Chicken Pox Scars - What else can I do?

[Disorganisedmum]

Mt DS recently had chicken pox - 5 weeks ago - had what I would consider to be a very bad case - so many on his neck he couldn't even move his head :( and has been left with many scars to his face, particularly near his nose and on his cheeks - remarkably his neck although looking scarred the scars are flat - unlike those on his face which are the text book crater type scars.

I have been putting bio oil on them twice a day for three weeks and am wondering if there are any other suggestions out there to reduce the scars. He is very very fair in colouring (white blonde hair and blue eyes and attracts many stares whilst we are out and about because of his continued spotty appearance as the scars are still very red). Apologies if this may sound trivial only I am desperate to do something - could cry each time I look at them!

All suggestions gratefully received.

Thanks

[Missmiller]

Dents not debts!!!

[Dweet1259]

Thanks for your message Missmiller, reassuring to hear!! I hope I'm where you are now a couple of years down the line

[herewearenowentertainus]

hi dweet, me too hope i can feel as ok about their faces as you have managed to missmiller, we really appreciate hearing from you. had a good look at ds and dd faces today as sometimes how you feel about scars isn't linked to change in appearance, i'm still pretty gutted, always on my mind.
ds has had improvement in shallow dents at top of forehead, have more hope that these could flatten. top of nose still big dent, inner cheeks small dents no better.
dd chin and top lip (she has both sides) i think a bit less deep, 3 of 6 big forehead ones have milia cysts in i think from all the creme. under eyes colour faded slightly still dented. lots of small dents centre of forehead no better.

what's your lowdown dweet? any improvement at all?

[Missmiller]

Pm me if you want I'm happy to discuss further.

[farfarawayfromhome]

I see someone else has mentioned silicone, this is the key with scars. Ideally the patches that you wear over night but with a little one this won't ne possible, so I'd look for a topical cream, type.

I really feel for you. I had bad CP as a kid and am covered with tiny white marks, no one would notice but me. I do have a couple of craters in my eyebrows...I'm 41 so don't care and you can't see them.

We got the CP jab for my daughter as I couldn't handle her going through the pain I did.

Give it a lot more time and the silicone will make a huge difference.

[herewearenowentertainus]

missmiller it is so kind of you to offer more messaging and even to post with us when you have come such a long way from where we are, i hope i can be in your position in a couple of years and if i am i must not forget to support others as it really does help, thank you. tbh though i don't know much more to say or ask (other than obsessively talking about each scar!) as really i know that everyone is different and only time can tell what improvement might come. one question - did you say you applied any cream or sun cream, etc?

thanks farfaraway, i thought that silicone based creams were for temporary sort of filling/masking pitted scars but wouldn't actually help healing. please fill me in if i've got this wrong

[Missmiller]

So you can see a few marks still visible if you zoom but hardly anything in comparison to before!

They fade loads but it takes 2 years

[Missmiller]

And ok I can't reassure u that they go completely, because some don't, but they become less and less noticeable and barely visible unless you're really in bad light or really looking for them x

[Missmiller]

I tried bio oil for first couple of months and then palmers cocoa butter for a month but then left the scars to it. X

[telbert]

Dermalmd scar serum is suggested for me by my friend.After use of 1 month it has gone without any scars.skin feels really younger and lighter.It absorbs into the skin well.I used every day.

[Applesandpears56]

This is why if your children haven't had chicken pox you should get them vaccinated!

[Dweet1259]

Oh wow miss miller what a fantastic improvement!! I will be delighted if my DDs end up like that you wouldn't notice them!! Thank you for posting the pics, that's really encouraging. My DDs are definitely improving in terms of colour but they're certainly there in terms of depth although some are filling out ever so slightly. I don't cry anymore over them so they must be improving ha ha!! And she started school this week and to my knowledge nobody has said anything to her so that helps!! Hereweare how are you getting on? It's over 4 months now isn't it? I hope you are seeing some improvements too!!

[Dweet1259]

Thanks for all the other messages too and advice, I'm keeping up the derma effecx and silicone gel and will continue for another couple of months or so then leave her skin to it, I've been religious with the SPF throughout the summer months and will probably keep dabbing a bit on, for moisture if nothing else!! There will definitely be some that stay and she can have treatment for those when she's old enough.

[Dweet1259]

Fake68, did your son start his treatment?

[Cucumbersalad]

My daughter had a really bad case of chicken pox when she was 1 and was left with really deep marks on her forehead months later. I was really upset for her but I am happy to report that they are almost completely unnoticeable now a year on. I did use rosehip oil on them for a few weeks but dont know if that made any difference?

[Dweet1259]

Thanks cucumbersalad, always nice to read positive stories! Quite a few have recommended rosehip oil, I'll get some of that to try!

[herewearenowentertainus]

oh my goodness i'm actually tearful after seeing pictures of improvement missmiller, thank you so much! can't believe how much better they look, most positive/hopeful posts ever! thanks everyone!

will try putting some photos on, though am pretty ropey with computer and rubbish camera, have a go soon. dd has 6 dents similar to your dd's that were biggest and around 20 similar to her smaller ones.

thanks telbert, be looking into special scar or silicone gel as dweet. my anti-ageing serum theory does not seem to be making a difference, colour is fading on both dd and ds. depth has lessened slightly i think but not on foreheads as far as i can tell and that's the only place i've used it plus aloe vera/vitamin e moisturiser all over, massage in when they're asleep at night (stopped using anti-ageing on cheeks/near to eyes on both as dd complained of sore eyes).
have also wondered about rosehip? not enough hrs in day for everything plus sunscreen! reassuring you stopped applying anything missmiller

[herewearenowentertainus]

...and by the very same evening when the light caught the 10 or so large pitted scars on dh's face i was back to pessimism i'm afraid!

think everyone's skin has different capabilities of healing, really glad your dd's much improved missmiller. think/hope my ds's might also reduce to a reasonable level but got to prepare myself that dd will be scarred like daddy, can't believe i didn't know about vaccine and never even looked into chickenpox. i honestly believed scars were from picking or from infection.

will not be buying dermalmd serum as can't seem to find any good reviews that are genuine.

sticking with anti-aging/retinol to aid collagen production-should use for 6 months +, aloe proplolis/vitamin e at night and found a nice sun cream for winter palmers cocoa butter factor 30.

maybe there has been more improvement than i'm allowing myself to think, am not a big photographer and haven't got good camera so haven't got clear pictures to compare. tried to subtly photograph dd but she noticed and wasn't keen, don't want to do anything to make her more aware so have given up on that one for now xxxx

[Applesandpears56]

There's really bad awareness about the vaccine and also loads of misinformation about it. It's such a shame most people are only aware of it after they know someone who has had a bad case of it. I think health visitors or gps should give information to patents on the optional vaccines out there that you can get privately - men b for older kids, chicken pox, flu etc

[Missmiller]

Herewearenow - how old is your dd? You are I the same place I was two years ago. I was gutted. Pm me, I'm happy to talk you through the healing process of it would help xx

[apox]

Missmiller - Thank you so much for posting pics of your daughter - amazing progress which really gives me some much needed hope.

Can I ask how long post CP the May2015 picture was taken? We are 3 months in and although they aren't as red there hasn't been any noticeable filling in yet and still very noticeable - similar to your May 2015 pic. It is a bit of a concern as I had read the bulk of the healing occurs in the first 3 months.

[Missmiller]

Hi apox, this was about a month after her chicken pox but there wasn’t noticeable progress for ages, she was only 2.5 when she had them and I think her growing has helped stretch out the ones around the edges of her face. She has a couple on her cheekbones which haven't really changed much and the ones you can see on the more recent post pics. Her scars are barely noticeable in person, no one ever notices them now and when I’ve told people about how severe her spots were, I’ve had people comment about how lucky she was that she didn’t scar!! They really are that hard to see unless she’s in a very particular light from a particular angle and either tired or hot! She’s not bothered by them at all. She noticed them a year or so ago and asked what they were and I was honest and just said “marks from chicken pox”. She hasn’t noticed them since and I feel they have continued to improve lots. I did hear once that usually, chicken pox marks fade massively if caught when 5 or under and usually disappear completely by teen years. Then we’ll have acne to deal with !!!