AboutDr. Ravindra Bhaskar Ghooi Expertise I can provide information on drugs and medicines, their actions, uses, interactions and adverse effects. To avoid confusion, generic names of
medicines may please be provided. I am a pharmacologist, having worked
on animal and human pharmacology, and presently I am the Dean of Bilcare Research Academy, where we teach courses on clinical research. We dont work on saturdays and sundays, hence questions reachng me on these days will be replied on Monday, please bear with me.
My mother had been exposed to varicella for 3 days now. The doctor declined to give her vaccine. Can she take Zovirax 400mg three times a day for seven days? What will be the effect?
What else can she do aside from drinking lots of fluids, taking vit. c, eating healthy foods to avoid acquiring varicella? Or is it already too late? If so, what is the best thing to do?
Thank you very much.
Answer Hi Melojane,
The recommendations of Atlanta based CDC are clear about people exposed to varicella, who can be and who should not be given the vaccine. As per these after exposure to an infected person, vaccine is to be used withi three days of exposure. Proabably this is the criterion for your doctor declining to use it.
Drugs may be used to reduce the intensity of the disease and Zovirax is the only drug recommended for this. It should be initiated at the earlest sign of the disease, its role when used late is doubtful.
I would therefore wait to see if she develops any symptoms and if they do appear then initiate the treatment. A doctor's advice would be essential for this.
Ravi Ghooi
