking forward to work again.
Precautions:
Actually there are no
precautionary measures. If you get infected, by all chances it will bombard
before leaving you.
Vaccination:
I and my brother both
were vaccinated in our childhood. Still we got this. The explanation doctor
gave was, the virus strain changes every 25-30 years. What we have got
vaccinated for is no more existent.
Treatment:
- Herperex 800, 1-1-1 for first 2 days, and 1-0-1 for
next 3 days
- A multivitamin of your choice.
Food:
- No oil, no spicy food, only idlis / curd rice, with lot
of small onions. Drink coconut oil, even if you don’t like, since it has a
capacity to cure boils in throat and stomach.
- At least 3 litres of water and juices every day. Take
plenty of coconut water. First week take more fluids, since your throat
will be a lot congested, and swallowing will be difficult.
- Take lot of fruits. In case you cannot swallow them,
get them as a mixed fruit juice and take. It gives plenty of energy.
- Strictly avoid tea / coffee for at least a month.
- If you need milk every day, better opt for Horlicks /
Badam mix milk J
- This infection generates lot of heat in body. So
take as much coolants as possible. Sweet Lassi is very good and filling
also.
Dressing:
Use only cotton clothes
during infection period. It removed some of my pain definitely.
General points:
- Strictly avoid TV and magazines. Don’t strain your eyes
at any cost.
- It was very difficult for me to look even into my
mobile during the first one week.
- When you wake up in the morning, your eyes will burn
like anything and tears will flow non-stop for some time J keep water dipped cotton in eye-lids before opening
them. This will reduce irritation in eyes.
- Once you get cured, avoid commercial soaps / shampoos.
Use some herbal powder.
- Avoid hotel food + spicy oily food for another 2 months.
- No shave, hair-cut if someone is infected at home. Reason is, it opens pores in your skin, through which virus finds an easy way in.
You will be up again :)
