Chicken pox pitted marks not going away

[Ktmummy1]

My daughter had chicken pox starting April 14th. All her scabs had fallen off by May 2nd. They were mainly on her face, the weather was hot and at night, as she turned in bed, they fell off. She has about 20 very noticeable pitted circular pockmarks on her face, mainly her forehead but a few also on her cheeks and eyelids. They are so obvious still. My daughter is 2yrs 9 months. Basically, I am feeling very upset about how marked her skin is, people constantly comment on the marks-"oh she looks like she's had chicken pox!" Everywhere I take her. I know they are only empathising but it's getting me down. Do these marks go? How long does it take? They are still quite pink, and pitted, even now 8-10 weeks later, please share your experiences.

[ppeatfruit]

dd1 still has one CP mark on her eyebrow at 35 she didn't scratch it at all either. Maybe try to gently wash her face with 2 or 3 drops of lavender ess. oil in half a cup of water. Otherwise it's just time that will fade them. Sorry.

[ppeatfruit]

Maybe someone else will recommend something .

[MaudeTheMopLady]

Don't worry. I was beside myself that DS was scarred for life (he had it at same age as your daughter). They were all over his face and body, extremely red and angry and in places very deep. He is now 4 and they have completely faded. He does have a little mark over his eyebrow where he had a particularly deep one, but its barely noticeable and the other ones have either faded or are no longer really visible. They were very bad and deep at the time. I did use an anti-scar cream at the time on the really enormous one - though not very often because he couldn't stand having cream put near his face! I am certain they will fade. I know how upsetting it can be. Also, apparently as they grow their skin stretches and moves - so the marks may end up being in her hairline when she is older.

[SmileAndNod]

DS had chicken pox when he was 2.9 too and was left with quite a few scars. Unfortunately they haven't disappeared or faded and are still quite noticeable, though not as red. He didn't scratch at all

It used to upset me a lot to think how beautiful his skin was, but he's still my baby boy. Having said that if DD hasn't had it in the next year (before she's 3) I'm considering having her vaccinated.

[addictedtosugar]

I think DS2's faded over about 6 months. They are barely notacible now, but were pretty obvious 2 months after having CP.
Don't worry too much yet, there is still plenty of time for healing

[Ktmummy1]

Thanks for the replies so far. I feel a little bit better but concerned that a couple of you say the marks haven't gone. My dd is very scarred at present. SmileandNod-how long ago did ur ds have chicken pox. Maude-thank u for your positive reply-did the pitted scars fill in over time then?

Please keep your experiences coming.

[SmileAndNod]

It was 5 years ago next month that he had chicken pox. Dd was a baby and although she had far far more spots, she was left pretty much unscarred - she has a couple of marks on her leg. There's not much I can do about it, I did try oils for a while but they didn't do anything. It's just part of him now. He's still beautiful and has no shortage of female admirers

[Ktmummy1]

Ah well it's good to hear they don't bother you at all now, my daughters are still pink and I think the appearance of them will improve once they become normal skin colour. I'm dubious as to whether the pits will go though. She is small for her age though and has loads of growing to do yet, so that's promising. Also she's a very fair complexion and light blonde if that makes a difference.

[AdventureBe]

DH still has a couple but I have never seen an adult with loads, so I 9we) have to assume that the vast majority fade with time. It's only been a few weeks.

[Only1scoop]

Did you post about her before? If so I recall them being quite severe.

It's such early days yet. Dd had still got the marks at 3 months some faint ones even up to 12 months. They do fade I promise and I can remember thinking they would never go. She has no scaring now.

[Ktmummy1]

Excuse me justputyourshoesonnow? I know this is not a major issue in the grand scheme of things and I do think myself lucky to have a healthy happy child. However, I was under the impression that this board was for SUPPORT over any issue, minor or major. Some people are affected easily by things and I am upset by my daughter having had severe chicken pox and now having severe pock mark indentations all over her face. I turned here for supprt from people who have had children with these marks to find out if they will go. Certainly did not expect to be shot down in flames for seeking some advice. I am not trying to make out tgat this compares to anything serious, but to me (and this is a personal thing) I am upset to see my two year old going from flawless to severely pockmarked. I would never belittle someone or disregard their emotions over any issue, what gives you the right to make me feel bad for looking for a bit of reassurance.

[littlesupersparks]

My sons had chicken pox a few months ago. My eldest has a deep scar on his chest (that spot was immense, like nothing I've ever seen before!) and one on the side of his nose. I was thinking today that the one on his chest has faded recently. The one on the side of his nose is not that noticeable really. Just a little imperfection. My younger son had many more spots and still has lots of marks in his groin area. I do think those are fading too though. I'm sure they will really fade. I empathise as my eldest is a very 'beautiful' child and I was relieved when he had hardly any spots on his face. I feel a bit awful admitting that!

[LHReturns]

Ktmummy1 you are quite right to be upset about this, I too would be distraught until I had evidence that the marks were fading. If it helps at all my mother tells me that I was literally covered in huge angry red blisters when I got chickenpox as a toddler, including my face. While it took some months to clear, I finished up with only one small scar in the middle of my back (which I still have 35 years later!).

Justputyourshoeson, your 'rant' is enormously naive. We live in a highly looks oriented society, which none of us have any control over. It is absolutely natural that a loving mother would worry about something dimishing the baby-faced perfection of her little girl.

Ktmummy1 another mother told me that Mederma gel helped clear her babies chickenpox scars beautifully. Takes persistence, but it works.

[Imperial]

Bio oil night and morning for about 6 - 12 months cleared up my daughter's at about the same age. She had it so badly she was on the verge of septicaemia but she is now 5 and you really have to look closely to see any tiny marks. We were obsessive about the oil though and didn't skip a single day.

[Ktmummy1]

Thanks to the lovely parents who have commented with reassuring support and advice, your understanding and empathy is exactly what I'm needing at the moment. We have been using aveeno cream, bio oil and high factor suncreams as often as my dd will tolerate but not everyday. One thing that upset me was her professional photo was taken in nursery last week and the photographer took it upon himself to airbrush the pock marks out. Reinforced my concerns about how evident the scarring is.

Thanks again for the information and help so far, keep sharing any experiences as it is so helpful to have this source of support and empathy.

[Only1scoop]

They will fade.... although I know at the moment it seems like how could they possibly? She will be ok

And as for the prev post....no it's not life threatening but Op has genuine and very understandable concerns....all relative to her feelings. This forum is for support for goodness sake.

[lanbro]

Dd2 21mo had them end of march and she still has marks. She had over 200 tho so not surprised they haven't all faded yet!

[MappingTheMind]

My DD had terrible facial chicken from pox. I'm afraid to say that despite a year of rubbing in vitamin E oil daily she still had many pits. The pix were four years ago, I've given up hoping they will fade. The colour did fade though so at least they became less noticeable.

[TheDeafeningClatterofDuplo]

Mine are still visible at 40

One of those things...

[lljkk]

They take ages & ages to fade, don't despair. Their skin at this age is amazing for self-repair.

DS picks at his skin leaving CP-style marks, even his fade eventually.

[MaudeTheMopLady]

Sorry for delay ... Yes they did fill in over time... The huge crater one on his forehead sort of widened out as the skin has stretched. The other deep pockmarks you can no longer see unless you get him incredibly close and do a lot of searching. ( I was beside myself at the time ... So sad that his perfectness had been marred). I honestly think in one or even two years time you won't notice a thing. It can't harm to keep up with bio oil and scar cream in the interim.

Also my son is completely porcelain white skinned with white blonde hair so the marks looked very bad at the time. yesterday ds's teacher asked if he'd ever had it, which must mean they are no longer noticeable!

[Ktmummy1]

Mapping the mind- how old was your DD when she had pox?

Thanks for replying with more information, there is very little information on the internet about this issue in toddlers, so reading the experience of others is extremely helpful.

[MappingTheMind]

KT - she was two when she had the pox. It's been over 4 years now and I can 27 little pits on her face :-(. I think it's mainly me that notices as they are colourless but others do occasionally ask about them.