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Children's health

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Original poster

4 month old recovering from terrible chicken pox - any advice to minimalise scarring?

14 replies

AJH2012 · 27/12/2012 13:48

Hello! a newbie to mumsnet but desperate for advice from other mums who have had babies with bad cases of chicken pox. My 4 month old is just recovering from the worst bout Ive ever seen and Im worried she is likely to have some pretty bad scarring on her face, arms and legs.
We tried to stop her scratching and she's on piriton but some of the scabs are quite large and suggest pitting underneath.
Can anyone help? i want to help as early as I can while her scarring is still young. Soooo grateful for any advice.....

OP posts:

Mabelface · 27/12/2012 14:03

Lavender essential oil is good. 4 drops in her bath. Do a skin patch test first. X

cathpip · 27/12/2012 14:12

My ds has chicken pox at the moment and although not bad those spots are horrible. I use tea tree oil in the bath, piriton and some herbal stuff called rhus tox. As for scarring you may want to get some bio oil to apply all over after bath (for when itching has gone). Hopefully she will not get it again as she has had it badly, but this is second time round for my ds (caught it first time when he was 17 weeks)

brainonastick · 27/12/2012 14:20

Don't worry too much. Dd2 had horrendous pox at age 2, more spots than skin, in every orifice, more than 30 just around one eye etc etc etc. Bloody horrifically painful, poor thing. That was 1.5 yrs ago, and the scars have all gone, even on her face. I honestly didn't think they would, but young skin heals so well.

sonsmum · 27/12/2012 14:30

don't worry yourself, while your DC must have been terribly ill with the pox at that age, no scarring will remain. The skin rejuvenates so well in kids that it will heal in days not weeks. By a month or so, you will see no difference, there will be no lingering effect. Very confident to say this for a DC, as I had the pox myself 3 years ago and saw the healing process in action: healed so quickly and no lasting marks and I am no spring chicken now (alas!)

knitcorner · 27/12/2012 14:46

Hi, don't worry, this time last year ds was hospitalised because his pox was so bad, and has no scarring at all (it looked shocking at the time). We used a lot of pox clin so recommend that, although it is v expensive!

Original poster

AJH2012 · 27/12/2012 15:03

Thank you! Really grateful for the support - its been heartbreaking with her being so little. As the scabs come away, its leaving indents in her skin :( in other peoples experience, will these soften? Some of the scabs are quite large and Im naturally worried will leave great craters in her little face :( Didnt realise quite how bad chicken pox could be - my other two had it much easier than this.

OP posts:

brainonastick · 27/12/2012 19:15

Yes, even the big dents have magically disappeared. It has taken 2 summers, but they've gone.

It is a truly horrible illness when they get it badly, no wonder it's been heartbreaking. Poor little thing .

Original poster

AJH2012 · 27/12/2012 21:46

brainonastick - thank you. Some light at the end of the tunnel - Im really grateful for your reassurance :) x thank you to everyone else too for your advice and for taking the time to reply. Also wishing a speedy recovery to your child too Cathpip x

OP posts:

shallweshop · 27/12/2012 22:20

Don't worry. My DS had horrible chicken pox, it got infected and he had to have antibiotics. He had loads of spots on his face and the marks stayed for ages but 18 months later, there are no scars. x

Pooka · 27/12/2012 22:24

dd had chicken pox 6 years ago, really badly. She still has just one tiny dent, which you wouldn't notice unless i pointed it out, immediately next to her eye. It was where the most massive and mean spot had been.

DS1 had bad marks on his torso, and once he was all healed I used bio oil on his skin.

During the chicken pox and slightly after, they had porridge oats (in a sock) in the bath, and then the liquid squeezed out on their skin after.

PoppyWearer · 27/12/2012 22:24

Just wanted to offer some support, my DC1 had chickenpox at 4mo. Luckily it was quite mild, about 20 spots in total, a couple of scars, but really scary.

DC2 has had it a couple of weeks ago, am now waiting to see if DC1 develops any spots. She hasn't caught it from any friends, but this will be a big test of her "immunity".

Hope your DC feels better soon, OP.

Pooka · 27/12/2012 22:25

My ds2 had it last week. Not that you'd have known really. Was ridiculously mild case in comparison with the older dc's version a few years ago.

sausagesandwich34 · 27/12/2012 22:27

my dd was more spot than skin at 3 yo and only has 1 pox mark just above her eyebrow and it's very cute

sipper · 27/12/2012 23:35

Rose Hip Seed Oil worked very well for scarring - one of my DD's had chick pox scarring far worse than my other two and this stuff has done an amazing job. It appears stupidly expensive for a pretty small bottle but it lasts a v long time. I bought from an independent health shop. I had gone out to buy a Vit e cream but was advised to get the Rose Hip Seed Oil. I am very glad I did. Hopefully your LO should recover v well. Best wishes.

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