Although there is no cure for a case of chicken pox, it does eventually go away on its own. In the meantime, make your child feel better by treating his or her symptoms. Keep your child entertained, but make quiet time a priority. Chicken pox can be dangerous to a small percentage of children.
Scratching can cause bacteria to enter the bloodstream, so treat itching aggressively.
Also, if your child develops a heavy cough, complains of headaches that are not relieved by acetaminophen, or appears very ill, consult your doctor immediately. It was named fifth disease because it was the fifth childhood disease described after measles, rubella, scarlet fever, and roseola. Fifth disease is caused by the human parvovirus B19. These symptoms last two or three days, and then the child feels better for about a week. There is no treatment for fifth disease.