Diet for chickenpox in children: the rules and features of nutrition

Keeping a strict diet for chickenpox in children is an integral part of the treatment of this disease. Therapy of chickenpox is carried out on an outpatient basis, but in some cases complications may develop in which the patient is placed in a hospital. Proper nutrition for chickenpox helps to normalize the functioning of the immune system and facilitates the course of the disease. As a result, the patient does not have any unpleasant consequences, and recovery comes much faster. Only a doctor can talk about whether a diet is necessary for chickenpox in children, as well as what its features and nutrition principles are, which must be adhered to.

What a disease

Chicken pox is an infectious disease that is transmitted by airborne droplets, that is, through direct contact with a sick child. The causative agent of pathology is chickenpox virus - one of the varieties of herpes. The disease is equally affected by both children and adults. The most common and common places in which a child can get chickenpox are playgrounds, kindergartens, and schools.

Usually a person suffers from chickenpox only once in a lifetime, since after having been ill with it once, he gains immunity from this disease for life. However, it is extremely rare, but it still happens that a person can get chickenpox again.

How does the disease manifest

In the acute stage of chickenpox , the patient may experience an increase in body temperature up to 39 °. Red bubbles appear on the skin with liquid contents that constantly itch. Bubbles can appear in any part of the body, they do not exist only on the palms and feet.

Every day there are more and more bubbles, some of them dry out and become crusty. In such a period, the patient may experience deterioration in sleep and appetite, irritability, and fever.

From the tenth day from the onset of the disease, chickenpox passes into the final stage. During this period, skin rashes stop, old vesicles dry out gradually and become covered with a dry crust, which gradually disappears

Why diet

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

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

The diet for chickenpox is not a categorical phenomenon, since it must be observed only in the acute period of the disease. When the condition of the child is normalized 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, therefore only the attending physician can prescribe the necessary diet for chickenpox in children, the nutritional features are the same for everyone. The advice and recommendations of a doctor will help alleviate the course of the disease, therefore, adhere to and follow these principles when compiling a menu for a child should:

1. During the illness, the child’s body is very dehydrated, and therefore it is important to maintain water balance. In addition, the liquid contributes to the rapid excretion 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 mineral water without gas, diluted juices from fruits and vegetables, and weak tea.
2. Very often, during an illness, children lose their appetite, as the body spends all its energy on fighting the infection. If the child does not want to eat, then there is no need to force him to do this, with time, when the disease recedes a little, the appetite will reappear.
3. It is important that when dieting, a sufficient amount of proteins that are part of low-fat fish, lean meats and low-fat cottage cheese gets into the child's body.
4. Fresh vegetables play an important role during the treatment of chickenpox in children, so they must be included in the child's body. Salads can be made from vegetables. 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. The body during the illness is weakened, and it becomes difficult to assimilate food, therefore, it is advisable that during this period the child ate mainly grated food. The diet for chickenpox in children 10 years old includes the use of beets, carrots and cabbage, in this case it is not necessary to grind vegetables - you can cook stew from them.
6. When creating the menu, it is important to avoid adding products that contribute to the development of an allergic reaction, as this can cause itching and new foci of inflammation.
7. It is only necessary to cook food once, since warmed-up food is considered stale when children follow chickenpox diets.
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 i eat

The list of what can be used for chickenpox is quite extensive, so there should not be any problems with compiling the menu:

1. Cereals: oatmeal, buckwheat, semolina, rice and corn grits. Of all these ingredients, you can cook cereals in milk, but without sugar. When cooking, it is advisable to boil them as much as possible. Such cereals do not irritate the gastric mucosa, they are quickly absorbed by the body.
2. Meat of low-fat varieties: beef, veal, chicken. Lean 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 consume greens both fresh and dry.

What can not be consumed

It is equally important to know during the diet with chickenpox in children that you can not give the 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 using sauces and adding seasonings to food.
2. Refuse all 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 abandon the use of milk undiluted. Since this product itself has a greasy consistency, this adversely affects the skin during illness and prevents the rapid healing of ulcers.
5. Raw onions and garlic can irritate the mucous membranes and skin, preventing quick healing.

List of foods and foods that are helpful

Some dishes and products are not only possible, but also need to be consumed with chickenpox. The most useful in this case are:

1. Dairy products. Products of this type contain not only a large amount of protein, but also calcium, which is very necessary for the child's body. Therefore, the diet for chickenpox in children 5 years of age and older must necessarily include low-fat cottage cheese and sour cream, kefir, yogurt, sour milk. It is desirable that yogurt and sour milk are fermented at home.
2. Vegetables. Not all children love vegetables, but the vitamins they contain are essential for the body. The diet for chickenpox in children 6 years old may include vegetable stew or vegetable casseroles, borscht on a lean broth.
3. It is advisable to consume fruits in a grated form or to cook compotes and juices from them.
4. Berries also play an important role in the treatment of chickenpox. Berries such as blueberries, raspberries and rose hips can be used to make fruit drinks or infusions. When preparing a fruit drink, it is necessary to maintain a balance - the drink should not be sour or sweet.

Sample menu for one day

Diet:

1. Breakfast. Oat or buckwheat porridge made in milk without sugar (you can add a slice of butter), boiled egg, slightly brewed tea or water.
2. Lunch. Unsweetened lean cottage cheese with a little sour cream, one glass of kefir or fermented baked milk.
3. Dinner. Puree soup of grated vegetables or lean meat broth, a piece of low-fat boiled fish with vegetables.
4. An afternoon snack. A glass of fresh vegetable juice, which must be diluted with warm boiled water before serving.
5. Dinner. Baked zucchini or eggplant in the oven, cottage cheese or kefir, a green apple grated, tea with unsweetened cookies or crackers.

This is an approximate menu, based on which you need to make your own, based on the age of the child and the general state of his health. When compiling a diet for chickenpox in children 6 years old, more foods and dishes can be included in the diet.

Possible complications if diet is not followed

Adhering to a strict diet for chickenpox in children should primarily be aimed at strengthening and protecting the immune system. Since with a weakened immune system, the virus is not completely excreted from the body, which can lead to serious consequences and complications. With a weakened body, the virus enters the most vulnerable organ, it depends on what complication chickenpox can threaten the patient. If the virus enters the lungs, pneumonia can develop, if it enters the brain, then the likelihood of meningitis is not excluded, with damage to the ears - otitis media. The most dangerous and serious complication of chickenpox is damage to the central nervous system.

That is why a strict diet along with antiviral therapy is very important in the development of a disease such as chicken pox.

The opinion of doctors

Basically, the treatment of chickenpox is always carried out at home. Doctors insist on a strict diet with all the necessary vitamins and minerals. Of course, only with proper nutrition it is impossible to get rid of chickenpox, but without a diet it will be much more difficult to defeat this disease. During the correct observance of all the recommendations of doctors and a strict diet, the body spends all its strength not on the assimilation of food, but on the fight against the virus, which contributes to a faster recovery. Do not forget that heavy drinking plays an important role in the treatment of chickenpox.

Conclusion

Chickenpox, like any other disease, with weakened immunity can lead to serious consequences, so it is very important to monitor your health. Children do not need to be taught improper food from childhood. A balanced diet, an active lifestyle, frequent walks in the fresh air and early hardening will help children much easier to endure any disease without consequences.