If your child is left with a tiny scar after his chickenpox is fully healed, apply vitamin E oil to the scar. Break open a vitamin-E capsule and rub the oil into the pockmark in the morning and at night until it clears. Rubbing castor oil into the scar will also help.

Once the chickenpox has cleared, protect your child's skin from the sun. The areas where pocks have healed are now tender, new skin that will burn and scar easily. Apply a good sun block or high-SPF sunscreen when your child goes outside.

Prevention
Keep children who have chickenpox separated from each other. This can mean a milder case for the second child who comes down with the disease.

It is not now possible to immunize your child against chickenpox. A vaccine is currently under research, and may become available in the future.

From Smart Medicine for a Healthier Child by Janet Zand, N.D., L.Ac., Robert Rountree, MD, Rachel Walton, RN, ©1994. Published by Avery Publishing, New York. For personal use only; neither the digital nor printed copy may be copied or sold. Reproduced by permission.