A mum's tip for soothing her daughter's chickenpox has gone viral.
Clare Jenkin first shared her tip a few years back when she was at her wits' end with her daughter Reagan scratching her spots. Now, with cases of chickenpox on the rise again, it's being shared by parents once more.
The mum said her doctor recommended using Head and Shoulders Classic Clean shampoo as a bubble bath - and it worked wonders. Sharing photos of her daughter in a Facebook post in 2019, she said: "Anyone whose kiddies pick up chickenpox, I cannot recommend this enough!!
READ MORE: Concern raised as scarlet fever and chickenpox cases make 'unprecedented' increase
"Reagan went to the docs today and we were advised to use Head and Shoulders CLASSIC as a bubble bath to soothe the spots.
"The difference is unbelievable! Over an hour without a single scratch or moan! No more angry red spots. Hopefully this helps anyone else who’s at their wits' end with scratching children."
Clare's post was a hit with fellow parents - it was shared 57,000 times in less than 24 hours and received 16,000 comments - many of them tagging people in to share it with them. With cases rising again, those figures have now reached 183,000 and 47,000 respectively.
One parent said she'd given the shampoo a go herself and had similar success. Kirsty Craig said: "I actually tried this this morning and it seems to have calmed the itch right down."
Another said it helps with her own skin condition, adding: "I use this on my body for my psoriasis and it helps so much redness goes down and skin isn't as scaly."
Chickenpox is a very common childhood illness, particularly among children at primary school and is caused by a highly contagious virus (called Varicella Zoster) normally caught during childhood.
In 2017, Superdrug became the very first high street retailer to offer a chickenpox vaccination. The chickenpox vaccine is not part of the routine childhood vaccination schedule in the UK, and is currently only available on the NHS for those who are at high risk of spreading the virus to particularly vulnerable people.
There's a worry that introducing chickenpox vaccination for all children could increase the risk of chickenpox and shingles in adults. While chickenpox during childhood is unpleasant, the vast majority of children recover quickly and easily.
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