Does this look like chicken pox?

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16mo DS has CP vaccination 2 months ago. A few weeks ago a couple of babies got CP at nursery. Another is suspected with hand foot and mouth.

Thursday night DS had a high fever and was quite unwell. Last night this red rash appeared (see photos), mostly on his legs, a few in his arms, mostly red spots, some that are shiny. They
haven't changed overnight and don't appear to be bothering him. His fever's gone and he seems really well now.

Obviously I can't diagnose this on the internet, we'll see how it looks and try to see a GP on Monday and keep him off nursery until then. But I was wondering if we were being over/undercautious. DS had been on/off sick with cold/fever/d&v throughout October and we've missed about 4 weeks of work - I'm considering trying to find an out of hours GP in the hope we get the all clear, can salvage it weekend and go back to nursery/work on Monday.

i would just go to pharmacist tomorrow if it were me. Another vote for hfm though It looks like a couple of cases i have seen and it's rife here at the mo. (east)

@canihaveanap ok that's fair enough, we won't take him.

The thing is he's still well. Spots haven't changed, his temperature is 37.5 and he's acting well, appetite is not as high as usual but pretty good last night. So should we just take him to nursery and hope they will agree it's not CP? My worry was that if there's the smallest chance it is CP then it would be irresponsible to take him without clearing it from a health professional. Will a pharmacist be able to tell us?

Maybe we'll just call the duty doctor on Monday and get confirmation that we don't need to come in and can send him to nursery, that way.

Thanks for all the responses, hard to know what to do the the first time!

Spoke too soon - found bigger, shinier spots on his wrist and toe. Chest is still clear. You're probably all right, it's HFM.

Tbh I'd put a modest amount of money on it being a mild case of CP due to immunity from the vaccination not having unfolded its full effect yet. My older two weren't 'ill' with CP (older than yours when they got it, but unvaxed). The rash appeared and one of them felt a bit dodgy for a few hours.

Could obv also be HFM.

Oh, x post. I lost that bet, then

DD is currently pox ridden

This is day two

All started out as little red spots (I thought it was a bite) then this lot appeared overnight.

Day 7 now and still blisters 😕

There are still no spots on his chest or face and the others don't appear to cause him any discomfort. I found more spots in his nappy. He's very snotty and has a loose

When could it tip from mild to severe HFM?

If he is otherwise well and we can take him to nursery, can we take him out and about? We were thinking of visiting an arboretum and then lunch out before he was afflicted. Would it be irresponsible to still go if we keep him away from others and wipe down high chair and table?

Singlebutmarried I'm sorry about your lo. Hope it's not too much longer to recovery.

DH is really down about another illness. He's complaining about how unhygienic the nursery must be and how they should be disinfecting everything. But it's the other babies and toddlers who are the germ factories right, there's really nothing we can do unless we keep him at home all the time.

Our initial preference had been a childminder as I thought DS wouldn't be ill as often, but I don't know if that was a correct assumption to make.

Hfm is really contagious before the spots appear. I wouldn't restrict your activities unless your baby seems too unwell for them.

OP. DD went to childminder and still got all the related coughs, colds etc.

The kids still mix with others as they still go to playgroups and other bits n bobs.

You’ll go through the whole disease fest again once they start school.

I was also going to bet on cp before the update. As dd2 got vaxxed then a few months later was really close to cp infected baby and came down with a line of spots on chest and nothing else. 1 eventually blistered. Reading about it it was possible to get really mild cp after vaccination.
I took her to gp because of immunocompromised friend and gp just said viral rash. (I had also thought bed bugs due to the line of spots).
I still think it was CP but likely that gp hadnt read all the info on what happens if you already had the cp vax.

However random ones on feet/hands/nappy/knees etc is like hfm.
I think nurseries get so many bugs because some change kids up to twice a day whereas some preschools only have 1-2 sets of kids a week. Such a turnover of kids so many more bugs.
Youngest kids are most likely to kust throw up without warning and in a busy environment not be noticed they arent feel well.
D&v is airbourne so if 1 kid is sick the germs would get on everything.
Hard to watch all the kids wash hands after toilet/before food etc.
More kids PT so accidents.
However although dd1 was really ill the only year in nursery she was nowhere near as ill the next year at school even at a large school.

Just to clear up, you don't need any confirmation from a gp to confirm it's chicken pox in any way, it's spreading infection and wasting an unnecessary appointment. If it's chicken pox just keep them off school or nursery until the spots have blistered.

Hfm can spread very quickly but advice would be the same as chicken pox, so long as they are not acutely unwell (one has to expect normal viral symptoms that come with these things) give calpol and keep an eye on the glass test till it blows over.

In terms of going out, obviously school or nursery is a no, I do think it would be irresponsible to visit people or go out for lunch, to cinemas or take the kids to the supermarket while they are infectious, but there's nothing wrong with taking them out for a walk or to the park for a bit of fresh air.

Just use common sense and keep off nursery until they have blistered.

Fyi most nurseries don't require you to keep them at home for hfm. In accordance with NHS guidance. Our nursery doesn't.

Ok, we're going to call the nursery tomorrow morning to see whether they'll take DS.

When dd has hfm when she was younger and I called and told them they said that she could come in too.
I didn't send her but previous poster is probably right it might be worth checking their policy

Thanks again all. Nursery were fine to take DS this week. He's been well and hfm spots started to harden up yesterday. I guess he's going to be infectious for a while yet though. I had planned a play date with a baby under one this week - I should cancel right? Should I keep him from baby toddler groups too? For how long?

On the downside DH is unwell and likely has it 😖. He's had a horribly painful sore throat for days now, mouth ulcers and spots, and doesn't feel up to work. I had a sore throat last week that quickly passed and a light cough since - desperately hoping it's done it's worst to me.

As adults, do you go into work if you have hfm?

I did but I didn't realise I had it for a while. No-one else caught it. I wash my hands regularly when I have a cold and use a handkerchief to avoid spreading it.

I wouldn't meet any babies under one as it can be a really miserable disease for the whole family. I caught it from my son who caught it from my nephew and it was really really horrible. He only got a few spots but I was covered from head to toe and couldn't go to work, washing my hands was too painful to do and picking up a knife and fork was impossible. I couldn't eat or drink and I couldn't go out as I looked horrifying.

I agree, I would cancel the play date. If I'd realised earlier it was hfm I probably would have stayed off work for a couple of days but mine was mild.