Help! DD sent home with 'chicken pox'

[Penguin13]

Just wanting some advice on what to do. Nursery called this morning for me to pick up DD as they think she has chicken pox but am 99% convinced it is actually eczema as very similar to what she has had before and the spots under her arms first appeared on Sat night and haven't developed since although a very few new ones have appeared if you really squint closely. Phoned for an emergency doc appointment but was fobbed off with the pharmacist who basically said it's inconclusive. They said it could develop into c pox but to wait and see.

If I push for a doc appointment are they likely to tell me any different? Is it actually possible to tell in the very early stages if it definitely is c pox? Obviously don't want to waste doc time but don't want to keep DD off nursery for no reason either....

If your DC have had it how long did it take to develop into c pox proper? Are we talking hours or days??

[BernardsarenotalwaysSaints]

Less than hours. DS (at the time 4yo) came out first. I noticed 2 spots at 8am & by 9am they were in double figures. It was pretty much the same with both DDs too. The baby never got I though...

[Penguin13]

Thanks Bernards in that case would be hugely surprised if this does turn into c pox. How annoying that I have had to race home from work on a false alarm although I understand why nursery are ultra cautious.

[BernardsarenotalwaysSaints]

*it.

Just realised I never said how long they 'spotted' for. DS got fresh spots for about 4 days, 1st DD to get it 5 days, 2nd DDS 7 days (although the day 7 ones healed very quickly).

[OldBooks]

DD had high temperature, loss of appetite, lethargy etc for a couple of days before the spots came. Until I saw the spots I thought it was just a normal virus. Then the spots developed over a few days and did look like a rash at first. I did take her to the GP as she had just had her 1 year vaccinations and the GP thought it was a reaction to that. More spots developed the next day and then there was no doubt it was c pox.

[Thornrose]

With my dd she had a couple of spots which I didn't recognise as chicken pox so took her to school. By the time we got to school she already had new ones!

[Dixiechick17]

My DD had two spots on day one, about eight on day two morning, by evening quote a few more, by day three covered from head to toe. Some kids only get a fee spots.

[CryingShame]

They will always err on the side of caution though. DS' nursery sent him home with "chicken pox" which turned out to be viral.

Be aware though that cp can be very minor - DS had it twice, and was mild first time, so it's worth checking with the nursery if it's going around.

[MigGril]

It does depend on the child though, DD I knew within 24th from first sporting it. DS I was convinced several times he was coming down with it but it took several days for his to come out properly. So it still could be it's a wait and see game really.

[AndNowItsSeven]

My dc have been sent home three times with " chicken pox" always viral or excema!

[BikeRunSki]

DS had 3 or 4 spots in the Tuesday, then nothing until the Saturday night when about 2000 appeared overnight and his temp shot up

[Penguin13]

Thanks for all the opinions. Judging by the way DD is bouncing around after her nap she isn't feeling too ropey which is hopefully a good sign and no more spots have appeared. The only sign of anything amiss really was that she was a bit cuddly yesterday pm just after her nap which is very unusual for her. I really don't want to have to take another day at home waiting to see if she becomes unwell....thank goodness this is only the second time I have had to take her home on a work day since i started in Jan as the only work I have managed to do is during her nap!

[lougle]

DD1 was grouchy and generally 'off' one morning - she was 6 at the time, with Special Needs and at Special School, so it wasn't terribly easy to tell what was wrong, but I just felt she 'wasn't right'.

I phoned the head teacher at about 7am, who said 'mmm....has she had chicken pox?' to which I answered 'No ' and she said 'well just keep an eye...'. By 9am I was phoning her back to tell her that she had spots - they spread like wildfire.

[IAmAPaleontologist]

I picked ds2 up from his childminder to drop him off at a settling in session at nursery approx 2 min from childminder's house. Just before I picked him up the childminder had stripped him as she had changed his nappy and clothes and had not noticed anything unusual. As I was shoving him through the gate at nursery I noticed 2 spots behind his ear so stopped him and lifted his top, his torso was covered!

Ds1 has been no sent home from school a couple of times with a rash, very annoying when he is eczema prone and I have to take him to the gp to have them say that yes it is a flare up so I ca take hi back to school, feels like a waste of an appointment but thems the rules. Last time he had some spots that looked like the start of chicken pox but by next morning they hadn't developed or blistered so I knew it wasn't. Turned out it was scarlet fever.

Hope for you it is just a bit of a flare up

[Penguin13]

This is a pic of the spots such as they are. They haven't really changed since I picked her up around 11.

[Goingtobeawesome]

That really doesn't look like anything untoward at all never mind chicken pox!

[Penguin13]

They look ever so slightly darker in the flesh but glad it's not just me wondering what all the fuss is about!

[InfiniteCurve]

Yes,not sure I'd register those spots at all!
But when DD had chickenpox,it looked just like the infected spots she'd had because of her eczema ( diagnosed by Dr,treated successfully with antibiotics...). We were visiting my DSis so went to her Dr who also thought it was the infection back,more antibiotics.
It was only when they didn't go and a guy in the supermarket asked if she had chickenpox that we all decided that yes,she probably did have.She was a bit grumpy,but we'd done a lot of travelling and she was in a strange place - she wasn't ill.
It can be hard to tell!

[Goingtobeawesome]

pox picture here

[Penguin13]

So we have made it through the day without any more spots appearing and with DD driving me nuts this pm with her boundless energy We have to present her for inspection at nursery tomorrow. Crossing everything that she is allowed to stay!