Any tips for dealing with chickenpox??

[LittleBaggies]

My DD is 5 months old and has got chickenpox we've bathed her and covered her in calamine lotion but it doesn't seem to be enough to help her settle and go to sleep. does anyone know of anything else we can do to soothe her skin and help her sleep?

I used Sainsburys gel and it worked a treat, but I'm not sure if it's ok for a wee one, it's worth checking though because it's good stuff.

Try Aveeno colloidal oatmeal bath and Caladryl Lotion (instead of Calamine).

Or to make your own oatmeal bath, grind about 1/3 C of plain oatmeal in a food processor or coffee grinder until it's fine & powdery. Sprinkle in tepid bathwater & stir, break up any 'clumps'. Bathwater should turn milky and feel 'silky'. Let baby 'soak' for 15 mins, then pat dry.

Caladryl has Benadryl in it so is better at stopping the 'itch'.

Thank you both will give those a try. She normally bathes in Aveeno to help keep her eczema down but haven't been using it since she's had chickenpox, thought it might irritate the skin but will use it in the next bath.
Thank you.

Yy to oat bath - do try that.

Also, as she is very young, she may simply need/want holding more.
Give regular Calpol, lots of TLC/walks out in the pram/she may prefer smaller more frequent milk feeds and go off solids (if you have started weaning her).
Usually the first couple of days are the most grim, and then you have a less unhappy but spotty baby on your hands.

I hope she gets better soon

Wine, for you of course!

Oh, I also remember my son's doctor saying to dress them as lightly as possible. Sweating can make itching worse. I put them in summer shortie PJs and used soft blankets if they were chilly. Mine were older than your little one so it was a bit easier as they could answer 'are you cold/hot?', plus we live in a more temperate climate. Would you be able to dress her in a nappy and soft T-shirt or a light nightie?

It's a little too cool for just a tshirt really, she's in a vest in a baby sleep bag. She doesn't feel too warm to touch, there is a bit of fresh air coming in the room too. She's actually gone off now must have tired herself out! Will swap her sleeping bag for a blanket if she's agitated again later and give her some Calpol as suggested above in case she's not feeling well . Thank you.

I just put porridge oats in a tied up sock and threw it in the bath and gave it the odd squeeze, worked a treat.

Piriton syrup was the most effective thing for the itching.

You can also get aqueous cream with calamine from the chemist. Particularly good for the nappy area. Good luck. Usually with chicken pox it's a couple of crap days and then they feel much better. Hope that's true for you

Our (now retired) GP suggested using zinc and caster oil cream, the old fashioned nappy rash cream for our dd who had eczema. Zinc used to be used regularly to soothe chicken pox apparently. It worked well for us as did the Caladryl Lotion and the oatmeal baths as acrossthepond describes. Calamine lotion seemed to dry her skin and make the eczema flare up.
It will get better, first day or two is the worst.
Strong positive thoughts coming your way.