Is mild chicken pox a thing?

[ER1992]

Hi, my DS age 2 has had some spots on various parts of his body over the last week which I assumed were bites. There is probably about 20ish in total covering his back, lower torso, a couple on his face and scalp. He hasn't been overly bothered by them and has been well in himself up until today when he is running a temperature and has viral symptoms. The spots started looking like insect bites, some with a yellowy/white head on and have now turned scabby which coincides with him feeling poorly. Could this be a mild case of chicken pox? I assumed he would be covered in them and very unwell from day 1. I have shown pics to a pharmacist who thinks it is but wanted to hear if any other children have had it mildly. I'm also 37bweeks pregnant so not great timing

Pox can be mild but it’s unusual to have the viral symptoms after the spots a week later. Usually a week later is when the spots have scabbed over and the child is back out and about. How mild pox is doesn’t depend upon how many spots a person has either; it’s how they are in themselves. Usually you have more spots for a variety of reasons but it’s not necessity linked to severity to illness.

It can be mild yes.

Have you had chicken pox before?

When my oldest had it she only had a few spots and she wasn't unwell.

Yes apparently I only had a mild case when I was a baby, my Dmum thinks this is the reason I got it a second time a few years later

Yes, my DS (2)only had about 5 spots and I thought they were mozzie bites until his sister (3) got them too! She had more but neither of them were actually ill.

Unlike me when I caught it aged 22!

Yes, my youngest DD had mild chicken pox when she was 10 months old. She had it again (mildly) as a 2 year old. Don’t remember any other symptoms other than being tired and a bit more grouchy. Totally different to my oldest DD who had it at 2 years old and was covered, scratched loads etc.

@bigTillyMint I got it at 22 too! It was awful!

I had it mildly. My mum thought they were midge bites until everyone around me came down with chicken pox.

Yes. DD was poorly before the spots came out, then felt better when the very few spots arrived. I wasn't sure it was chicken pox until the children she had been playing with also developed chicken pox. Unfortunately, she had it too mildly to build an immunity to it, and got it again when she was 9, and was properly poorly with it.

Yes. As a child I was covered head to toe. My brother had only too small spots.

DS had it very mildly as a tiny baby (3 spots and viral symptoms) and then again as a toddler.
Which is better than when I had it at 11 when my sisters got it and still have the scars!

@HadeVerde yes I had it myself as a child.

Lots of other children in the area have had them but he's not actually been and played with any and doesn't go to nursery yet etc. The only little girl who he has played with over the last week hasn't had them herself but her dad has had shingles. Does this mean she could have been carrying the virus and passed it on?

My son had them mildly and then about 3 years later had them very unmildly!

Yes. My dd had a very mild case age 1. Then again slightly worse ( probably about 40 spots in total) when she was seven. My other two caught it from her though the second time and were literally head to toe. It was horrendous. You need a decent dose normally to get any immunity to it

When my 2 year old got chicken pox she was completely fine with about 6 spots. I wasn't convinced it was c.pox until my 6 month old and 8 year old were covered. My 8 year old ended up having a trip to the hospital due to temp blindness.
So to answer your question I understand you are not totally convinced but it can be very mild

I got shingles when I was 17, I had never had chicken pox, but apparently I had, because you can't get shingles without having had chicken pox first. So yes, you can have it very mildly, as my mother used to take me to the Dr at the first sign of anything, as I used to suffer from febrile convulsions.

Yep, my eldest 3, you’d never know they had them if it wasn’t for the spots they were fine not itchy or uncomfy. just spotty. My youngest got them for all 4 of them. He was extremely poorly and covered and got a weird variant on his back and trunk. He got them from ds3 so such a shame as he was only little. My older 2 have also never caught them again from their brothers or anyone else.

I got chicken pox in my late twenties. I thought that I had got midget bites to be honest. I got the majority on my scalp. I felt awful taking sick leave for it as other than not being able to brush my hair it really had no impact on me.

[quote ER1992]@HadeVerde yes I had it myself as a child.

Lots of other children in the area have had them but he's not actually been and played with any and doesn't go to nursery yet etc. The only little girl who he has played with over the last week hasn't had them herself but her dad has had shingles. Does this mean she could have been carrying the virus and passed it on? [/quote]
I’d be amazed if she passed it on. The incubation period for chickenpox is usually two to three weeks, so you need to think back a bit further.

My DS had the mildest of cases: just five spots and no illness. He then had shingles a few years ago. Shingles should be mild in a child (especially one with a very good immune system) but he was quite unwell with it.

From reading others on this thread, it seems getting chicken pox mildly is not necessarily a good thing!

@HmmmmmmInteresting

My DS had the mildest of cases: just five spots and no illness. He then had shingles a few years ago. Shingles should be mild in a child (especially one with a very good immune system) but he was quite unwell with it.

From reading others on this thread, it seems getting chicken pox mildly is not necessarily a good thing!

It’s not really about how mild it but how the individual’s body’s immune response reacts to it. Of course, if a baby catches it then they may already have some passive immunity so won’t be able to fight off another infection at a later date.

Ds had chicken pox when he was about 6 months old - although we weren't actually sure as he only has one "obvious" pox and another "maybe" one and wasn't unwell. He avoided all future outbreaks at his childminder and school and then got an obvious case of shingles aged 14, the day before going on a ski holiday with his school (he was still able to go ) - so we were finally sure that he'd had it

@PivotPivotPivottt

When my oldest had it she only had a few spots and she wasn't unwell.

Mine too. He was a bit off colour for a day or two then roaring around full of beans. Which was unfortunate as he gave it to me and I was very ill indeed.

....I did wonder when we thought ds had it as a baby whether he'd "fought" it with my immunity as he was still fully breastfed. But when he got shingles as a teenager, he was ok then too - apart from the itchiness. And fortunately, being away skiing, meant that he couldn't "get" at his skin (it was an upper torso band of vesicles). The GP did prescribe some anti-virals and a painkiller in case it did start hurting.

It can be very mild. DD had only a few spots and was a little grumpy for a day or so but were it not for the fact we knew it was doing the rounds we might not have noticed. DS caught it from her and was covered in spots and very feverish.

I was told it’s something to do with viral load and that second children often have it worse as they get a higher load from being in extended proximity to their sibling. No idea if that’s true or not, but would seem to make sense.

I have apparently never had chicken pox, but suspect I may have had a very mild case that went unnoticed as I managed to nurse DS and DD through it without catching it.