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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think it isn't chickenpox after all?

29 replies

ChickenpoxQ · 27/07/2021 19:09

My 6yo child came out in spots on Saturday. Raised red bumps. I assumed chickenpox because of the way they're scattered all over, thighs, arms, tum, back, and bum.

I went to the pharmacist on Sunday who said he couldn't tell if it was chickenpox or an allergy to something and to ask GP.

I managed to get through to our GP on Monday (yesterday) on the phone who have a system where you can send a picture then they can consult on the phone. Very grateful for the GP calling back as I know they are overwhelmed at the moment.

I sent GP the attached pics that I took on Saturday and spoke on Monday, the spots hadn't really changed in that timeframe. She said it was probably a mild case of chickenpox.

Thing is, the spots have near enough vanished now. They're flat and just slightly darker than normal skin tone.

AIBU in thinking it's not chickenpox and I probably overreacted? Chickenpox doesn't just vanish in 4 days does it?

(YABU - chickenpox
YANBU - Not chickenpox)

To think it isn't chickenpox after all?
To think it isn't chickenpox after all?
OP posts:
SunbathingDragon · 27/07/2021 19:13

Chickenpox can go in four days but I agree with you that it’s unlikely to be the culprit. Usually pox starts off with a cluster and they keep going over the best part of a week or so with fluid blisters that turn into scabs.

I’d guess allergy but I can also see how pox couldn’t be ruled out over the weekend based on those pictures. Otherwise has your child been unwell lately? It could be a post viral rash although that would be lower down my guess list than an allergy.

greenlynx · 27/07/2021 19:19

It doesn’t look like chicken pox for me. However I would like to know what it’s so would contact GP again tomorrow.

Looubylou · 27/07/2021 19:25

Doesn't look like chickenpox to me, or hives. Could they be bites? As PP said chickenpox dries ad scabs rather than just flattening

DrunkenKoala · 27/07/2021 19:31

DS had similar a few years ago, we thought it was chicken pox but all gone within 5 days. Happened again a few weeks later, took him to the GP who said post viral rash. Strangely he’d been fine health wise in the run up to it so we don’t know what the virus was to cause it - one of life’s mysteries.

CP spots come out in waves over a week and can take a few weeks to fully disappear.

Maray1967 · 27/07/2021 19:36

Not chickenpox. DC2 had something like this but it was different from DC1’s definite chickenpox. GP who saw it at first ( he was 11 months) said it looked like chickenpox but was surprised as it is rare at that age. A few days later the spots had faded. I rang up and GP said if they had not scabbed then it was definitely not chickenpox but a different milder virus.

user1493494961 · 27/07/2021 19:40

If he wasn't ill, I wouldn't have worried about it, it could have been a heat rash.

Evenstar · 27/07/2021 19:44

Does he have any other symptoms as COVID can cause rashes?

linerforlife · 27/07/2021 19:45

Could it be roseola?

starofwonder · 27/07/2021 20:20

I am in the same quandary- DS (10) has come out in a very similar looking rash all over torso and thighs which I thought looked like the start of chicken pox but I'm certain he has had chicken pox before so seems unlikely. He also seems well and says it's not itchy. Am keeping an eye on these ones which look like they have potential to blister/crust but most of them seem to be fading. Maybe there's something else flying around at the moment.

To think it isn't chickenpox after all?
dementedpixie · 27/07/2021 20:25

Chickenpox tends to blister and crust over so doesn't sound like that's what it is

buckeejit · 27/07/2021 21:14

Heat rash?

beela · 27/07/2021 21:18

My 6yo has had similar - gp said chicken pox based on a photo, but she's had it before and it has faded without scabbing. Lasted about 4 days. I think it was a form of heat rash, or some other weird virus, but I don't think it was cp.

Bunnycat101 · 27/07/2021 22:24

So we’ve had a mystery pox v not pox issue with my youngest. Eldest definitely had it and then a few weeks later youngest was spotty so assumed pox but they disappeared quickly and never scabbed. No idea what she had. Hoping it was pox as it would have been v mild if so.

Whatwouldscullydo · 27/07/2021 22:28

Ironically i had something similar with dd2 aged 10. Abkut 5/6 spots that could have theoretically been the very early stages ( a quick Google search ) I kept her off school for a day as I remember from when dd1 had CP they spread like wilde fire so I'd hoped hut rh end of the first day we'd have some kinda "sign" of what they were. But nothing. Then as quickly as they arrived they went. I presumed they were bites in the end from her playing on the field.

Bunnycat101 · 27/07/2021 22:33

This was our mystery rash. It was full body and then went super quickly.

To think it isn't chickenpox after all?
Waterfallgirl · 27/07/2021 23:48

I don’t want to alarm you OP but it could be a Covid symptom - see this article - covid.joinzoe.com/us-post/skin-rash-covid

Xmasbaby11 · 27/07/2021 23:51

My dd had chicken pox and it was just like this. Not hundreds of spots. Vanished within a few days. Gp diagnosed it so assumed they were correct! It was definitely a mild case- itchy for a couple of days but not unbearable.

sherlockhomeless · 27/07/2021 23:55

We have had so many children on our ward with this and they've all tested positive for covid or RSV. Our drs think it's a viral reaction

bunnytheegghunter · 28/07/2021 06:58

Mine get this when they have been out in the heat and had lots of sun cream applied. Seems to be worse if they've been in the pool as I apply sun cream over and over again!

OutOfTrousers · 28/07/2021 07:09

My Dd apparently had chicken pox and it looked like this. She was fully vaccinated though.

ClaryFairchild · 28/07/2021 07:43

My youngest has this, random spots and one or two looking like chicken pox with the head and crusting over, but the others never did develop the head, on and off for about 6 weeks.

GP said it could be one of any number of mild viruses, but that if it was chicken pox it would not have been a strong enough infection to result in an immunity anyway. About 6 months later he came down with a full blown case of chicken pox anyway.

CecilyP · 28/07/2021 11:12

Chickenpox tends to blister and crust over so doesn't sound like that's what it is

Have to say they look more like bites to me.

Notjustanymum · 28/07/2021 11:16

If she was sitting or playing underneath oak trees that were previously infested with OPM (oak processionary moth) caterpillars, then their discarded bristles on the ground underneath can cause a reaction that’s often misdiagnosed as chicken pox. It’s been a huge problem here in Surrey for the past few years, and this year was particularly bad...
Check trees where she has been playing - the nests should be empty now, but look like spiderweb sacs on the trunk or underside of branches of oak trees.

picklemewalnuts · 28/07/2021 11:20

My experience of CP is a handful of spots, followed by more then by loads. They don't arrive in one go, if you see what I mean. They also crust and disappear gradually rather than in one go. Some will be blistered while some crust and some fade.

Noorandapples · 28/07/2021 11:52

My 5 year old had this very recently, gp said probably a viral rash. He had it in two waves, and now maybe I'm thinking he should have been tested for covid. The mystery rash does seem to be going around!