The use of oral acyclovir in otherwise healthy children with varicella

Children with varicella, or chickenpox, who are at risk for developing complications from the disease may benefit from treatment with acyclovir. Acyclovir is not recommended routinely for treatment of chickenpox in children. However, children older than 12, children with lung disorders or chronic skin infections and children whose immune systems may be dysfunctional are candidates for treatment with acyclovir. Treatment with oral acyclovir should begin within the first 24 hours of a child developing the chickenpox rash. A 1991 study found that acyclovir reduced the number of lesions when compared to a placebo, or inactive substance. Only 5% of the treated group developed new lesions by the third day of treatment compared with 20% of the placebo group. The children receiving acyclovir were treated four times each day with 20 milligrams of acyclovir per kilogram of body weight. Side effects were infrequent.