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Children's health

Severe chickenpox pitted scars on sons face - looking for support

57 replies

fake68 · 06/08/2012 13:10

Hello, my ds got chickenpox 7 weeks ago and he has been left severely scarred on his face he is 11 and there are deep pitted scars about 25 of them on his forehead, cheeks and chin. They are still very red at the moment and know that the redness will fade but can anyone tell me it the pitted scars will get any better over time his face looks really terrible and when he is outside the light shows up all the holes in his face.

We were abroad when he contracted the chickenpox and they were like boils on his face and all over his body, the body ones have about gone now but his face was so lovely before this happened - please reply

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interested1 · 09/09/2014 07:51

I thought I would follow up on my initial post from a couple of years back as I am sure that there are people out there now whose kids have chicken pox and are looking for support and advice.

All I can say is that the scars will improve and fade with time, but it takes time. My DD had them pretty bad and the scars were noticeable for a good year or so. They've since faded and filled in a bit (especially the scars on her back). The two scars on her face have remained pitted but they are small and get smaller as her face gets bigger. I only notice them in a certain light now. Other people don't notice them at all. The redness has gone completely.

In terms of creams and ointments we just used cocoa butter after bath time to keep her skin moisturised.

Hope this helps...

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RainbowInACloud · 13/09/2014 09:06

Hiya, we had the same thing. 2.5 years ago DS1 had horrendous chicken pox and was in hospital. He has numerous scars on his forehead and body. You can still see them but I'm so used to them I hardly notice.
I don't think you can make them go so you have to give the child skills to cope with them. I tell DS1 to answer in a matter of fact way if he's asked about them but I'm stills bit stumped about what to tell him to say if anyone comments negatively on them. He had a child say they were ugly the other week and he was upset- what could he have said in return do you think?
I actually wouldn't swap or change anything about him so we have to 'Own' the scars now IYSWIM

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2015cp · 01/01/2015 00:53

Hi all, I'd really love to hear updates on how your lo's are doing. My little girl had chicken pox 6 months ago and has bad scaring that really upsets me. She has one between her eye brows that is 5mm x 3mm and quite deep, prob 1-1.5 deep. One on her cheek 5x5mm and another one one the opposite cheek 4x4mm. She has other little ones but these are the worst. They have faded a lot but still look terrible. I don't let her know they upset me. Interested1 it's nice to hear that your daughters have improved. What vitamin c did you use referencing your earlier post? Also would you recommend seeing a dermatologist?

If anyone else can give their honest experience after a few years I'd love to hear it. Also if there is anything you did that helped, or is it just time That's needed? What about much older children/young adults? Has anyone looked at options there like lasers etc?

Rainbowinacloud it's good that you are helping your son develop a positive attitude. That's what I hope to do, but it scares me how mean children can be and I worry for the future. I'm not sure what I would have suggested as a response to the other boy as my lo turns 3 soon and haven't had to face comments from other children yet.

Xx

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Ktmummy1 · 11/07/2015 21:39

I'd be interested in any updates on this post from several years ago. We are going through the first few months after severe pox which has left 20+ visible pitted scars on my almost 3 yr olds face. It's v upsetting and is love to hear more positive stories of healing.....x

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fake68 · 29/07/2017 12:36

Five years on from my first post about my ds's chicken pox scars (how fast those years have gone). Where do I start... when I look back at the beginning I was a bit of an emotional mess as 20+ pitted scars on an almost 11 year olds face was pretty horrendous at first to look at but as the years have gone by some have filled in slightly and as his face is maturing they are now looking a lot better but still very visible.

It took a long time for me to come to terms with his scars and even now a still have a sadness now and again when I look at him as the face is the first thing you see in a person. He has grow into the most kind and lovely teenager and I am so proud of him.

Over the years I have tried dozens of creams but none make any difference the best advice I can give is to massage the scars morning and evening, I have done this for years just try a few moisturisers to find one that you feel is not to greasy or thick and doesn't irritate the skin.

Now that he is nearly 16 we have decided to embark on some treatment which will hopefully lessen the severity of the scars, we have been for a consultation for Dermapen then a light chemical peel, Dermapen is the only treatment that I believe has a chance of working and is within a price range that is affordable.

(>>>Dermapen employs the traditional Chinese technique for acupuncture only that here; the targeted result is not to reduce pain but rather to improve the skin appearance.

Basically, a Dermapen has 12 needles on the very tip and these 12 needles are the ones that are used to puncture the top layer of the skin as the Dermapen glides over the area being treated. Usually, the Dermapen will be positioned vertically over the skin and when it is turned on, a motor that is found inside the pen will start making the needles to move rapidly back and forth on the skin surface creating the punctures and these needles have been created in such a way that they can rotate in a slight way. These punctures created in the process are usually aimed at opening up the pores for a period of time only.

When a person hurts themselves, the skin will generally initiate skin repair by stimulating growth factors that will, in turn, lead to the generation of collagen and elastin. Therefore, when the punctures are made using the Dermapen, the skin will treat the punctures as wounds and therefore initiate healing. This means that micro-needling tend to trick the skin to produce collagen and elastin to promote ‘healing’ and the effect will be a rejuvenated skin.

Dermapen is used mostly for face wrinkles, scars, stretch marks and facial lines. When one is injured and the skin forms a scar, or if they have a stretch mark the body will treat these as though that area was repaired. Therefore having the punctures created in the scar tissue will cause the skin to initiate healing and, therefore, the damaged skin will tend to get eliminated and replaced with new skin. For wrinkles and face lines, basically, the produced collagen and elastin will cause the skin to thicken and also tighten leaving the skin looking youthful.

Generally, Dermapen has been effective and quite advantageous over other skin treatment procedures. This has seen to it that its popularity keeps growing by the day.>>>)

He has his first treatment on the 9th August. He will have this treatment every 4-6 weeks and possibly 5-6 treatments. Initial pictures have been taken and progress pictures will be done that I will upload here if anybody would like to see them. I will post again after the first treatment as to how it went. xx

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Dweet1259 · 09/11/2017 23:05

Hi Fake, how did your son get on with the dermapen?

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annet40 · 04/09/2023 03:13

Hi fake68, I read all the messages. I would like to know how it goes now with your son and his scars. Did the treatment have an effect? And how was the healing in general the last years? My kids had chickenpox 1 month ago and I'm very worried and said about the scars that I see. Hope to hear from you! xxx

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