The vesicles are sometimes small and pointed, sometimes more voluminous and globular in form. They are filled with a limpid or a slightly yellowish liquid. Their base is sometimes surrounded by an inflammatory ring. By the third day the contents of the vesicle has become thicker and tends to become purulent. On the fourth day desiccation commences, and the vesicles shrivel and shrink in and form small brownish scabs, which fall about the eighth day. Frequently the child will scratch them off with the finger nails before they are entirely desiccated. The vesicles leave small reddish spots, which generally disappear gradually, almost always without a scar.
An eruption of chicken pox does not burst out all over the body at once, but appears in successive rashes. It is not confined to any special parts of the body. It may begin and spread at the same time from the face, the trunk of the body or the limbs. A dozen pimples may be seen the first day, while three or even ten times as many may be visible the next day, and so on for several days in succession.
Sometimes the vesicles appear on mucous membrane at different parts—the mouth, tongue, soft palate and tonsils—and may also invade the conjunctiva and cornea, or the larynx, where they will set up laryngitis.
Owing to the very contagious nature of chicken pox, the first thing to be done is to provide for the complete isolation during a period of twelve to fifteen days of all patients attacked by the disease.
The treatment of the disease is solely a matter of hygiene. The more severe the fever the stricter the diet should be, and in the case of great fever, the diet should be restricted to broth and milk. If there is no fever the child need not be placed on any special diet.
If the intestines are sluggish, they may be stimulated by administering a dose of castor oil. It is advisable to make the patient rinse his mouth two or three times a day with a mouth wash. It is also well to apply a lotion around the eyes and face, consisting of two per cent. boracic acid solution with the chill taken off. Finally, in order to prevent the child scratching the sores and the consequent danger of inoculation by the finger nails, it is a good practice to rub a small amount of carbolated vaseline over the itching parts. It is frequently found necessary to have the little patient wear white woolen gloves to prevent scratching and infecting the sores. If a child scratches the sores on the face it will leave an unsightly mark which will stay for the rest of its life.
The child, of course, should not be allowed to rejoin his playmates without having had a good bath, and having had his clothes completely disinfected.
INFLUENZA: LA GRIPPE
The most important feature with reference to influenza in children is its very active tendency to develop complications. These complications generally affect the respiratory tract. So we find in children suffering from grippe an easy disposition to get bronchitis or broncho-pneumonia. The younger the child the greater the danger.
The disease itself, so long as it remains an uncomplicated influenza, is not of much importance or severity. The lesson to be learnt, therefore, is to treat the disease with respect and take every precaution to avoid the possibility of developing a complication.