When I was six, I told my mom that my friend was absent because she had Chicken Pox. My mom then remembered I never had a vaccine for chicken pox because I got sick the day I was supposed to have the shot when I was a baby. So she said I should remind her that we will go see a doctor for my vaccine.. Though I agreed, in the back of my mind I said "Yeah, I will try my best to forget you said that." Reason is I am extremely afraid of needles, why would I let myself get injected? My mom forgot about it eventually due to her busy schedule (thankfully). Since then, whenever she would remember about the pox, I would distract her with some other errand she needs to do so that her mind wanders off the topic. 17 years later, I am now a software developer and my boss just contracted chicken pox; he recovered a month later and I was so happy because I didn't get the virus! Two months later though to my surprise, I got chicken pox. Here's a photo of myself during and after Chicken Pox. Behold!
 during chickenpox (left) , post-chickenpox 2months update (right) |
Day 1 (July 20, 2016): Chicken Pox Confirmed!
I was at work when I discovered two blisters below my right ear. I was just feeling normal that time, then I remembered my supervisor had chicken pox two months earlier. When I showed the blisters to my team mates and my boss, they all advised me to go see a doctor. The nearest clinic, called Tokyo Healthlink, is just a couple of meters away from the office. When the nurses looked at me they immediately noticed the blisters on my collar bone which by the way, is just below the two blisters on my ears and another one on my right wrist which I noticed on my to the clinic. First blister I discovered on my left arm at around 8am |
 Two more blisters found below my left ear at 9am |
 3 more blisters at 9:30am just below the two blisters below my left ear |
When the doctor was examining me (Hi Doc Jane!), she first couldn't tell if I have chicken pox or not, since I only have 6 blisters and didn't have fever or headache. I guess it was just her gut feeling that pushed her to prescribe Aciclovir just in case I do have chicken pox. "Yung gamot kasi sa chicken pox is very effective on the first 24 hours of the illness. So if iinumin mo yung gamot at wala kang chicken pox pera lang ang mawawala sa iyo. But if may chicken pox ka at nakapagstart ka na today, the medicine will greatly help in minimizing the symptoms Sobrang puti mo pa man din", the doctor said.
So the medicines she prescribed to me are:
35 pcs. Acyclovir 800mg (antiviral), taken 5x/day for 7 days every 4 hours
20 pcs. Vitamin C with Zinc (for faster wound healing), 1x/day
Doc. Jane was very nice and accommodating. She even gave her number so I can update her about the blisters. She instructed me to take the medicine immediately if the blisters increase.
I decided to buy the medicines immediately and lo and behold, the branded version of acyclovir which is Zovirax COSTS 268php PER. PIECE. That's 9,380php for 35 pieces. While the generic one costs 125php per piece. I died inside when I heard the price. That's 625php EVERYDAY! Hell, I stopped for a moment and asked myself if I'm going to accept having chicken pox all over my face and body rather than buying these medicine.
I ended up buying 5pcs of generic acyclovir since I'm not yet sure if I have chicken pox. I went home at around 12noon. It was sunny and my room was really hot inside. I ate my lunch. I looked in the mirror and saw there were red spots all over my face and neck.
 Found on my right hand at 12noon while going home |
I updated Doc. Jane about the blisters and she advised me to start taking acyclovir and return to her after all the blisters have dried up. My skin really felt itchy and I accidentally scratched the blister on my neck. It became redder and itchier. Then I remembered I have the Nature Republic Aloe Vera 92% Soothing Gel. I didn't know what I was thinking but I smothered the gel all over my face, neck, and back. I felt a cooling effect and the itch was greatly reduced! I googled and found that the itch will worsen if the weather is hot.
(July 21, 2016): More Blisters Forming!
More Blisters Forming! The next morning. I felt itchier around my face and neck. And even on my ribs. I looked into the mirror and saw more blisters formed. I felt so sticky and itchy so I decided to take a bath which I regretted almost instantly as all the blisters burst.
(July 22, 2016): Started using Contractubex
Blisters started to darken and they are a bit depressed on the skin. I'm quite sure that these will leave craters on my skin-IF I don't do anything. I started using Contractubex. I don't really have much hope on this since it did nothing for my spider bite scar. I applied the medicine thickly on every blister since the Contractubex gel flakes on my skin when it dries. Also, a thicker application of the gel will help it stick to the skin more and not be removed easily. At this point, I stopped looking in the mirror and just hoped it will work.
Day 10 (July 29, 2016): Contractubex Update
I'm on my 8th day since I started using Contractubex. I'm not really sure if it worked but all my blisters in my face and neck were healed except for the big blister in the middle of my neck which got accidentally peeled off thrice. It was hard for me to accept but I already expected I was going to have a lot of craters and scars around my face, like on my nose and below my left eyebrow. Another dried blister on my left leg |
After 2 months
I'm GLAD that I didn't develop noticeable craters thanks to Contractubex. I can say that Contractubex did help in getting rid of my chicken pox scars because I had a blister at the back of my knee and it's way more noticeable that the ones I treated with Contractubex, which goes to show how effective it was.
Though my forehead was plagued with hyperpigmentation scars, it could easily be fixed with exfoliating soaps and creams. I’m currently using the snail soap from Endless Beauty by HBS. Will update soon.
Cheers!
-Alyssa
