help please - really not sure if DD has chickenpox and GP shut as it's Sat!

[curlyLJ]

Never had it myself and never really seen the spots in early stages so not sure... DD has had a funny rash behind her knees and at the back of her neck for a few days - was keeping my eye on it as thought it might be heat rash or excema - this may or may not be related. She has got up this morning covered in small raised spots (some feel like they might have heads on but not sure) that are not particularly red but she has been scratching some of them. They are mainly on her arms, legs and torso.

The main reason I am unsure whether it's the pox is that she is absolutely fine in herself, although she has been waking up particularly early for the last 3 days and I read that CP makes them sleep more but her appetite is normal as is everything else bar that rash.

GPs is shut as it's Saturday - should I whizz her to the chemist (before the shops get busy) for them to confirm or is that irresponsible? If it's not CP I don't want to stay in all w/e unnecessarily...

Why not google pictures of cp?I wouldn't go to a gp anyway unless there were complications for risk of spreading it to the vulnerable

I have but i'm still confused!! a lot of the spots in the pics look quite red and hers aren't particularly. Some are raised some not

I wouldn't take her to the chemist..what if a staff member was pregnant and hadn't had it

I was under the impression chicken pox developed blister-like heads within about 14 hours, but I could be wrong.

Might be worth getting a pharmacist to have a quick look, but I don't think pox is generally something you need medical attention for anyway unless you think it might cause complications.

Are they liquid filled?

Pox tends to be behind ears joints ect and all over not restricted at all. Could possibly be prickly heat rash my dc would get that! Try cooling lotion or piraton see if they go down as pox would not. Hope that helps

I would and did take dd to the chemist when she had chicken pox, the chemist checked her spots and gave me piriton and calamine cream

'are they liquid filled?'

I think the raised ones could be. They are very small though so hard to tell.

If it is a heat/viral rash linked to what she's had behind her knees (which has been going down and then flaring up again on and off, which is why I thought it might be heat rash) then I don't want to waste the w/e staying in. That's why I would prefer a definite diagnosis.

I thought dd1 had CP, then she actually did get it and I recognised the blisters straight away.

It doesn't sound like it to be honest. They start off as sort of singular red sores which turn into blisters. Then they become red and a kind of rash depending on how many there are. I consider myself an expert as there has been a plague of them round here and both dd's had it

You could take her to OOH but call first so they can put you in a seperate room.

I think going to a pharmacy is ok, they have sick and infectious people in there all the time by their very nature surely?!

It does sound like it could be CP but there are other things it could be too. 2 of my dc have had infected eczema that looked quite a bit like CP (to the point where the HV refused to weigh the baby on the grounds that she thought he had CP even though I told her that he categorically most definitely had CP before because he'd caught it off dd and had it really quite badly).

Insect bites can look a bit like it too, and I've heard a couple of people recently say they've had something else that's related to the CP virus.

if it is chickenpox she will have blister-like spots by now. They are not small, and they tend to scab over after a couple of days.
By what you describe it doesn't really sound like chickenpox. The spots are quite distinctive.

I would choose a chemist that you can park outside, ideally take OH and either ring or turn up and ask pharmacist to look at them outside (just put loose clothing on). I've done that and they were fine about it. I think that most staff would have developed a good immunity, but customers might not have. CP often does have two crops, a small one (ds just had one spot on his tongue) followed by a larger crop. The spots will(usually) get bigger and blister then scab over, by tomorrow it should be more obvious to you. Although dd1 just had tiny blackhead sized spots which didn't scab, just went away, was definitely CP as two weeks after dd2 and ds had it a few years later and she didn't get it. Looks like a quiet weekend for you!

It's chicken pox. Called ahead to the chemist who said fine to bring her in and the pharmacist confirmed it.
The spots are getting bigger and redder as we speak...

Was meant to be going to DN's (4) birthday party tomorrow - looks like that's out the window now.

That was good of you to call ahead :)

Sorry it's chickenpox, hopefully it will pass quickly

Can you have a nice outing with Dn later instead?

Shows what I know curly

You can get some gel from Boots called Virasoothe which takes the itichness away.

Porridge baths worked great for us.

Porridge baths worked great for us.

Lavender oil in the bath worked brilliant for both my girls x

Aww bless! At least you know now! It's awful when the dc miss out due to illness :( hope it's not to bad Hun best wishes to dc x

Thanks everyone.

Well I am not convinced DD has chickenpox after all. Gave her the piriton syrup yeserday and the redness went down and some of the spots seemed to disappear- this wouldn't happen if it were CP right?
She is still covered on her legs, top of her back, and tummy, but the spots (apart from a couple) don't seem to be getting bigger anymore or redder.
Most of them are like tiny blisters but I am wondering whether this could be just some kind of skin rash... maybe we have 2 things going on here, as the rash she had behind her knees a few days before she got spots everywhere did not look like CP at all.

Am so confused and GP obviously won't be open till Tuesday - not that I'm worried particularly as she is fine in herself and is not even that itchy. I would just like a definitive answer...

This is comparable to dd's CP

The piriton took the redness around the spots away but left the spots iykwim?

My DD's are like the very smallest ones in this pic. Loads of them and not really getting any bigger (over the last 24-36 hrs)

still

Sounds like dd1 CP, they were blackhead size, hard to see if they even blistered. Am sure she had it as was 14 days after dd2 had definite CP. Ds wasn't born then, he got it at the end of a half term hol when she had been cuddling with him every day. He looked like a hungry mossie had had a feast! She has also been exposed at school etc and not caught it. I'm sure she had it, but was so mild and no scars :) but still immune. If you definitely haven't had it, unfortunately you might get confirmation in 2 weeks, but just because she had it mildly, don't assume you will.

thanks 3duracellbunnies - most of DD's are blackhead size or a little bigger and are mostly only on her legs now. Some do feel like they have heads (her legs feel rough if i run my hand over them), but others that were on her belly seems to have gone down and you can barely see/feel them now

Some look like they have little scabs but that (i think) is because they are in areas that DD has been able to get her little fingers to, to scratch (back of her neck, bottom of legs where she pulled her leggings up)

I am hoping that I might be naturally immune (or maybe I had it so mild as a child my DM didn't notice!) as I'm sure I have been around people who've had it and have never caught it