Chickenpox scars avoidance tips?

[heritagewarrior]

Just that really. Both DtSs have it at the moment but DT1 has it far worse than his brother. I am finding it hard, in a really superficial way , to look at his previously baby perfect (they are 4.5) skin and see all the redness, blisters and scabs, and where the wounds are open, I am starting to worry about scarring. Any tips about what to do to avoid it?

Thank you

Bumping

Don't let them scratch! I have a chicken pox scar on my head where I picked at it but it is small and not very noticeable.
Bicarbonate of soda and/or oats in the bath to soothe itching and calamine aqueous cream on the spots. Piriton if really itchy.

8 drops of lavender in their bath eases the itching and minimises scarring.

I used Poxclin on my DS and he hardly scarred at all. In fact he only has 1 tiny scar on his face which he struggled not to pick. Not sure if it was down to luck or the Poxclin but I can't recommend it enough. It was so easy to apply and really seemed to soothe DS.
We also tried bicarbonate in the bath and porridge oats (in an old pair of tights) in the bath which seemed to help a little too.
Good luck!

Thanks everyone! We have tried piriton, calpol, oat baths, Eurax calamine and Virusoothe. Haven't heard of Poxcilin - is it a lotion? We are struggling TBH - screaming and crying this afternoon, and now hugely uncomfortable in bed and unable to drop off because everything is so itchy/sore. Will try and track down some Poxcilin tomorrow.....

I was seriously worried when DD had chicken pox that she would be scarred - she had a lot of spots on her face.

It is horrible when they are covered in spots. As others say, try not to let them scratch - easier said than done. Once the scabs have dropped off the skin looks awful - really marked, but honestly after a couple of weeks, there will be a huge difference. Everyone told me this and I wouldn't believe them.

I didn't know about any treatments to prevent scarring, and only used calamine on the spots themselves and I didn't put anything on the scars at all.

Good luck.

You can get Poxclin in boots (I'm sure other chemists would do it too). It's a mousse so super easy to put on, you hardly need to touch the skin to apply so it doesn't irritate the spots/scabs. It's pretty expensive but I found it worth it.

I was told by the pharmacist when ds had chicken pox not to put calamine cream on his face because it can make it more likely to scar.

Anything that stops the itch (Eurax, Piriton, Bicarb baths, etc). Then a silicone based dressing or gel on any that remain after a couple of weeks and look like they might scar.

Thank you again to everyone who's posted since my last post. After a day of screaming and crying and saying everything hurts, I got an appointment with the doctor late this afternoon. Turns out DtS1s spots are mostly infected, so we are now on a 7 day course of antibiotics. Even more worried about scarring now, but will have to try some of the tips suggested above.....

Poor little thing, I hope he gets better soon.

I used aqueous calamine and antihistamine solution, plus oats in the bath and very little scratching ensued