Chicken Pox Questions (quick advice needed)

[Twiglett]

Well he's finally got the pox (I assume, he was exposed last Tuesday and has an itchy back with 3 or 4 red spots coming up), so as a CP virgin

Do I have to take him to the doctor?
Yes or No

What do I need to get for him?
Is it Calamine and Piriton? anything else effective in stopping the itch?

Thanks experienced ones

[LIZS]

That is quite quick for it to appear ! No don't bother with dr unless he becomes really unwell. Calamine and Piriton worked for us as did tepid baths with a teaspoon of bicarb of soda (helps the itch and dries them up). Don't talk about the I-word , we found by not putting the idea of scratching into his head ds didn't. He slept a fair bit though but was fine within a week.

Still waiting for dd to catch it - exposed twice now to no avail although would have been majorly incovenient times if she had so not too upset.

Good luck

[megandsoph]

g'day twiglett

DD1 had it two wks ago and all I used was camamile lotion and piriton. she only itched for a day but after that she was fine just keep loading up the lotion it worked wonders..

just had a phone call from exh DD2 has now got it too yeyyyy lol and shes coming home tomorrow Grrrr

just hope she is the same as DD1

[Solomon]

Thanks ..he's piritoned, calamined and painting

another question

how quickly do the spots come out once you first notice them .. he still only has about 4

[Twiglett]

Shoot, that was me forgot to change back

so how quickly do the spots come out please?

[LIZS]

We went from 2 at lunchtime to plastered by bedtime !

[QueenEagle]

Yep calamine and piriton should do the trick.

When I was about 5 months preg and ds3 was 18mths ish I was playing in the park with my kids. ds had been playing with another little boy throwing a ball back and forth and chasing each other around. It wasn't until about half an hour later that I noticed this boy had quite bad ch/pox and none of the scabs had dried. I really had a go at this mum for knowingly letting him mix with other kids without alerting the other parents he was playing with that he had the ch/pox. She just very flippantly said "oh well they've got to get it sometime, best when they are little". Yes I agreed but at that time I didn't want my ds to get it. I was furious with her for being so irresponsible.

[GhostofNatt]

If they do scratch and get some scabs, how likely are they to scar or are some scabs inevitable? Feeling guilty because DS1 has had since sunday but didn't realise about piriton...

[majorstress]

sometimes there aren't many spots ever.

[megandsoph]

twiglett

should see em sprouting all over now hun but all children are different shouldn't be long though

[megandsoph]

queeneagle thats bloody terrible specially with u being preggers too Grrrr

[Bozza]

spots will probably start to come very quickly now. But as they are on his back I personally wouldn't tell him yet if you can avoid it because I agree with Lizs at this age. Well DS at least is a real hypochondriac. Just act like you've gone bonkers and think 3 baths a day will be fun.

Would treat as the others have suggested and wouldn't bother going to the doctors. Its not really on just to parade into the waiting room during surgery hours(might be newborns, pg ladies etc) and ringing up and getting seen at another time is a hassle. Unless he gets very poorly, of course. Did speak to the doctor on the phone with DD but that was partly because she was under 6 months and I wanted to see if I could give her neurofen (between calpol doses). DD was much more poorly than DS but friend's DD who was 10 months at the time fared much better. Am assuming your DD will get it soonish.

[Bozza]

Agree that that is not on. Mine infected my friend's kids but this was with her knowledge and agreement (ie we spoke on the phone before arranging the playdate). When I got fed up of being stuck in the house with my two, I loaded them both into the car and drove onto the moors aimlessly until they both fell asleep and then went to a petrol station and bought magazine and chocolate.

[LIZS]

Think I've related this tale on MN before - sil turned up at a family get together with her (deliberately exposed) dd with cp developing before your eyes and her newborn, when ds was 18 months old. mil hadn't bothered to tell us in advance because it wouldn't matter would it . Noone had thought about what we might have wanted (she'd chosen to get it !) or the consequences should I have been pregnant for example.

I kept him away from his friends during the possible infectious period as it was summer and everyone was due to go away and couldn't face the responsibilty for ruining their holidays. Ironically he didn't even get it that time.

[Bozza]

She's obviously mad Lizs. DD was born in May and cp was going round DS's nursery all summer but I managed to ensure that she didn't get it until the end of September by not taking him to parties where there was cp etc.

[QueenEagle]

tbh I was ranting, but the incredible thing was this woman took offence at me saying something to her about it and at one point she actually made me queastion whether I was over-reacting. I did also point out I was pregnant but this didn't seem to bother her either. The other thing that really really annoyed me was the fact my dad has leukaemia and if we had unknowingly gone round his house with my ds incubating/infectious, the results could be literally life and death for my dad.

[QueenEagle]

apologies Twiglett for totally hijacking your thread!

[suedonim]

Unless they're very poorly it's not worth seeing the Dr but it's a good idea to phone the surgery so it can be put in the child's notes. In Scotland I think it's still a notifiable disease, anyway. Hth and that the itching isn't too bad!

[AnnieSG]

Hi there
I had a brilliant tip when my DS got it very recently (at 21 months old). A friend gave me something called Aveeno, an eczema treatment, because she'd found it good for CP. Anyway, I don't know if it's coincidence or not, but almost immediately he seemed to be in less discomfort and the spots dried up fast. I used the sachets in his bath, which makes it go kind of brown and scummy, but I think its made from finely-ground oatmeal, which is a traditional remedy for skin conditions. I also bought some cream, which I slapped on instead of calamine. Probably heresy to say so, but I've never thought calamine was much cop..You can get aveeno from the GP or just the chemist. Hope this helps!

[Twiglett]

Thanks all

he still only has the 4 or 5 spots - maybe it isn't CP after all?, how would I know for sure (without a doctor visit)

[Bozza]

Would give it until tomorrow to see might be that some develop overnight.

[Snugs]

Haven't read the whole thread so apologies if I repeat anything.

As a veteran of chicken pox (7+ times myself plus kids having it) I found that scarring was quite minimal. Even if a spot is scratched, the same one has to be scratched repeatedly for it to scar. Not saying he won't have any, but wouldn't worry too much.

I recommend using something other than calamine lotion. Try zinc & castrol oil cream - messy but just as effective. The problem with calamine is that it dries - and when dry is as itchy as the spots themselves.