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Are there any prescription treatments for chicken pox?

Acyclovir (brand name Zovirax), valacyclovir (Valtrex), and famciclovir (Famvir) are prescription antiviral medicines that helps kill the varicella virus. Although most people recover from chickenpox without treatment, acyclovir can help fight severe infections by decreasing the number of chickenpox sores, reducing the duration of illness, and easing nausea, vomiting, and fever. Doctors usually only prescribe acyclovir for adults and teenagers with chicken pox, as children rarely have severe symptoms.

In otherwise healthy children with chickenpox, only the symptoms are treated. Non drug treatments and over-the-counter products can help reduce the itching, fever, and discomfort. Never give aspirin to a child with chickenpox or any viral infection. It can cause a rare but potentially fatal complication called Reye's Syndrome.

Sources:
Drug Facts and Comparisons. Facts & Comparisons, 2007.
Habif, Thomas. Clinical Dermatology. Mosby-Year Book Inc., 1996.
Handbook of Nonprescription Drugs. American Pharmaceutical Association, 2000.
Micromedex® Healthcare Series. Thomson Micromedex, Inc., 2007.
Viral Infections, "Chickenpox." http://www.merck.com/mmhe. The Merck Manual of Medical Information, 2nd Home Edition, online version. Last accessed 11/13/2006.

This answer prepared 7/13/2001.
This information updated 1/23/2007.

• >Acyclovir
• >Valtrex
• >Famvir

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