What Is the Treatment for Varicella?
Because varicella is caused by a virus, it does not respond to antibiotics. Doctors advise infected adults and people with weakened immune systems, who are typically at greater risk of experiencing complications of chicken pox (such as pneumonia, nu-MO-nyah, which is inflammation of the lung), to be treated for a few days with specific antiviral medications, such as acyclovir (a-SYE-klo-veer), to control the infection. Preventive treatment also is recommended for people living in the same house with a person who has chicken pox. Children with chicken pox should not be given aspirin for fever, because of the risk of Reye syndrome*. A non-aspirin fever reducer such as acetaminophen (uh-see-teh-MIH-noh-fen) is recommended instead.
