Chinna Ammai,Summer's Favourite!

CHENNAI: Chicken Pox is a highly contagious disease and a common childhood illness. Even after the illness passes, the virus can remain in the body and resurface several years later as shingles.

Causes and symptoms

It’s an airborne disease and can easily spread from an ailing to a healthy person through coughing or sneezing of the infected person. The disease starts with slight fever and pain in the body, a runny or stuffy nose and a burning sensation in the eyes which becomes red in colour, and begins to water. You may also feel chilly. Within 24 hours of these symptoms, small red papules appear on the back, arms, legs, chest even in face. The blisters would increase with new ones appearing every day for a couple of days.

Chinna Pox in Siddha

According to Siddha, it is called as chinna ammai. A person suffering from ammai noi has elevated pittha and later, it increases kabha.

Diet and other regimen

Since chicken pox is a viral infection, it would have to run its course anyway. Usually, the disease would take between 10-15 days to run its course.

•   Patient needs rest and plenty of fluids. Food should be light and easily digestible.
•   Let the child affected with chicken pox be confined in a separate room. Do not allow other children to come in contact with this child as the disease spreads easily.
• Neem has antiviral properties which help therapeutically in treating chicken pox. It also aids in drying-out the blisters and alleviates itching sensation to a great degree. Applying fresh paste made of neem leaves and turmeric powder on the blisters is the best remedy for chicken pox.
•   Strew these leaves in bathing hot water and allow it to get soaked for a few minutes before taking bath in this water. 
• As the body gets heated during this time, it is better to give fresh juices, tender coconut water, and butter milk to the child to reduce the heat.
•   The patient should be given simple food only especially steam-cooked vegetables or boiled ones.
• Apply honey on the affected area, as it lessens the irritation and heals the rash.

Internal medication:

• Sirungi parpam / mutthu parpam and pavala parpam 200 mg twice daily with butter
• Pittha sura kudineer 50 ml twice daily
• Nilavembu kudineer 50 ml twice a day

 — Dr B Thamizhkkani(Government Siddha Physician, Tiruchy)