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Children's health

Chicken pox scar

15 replies

Louise3101 · 02/02/2016 15:27

My daughter had chicken pox a month a go and has an indented scar on her forehead. She didn't pick it, the scab just fell off.

I have been massaging daily with aloe and vit e.

Does anyone was an experience of these indented scars fading?

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TheGreatSnafu · 02/02/2016 16:39

They can fade, it just depends on the individual. Scars often look lumpier initially then they will heal to a smoother finish - however this is a "traumatic" scar so may not heal perfectly smoothly.

The whole process of scar maturation can take up to 2 years so don't worry about how it looks right now.

New scars respond to hydration and pressure which is what you are doing - moisturising it 2 x a day is good.

You could also apply a hydrocollodial dressing (google it to understand how it works) in the form of a Compeed plaster - they are invisible and are sold for cold sores but work great for this type of small facial scar.

Also, be vigilant about protecting the skin from sun exposure.

You can buy silicone scar gel if you want - Kelo-Cote UV is a silicone gel that is expensive but you will only need a teeny drop for her scar. It also has sunscreen.

Hope it all heals up nicely.

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ktmummy1 · 02/02/2016 20:02

How old is your daughter? My daughter had terrible indented scars from chicken pox- 20 + scars on her forehead . She was 2.5 yrs. 10 months old they are LOADS better and most people don't notice them but at the time they were bright red and very obvious. Now there are still a number of indents but some flattened (about half of them) the rest are skin coloured and so only noticible in certain lights. It took a good 7 months for the redness to fade. Pm me if you want.

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lucy101101 · 02/02/2016 20:06

Hi my son had a few scars on his face from chickenpox at 18 months. At 5 you really cannot see them and I am very surprised as they were quite indented and I really thought they were there for good. Great advice above though!

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Floowho · 02/02/2016 20:09

The worst ones to scar tend to be the original giant spots. Most children have chicken pox scars somewhere or other.

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ktmummy1 · 02/02/2016 20:28

Lucy- how long did it take the indents to flatten. My daughter has about 10 stubborn ones which don't seem to be growing out/flattening after 10 months. They still look fairly deep in some lights.

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lucy101101 · 02/02/2016 20:33

Hi ktmummy1, they were definitely still there at 10 months, thats very early days. It was only recently that I noticed that I couldn't see them anymore, and he had the chickenpox nearly 4 years ago.

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ktmummy1 · 02/02/2016 20:46

Good news:). Thanks Lucy, overall they have improved dramatically in 10 months so a few yes time I'm hoping they'll be gone. Ps OP- sorry to hijack your thread slightly, it's all relevant hopefully!!

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Louise3101 · 02/02/2016 23:16

Thanks so much ladies you have been so helpful. I'm glad that the thread helped others to.

She is 2.5 as well.

It makes me sad when I see the scars, her stomach has quite s few pit marks too. They all look so indented and dramatic I can't see how they will get any better. It's good to hear that over the years they will fade.

I'm so obsessed I feel sorry for her every night and morning I'm massaging the scars. Looking at them in different lights.

Lucy were the ones that have faded indented at the time? Did you treat them in anyway?

Ktmummy1 have some of the indented ones filed in? The one that upsets me the most is a deep one on her forehead it's so obvious.

CP is horrendous and the after results are horrible!

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ktmummy1 · 03/02/2016 06:07

Louise my daughters were really horrendous- her face was so bad- honestly 20 or more deep marks. they glowed red for months which made them worse. I promise they will improve in time. I was so upset about it but they do fade loads. PM if you want

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ktmummy1 · 03/02/2016 06:57

Oh and to answer your question... Yes about half flattened, particularly those around her hairline. The worst ones are in between her eyes and on her temple and a couple on her cheeks and eyelids. After 10 months these are still pitted but not noticeable much unless in bright daylight or spotlights. My daughters case was very severe and I never thought they'd improve as dramatically as they have. I do still feel sad when I see the damage to her skin now as she was so flawless 10 months ago. But I have hope they will soften and improve further as time goes on. It may take several years as Lucy found. No one ever comments on her skin now as I think they are not obvious to others, but I see them of course. One thing I have never done is drawn attention to them or mentioned it to her. She is totally unaware and even when she looks in a mirror, she doesn't see them.

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HelpfulChap · 03/02/2016 07:05

My lovely DC gave me Chicken Pox iny 30s Grin

I still have a couple of the scars on my face as evidence but they are not that noticeable.

I'm sure they must fade even more when you get them as a child.

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Witchend · 03/02/2016 12:54

Dd2 had horrendous chicken pox at 7 months old. She was covered in scars for a bit. I did nothing to them and nearly all have totally disappeared. There's a very tiny pit by one of her eyebrows that no one ever notices that is the only one that was left.

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TooMuchOfEverything · 03/02/2016 12:59

It's around 7 years since mine had CP as toddlers - they both still have scars BUT obviously the children are much bigger now, so the scars look much smaller in comparison. They don't look bad at all, they are just there and part of them iyswim.

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TheGreatSnafu · 03/02/2016 17:21

It also varies widely person to person as to how well their skin heals after trauma - I had CP at 8 years old and had a big pock mark on my face because I don't heal very well from scars - I have a tendency to build up excess scar tissue which I why I know about scar care Sad

My brother is the same as me and he has a big CP scar on his cheek but his didn't look as bad as mine for some reason.

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Zippysbird · 10/08/2016 16:16

Ktmummy1

Would be nice to talk to someone who understands how i feel but am no good at this mumsnet stuff and havent got a clue how to PM you (Shocking i know)
Can you PM me as i can find my inbox pmsl :)

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