By the third day the contents of the vesicle has become thicker
and tends to become purulent. On the fourth day desiccation commences,
and the vesicles shrivel and shrink in and form small brownish scabs,
which fall about the eighth day. Frequently the child will scratch them
off with the finger nails before they are entirely desiccated. The
vesicles leave small reddish spots, which generally disappear gradually,
almost always without a scar.

An eruption of chicken pox does not burst out all over the body at once,
but appears in successive rashes. It is not confined to any special
parts of the body. It may begin and spread at the same time from the
face, the trunk of the body or the limbs. A dozen pimples may be seen
the first day, while three or even ten times as many may be visible the
next day, and so on for several days in succession.

Sometimes the vesicles appear on mucous membrane at different parts--the
mouth, tongue, soft palate and tonsils--and may also invade the
conjunctiva and cornea, or the larynx, where they will set up
laryngitis.

Owing to the very contagious nature of chicken pox, the first thing to
be done is to provide for the complete isolation during a period of
twelve to fifteen days of all patients attacked by the disease.

The treatment of the disease is solely a matter of hygiene. The more
severe the fever the stricter the diet should be, and in the case of
great fever, the diet should be restricted to broth and milk. If there
is no fever the child need not be placed on any special diet.

If the intestines are sluggish, they may be stimulated by administering
a dose of castor oil. It is advisable to make the patient rinse his
mouth two or three times a day with a mouth wash. It is also well to
apply a lotion around the eyes and face, consisting of two per cent.
boracic acid solution with the chill taken off. Finally, in order to
prevent the child scratching the sores and the consequent danger of
inoculation by the finger nails, it is a good practice to rub a small
amount of carbolated vaseline over the itching parts. It is frequently
found necessary to have the little patient wear white woolen gloves to
prevent scratching and infecting the sores. If a child scratches the
sores on the face it will leave an unsightly mark which will stay for
the rest of its life.

The child, of course, should not be allowed to rejoin his playmates
without having had a good bath, and having had his clothes