Possible chicken pox and wedding this weekend...Armchair diagnoses please :-)

[mineymo]

Hi,
My son had a few red spots come up last night on his tummy. Since this morning, the number has more than doubled and he now has a cluster on his chest by his armpit. It looks like he has a few coming up on his face. Nothing on his limbs as yet, or on his back. The spots look a bit like the pictures I found of early chicken pox, but then most spots do!
He is in good spirits, although was very snotty a couple of days ago. He is too young to tell me they if they itch but they don't seem to be bothering him.

So, do we think chicken pox? I'm supposed to be going to a wedding on Saturday and feel I should warn them asap if it is likely I won't make it! Am I right in thinking the spots should have blistered by tonight if they are chicken pox?

Sounds like the pox to me. This time tomorrow he will be covered!

Sounds to me like it could well be, especially the way you are describing the spread. I would tell them it looks like it could be and you will let them know whats happening as soon as you know - I would have thought they will be blistering by tomorrow morning

And no, they will take a while to blister over. About 3-6 days ish to blister ime.

Sorry I mean scab not blister.

The snotty nose a couple of days before ties in. Any cough?

Sounds like it could be. Usually seemed to start with one big spot, then cluster round it, and then a lovely crop in other parts of the body.

Aah! The pattern does seem to be following that. We have 2 clusters of 6-10 spots on his tummy/chest. I'd say there are 3 on his face , spread about, not red yet but look like little bumps under his skin. He's napping so going from memory.

No cough as such, but had that frog-in-throat voice. He's been sleeping fine and eating fine (but NOTHING puts this kid off his food. I'll be straight to A&E the day he refuses a meal ;-) )

They always get it at the best time possible. DD caught hers a week before we went on holiday, thankfully in the UK so we could just keep her indoors for the last few days.

She wasn't ill either, just a bit clingy for a day or two, so don't get put off thinking it might not be chicken pox because he isn't ill.

Someone told us to keep on top of dosing with antihistimes and we had some Phenygan (sp?) for car sickness anyway, and that seemed to help so much, certainly helped her to sleep through the itching.

chickenpox usually looks like little fluid filled blisters, quite different from usual spots

great timing! poor you

Dd came out in chicken pis Saturday, her third birthday was Sunday timing of chicken pox sucks!

If you can leave him then go to the wedding and let him chill with a friend/relative :) dd has been a bit quieter but piriton regularly with calpol has helped.

Check with your surgery. Mine asked me to take Dd in to get it confirmed for records and to check her over, they found a bunch in her throat and have some good advice re infection so might help :-)

Hope your DS is better soon!

Thanks all, but... it isn't the dreaded chicken pox after all! There are no new spots this morning. I'm actually disappointed, the threat of it has been hanging over us for countless outbreaks at nursery so I was hoping to finally get it over and done with. It's because I'm pregnant - he's saving it for when we have a newborn, just to really mess with us ;-p