Chickenpox or not

[Lowkeynote]

My DD (6) has had a few itchy spots appearing on the right side of her trunk last night. (She does has a bad history of spots appearing on her body out of the blue, 2 years ago she had her whole body covered for weeks and the GP couldn't get to the bottom of it. We never found out what it was). Also she does seem to attract insects so she gets itchy bites very often, plus little allergies if something doesn't agree with her. This morning the spots looked better, no new ones, so I sent her to school.

Around 11 am school called saying she's got some itchy spots and could it be chickenpox? I collected her and took her to a pharmacist who said it could be but wasn't sure. So she's staying home this afternoon.

But how do I know if its chickenpox? I don't want to keep her home next week if it isn't, considering her history? The GP is on lunch now and the receptionist said there are no appointments, but I wouldn't be able to take her in anyway just in case it is chickenpox.

I should say she's not got any other symptoms, no fever, not feeling unwell.

Has she had a runny nose recently ?
You’re looking for a blister on the spots.

Do they look like chicken pox? Chicken pox have a quite distinctive look that is different from most bug bites or a rash. They will have a little bubble of yellow puss at the top usually once they've fully come out. Do you see that? If not, I'd keep an eye for the next few days (it's a weekend anyway) and see how she looks on Monday am before you decide about school.

Usually that puss bubble (sorry!) will go crusty eventually and then it will start to heal and spots will start to fade after a week. If you see more of them coming out over the weekend, they start to eventually crust over in a couple days, then you can assume likely chicken pox. If they fade by Sunday afternoon, likely not chicken pox.

I don't think you need to see a doctor or pharmacist and generally they'll advise you not to bring them in because of infection risk. Mine were never poorly at the same time, but they got a bit of a chesty infection a few weeks before. Chicken pox has a long incubation period.

Thank you for your reply. I managed to get a last minute appointment with the GP at 4:20pm today. Also I did some 'research' online and I don't think it's chicken pox. It looks more like a rash and since I brough her home a few hours ago she hadn't itched. She's very well in herself and jumpy and happy, no fever.

I had chicken pox at the age of 18 and the spots were huge and very itchy as far as I can remember, I was also unwell for a few days. This looks nothing like it but I know symptoms can vary, hence my post.