Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Children's health

Mumsnet doesn't verify the qualifications of users. If you have medical concerns, please consult a healthcare professional.

Original poster

Severe chicken pox help!

55 replies

DL77 · 08/07/2022 18:45

Hi all,

A few months back my 2 year old daughter had a case of severe chicken pox (hundreds of spots everywhere and some complications resulting in being hospitalised for 3 days on anti-vitals and morphine).

At the time the hospital said they’ve seen a lot of severe cases in younger children, they suspect due to Covid ruining everyone’s immune system. My 4 year old had it a few weeks before her and sailed through fine. Wish we’d have known about the vaccine but that ship has sailed…

She’s thankfully recovered well 3 months down the line but despite not picking any she has been left with a lot of red scars/dents on her face.

We’ve tried all sorts to help these recover but things seem to be hit and miss and nothing is really making a huge difference. The marks on her body have pretty much disappeared but those on her forehead in particular aren’t shifting.

Does anyone have experience of this and any advise on treatment routines to help her? Conscious they may not go completely but if there’s anything that can make a small difference to her recovery then we’ll give it a try.

Thanks in advance everyone!

OP posts:
greenacrylicpaint · 08/07/2022 18:47

chicken pox scars take a while to fade.
up to a year is not unusual.

keep the scars uv protected and moisturised. that's all you can do.

Ducksurprise · 08/07/2022 18:52

No recommendations on treatment other than to keep moisturising, but one of mine had an awful time as well and actually had craters and lots of red marks all over his body which slowly faded to a white . (He is white but the patches were whiter that white if that makes sense)

He is now 15, we find when he gets a tan the places where he had bad chicken pox don't tan the same, and if you look very very closely you can see the odd imperfection where the craters were (they were deep when he was small) but in photos and in day to day you would not notice.

He had them at 18months, I've just looked at his school photos and at 5 you can see the marks if you look (they aren't obvious) and by 7 I can't see them apart from the one on his nose which then disappears from photos by 13 (although looking at him now I can see it but I have to look really hard)

chubbachub · 08/07/2022 18:55

My 3 had chickenpox at Easter time, we had Covid end of Jan.

My 8yo had CP horribly and was literally covered but apart from one indent on his forehead theres not a mark on him.
Baby had a mild case and no marks.
My 4yo had mild-moderate case of CP and he is still marked on his back and arms, little red marks.

I dont think its related to how severe the CP was but I just think they take time to disappear in some kids.
4yo is just red marks which i assume will fade, whereas 8yo one in his head is an indent where he picked a pox so likely wont disappear completely.

You could try creams and oils etc for scars but honestly, i think it just takes time.

Original poster
DL77 · 08/07/2022 20:10

Thanks so much for the replies! That’s really encouraging to hear.

A part of me wonders if we’re trying too hard on her face. We haven’t moisturised or treated anywhere else on her body and apart from one or two red marks these have more or less gone.

The ones on her face we’ve been massaging with moisturiser and other creams twice a day and even tried Manuka honey at night times on them. Whilst not really deep, they are deep enough and the only ones that haven’t filled in some 3.5 months on.

Fingers crossed we start to see an improvement over the next 6 months. There’s some really encouraging stories here and it sounds like things should hopefully improve over time.

OP posts:
Original poster
DL77 · 08/07/2022 23:28

Out of interest any advice on how long to keep up the moisturiser/massage for? Twice a day?

OP posts:
Choconuttolata · 08/07/2022 23:35

With burns once the skin is healed the advice is to moisturise twice daily with an emollient cream like E45 and keep the area out of the sun for 2 years. Chickenpox scars would be similar for skin recovery. With the scars being on the face I would make sure you use a high factor sunscreen regularly over the emollient and make her wear a wide brimmed hat when outside in the sun.

Soontobe60 · 08/07/2022 23:43

DL77 · 08/07/2022 23:28

Out of interest any advice on how long to keep up the moisturiser/massage for? Twice a day?

My gdd had this as severely as your dc last year. She has no sign of any scarring. She bathes in oilatum though for eczema daily. Nothing else, no massaging etc.

Throwawaytoday · 08/07/2022 23:47

I had noticeable chicken pox scars on my forehead as a child. Quite deeply pitted.

If its any reassurance:

My parents did nothing specific to treat them.

Nobody ever mentioned them, even the meanest girls at school.

They are now almost completely invisible unless you're really looking for them.

Original poster
DL77 · 08/07/2022 23:52

Thank you! We’ve been using lots of sunscreen and the hat too as have heard that too. Might try e45 as on Aveeno at the minute but perhaps e45 is better.

OP posts:
Original poster
DL77 · 08/07/2022 23:54

Soontobe60 · 08/07/2022 23:43

My gdd had this as severely as your dc last year. She has no sign of any scarring. She bathes in oilatum though for eczema daily. Nothing else, no massaging etc.

Show quote history

That’s encouraging thank you. Do you remember at what point they started fading?

OP posts:
Original poster
DL77 · 08/07/2022 23:55

Throwawaytoday · 08/07/2022 23:47

I had noticeable chicken pox scars on my forehead as a child. Quite deeply pitted.

If its any reassurance:

My parents did nothing specific to treat them.

Nobody ever mentioned them, even the meanest girls at school.

They are now almost completely invisible unless you're really looking for them.

Thanks so much for the message. Sorry to hear you had it badly but really good to hear it didn’t impact you and it’s cleared up well.

OP posts:
Original poster
DL77 · 17/07/2022 09:54

Hi all,

Just wondered based on your experiences whether the below are healing as people would expect? It’s clearly a very slow process…

the first pic was taken 3 weeks after the dreaded pox on 12th April. The second, in mid July, so 3 months later.

Any advice or similar stories are very welcome.

Thanks in advance everyone!

OP posts:
Original poster
DL77 · 23/07/2022 16:44

Hi all,

Does anyone have experience of the chicken pox dents healing process? Appreciate they may not totally go but wondered if 3 months in the progress is heading in the right direction and whether there’s anymore we can do to help her skin?

Thanks!

OP posts:
Atomicspider · 23/07/2022 16:58

Oh op it sounds like your poor little one (and you) had a terrible time.
One of my children had an awful lot of chicken pox spots. Just covered. I was advised by a doctor abroad to massage daily with Weleda calendula nappy cream. Apparently calendula is used to heal surgical scars (it smooths granulated tissue or something). In any case it was really effective… I did it twice daily for my little one for months , it worked extremely well.

Original poster
DL77 · 23/07/2022 17:29

Hi there,

Thanks for the tip! Her body has healed well but forehead is struggling - suspect it’s something to do with less fat being in that area and the skin being quite thin.

Was the cream you used effective on areas like the forehead and did your little one have any dents that this helped to fill in?

Had a quick look on Amazon and found the nappy cream. The same brand also does a Calendula kids face cream. Assume it’s the nappy cream you used on your child’s face?

Thanks!

OP posts:
Atomicspider · 23/07/2022 17:50

It was the nappy cream.
My little one had lots of facial spots/ dents that smoothed over time. Obviously I can’t say for sure it was due to this and not just the power of time, but I can say the scarring was minimal when I’d expected severe.
iirc they recommend calendula oil for c section scars.

Original poster
DL77 · 23/07/2022 18:32

I’m sure you’re right in that the old ‘time is a healer’ applies too.

How long did you use the cream for? Also how long was it until the dents faded? A year or so?

OP posts:
Pugsley87 · 23/07/2022 20:20

My son had a pretty bad case in Jan, he's now totally mark free and has been a while now. I alternated morning with Science Of Skin Solution for Scars and evening bio oil. The skin solution cream was pricey but definitely worked and we saw a difference relatively quickly. Hope this helps someone as I know I went down a rabbit hole!

Original poster
DL77 · 23/07/2022 20:36

Pugsley87 · 23/07/2022 20:20

My son had a pretty bad case in Jan, he's now totally mark free and has been a while now. I alternated morning with Science Of Skin Solution for Scars and evening bio oil. The skin solution cream was pricey but definitely worked and we saw a difference relatively quickly. Hope this helps someone as I know I went down a rabbit hole!

Thanks Pugsley,

Glad to hear your son is ok! That’s really good news.

Did he have any marks/dents on his forehead similar to pictures of my daughter above?

OP posts:
Pugsley87 · 23/07/2022 20:39

He had a couple like that on his hairline and across the top of his shoulders. He is mark free now. I'm sure time played a significant part but the treatment for us defo helped speed things along I felt. He had hundreds of pox and there's not a mark in him now. Hope you get some joy with this :)

Scubalubs87 · 23/07/2022 20:49

@Pugsley87 Oh this is good to know, I've just purchase the Science of Skin cream in similar desperation to @DL77. My son is recovering from a pretty rough bout of CP. we're still in the scabby phase but he's was smothered - hundred of the bloody things - and some of the pox, especially on his face were huge. I came downstairs the other day and he proclaimed proudly, "Mummy, I did it. It's gone." And showed me where he picked one of the biggest scabs of his chin 😭.

Pugsley87 · 23/07/2022 20:50

Scubalubs87 · 23/07/2022 20:49

@Pugsley87 Oh this is good to know, I've just purchase the Science of Skin cream in similar desperation to @DL77. My son is recovering from a pretty rough bout of CP. we're still in the scabby phase but he's was smothered - hundred of the bloody things - and some of the pox, especially on his face were huge. I came downstairs the other day and he proclaimed proudly, "Mummy, I did it. It's gone." And showed me where he picked one of the biggest scabs of his chin 😭.

Oh it's a nightmare isn't it! It's not cheap that's why I decided to alternate with the bio oil but it defo works. Good luck! It's a horrible thing, chicken pox

Original poster
DL77 · 23/07/2022 21:01

Thanks both. It’s frustrating how much information there is out there about dealing with the itchy phase but barely any info on how best to deal with the aftermath which can clearly be quite bad for some.

Thank god for Mumsnet! We’ve literally tried everything including the Solution for Scars cream.

@Pugsley87 how long did you use it for and how long was it until they’d filled in/faded?

OP posts:
Atomicspider · 23/07/2022 21:01

I think I did it for about 4-6 months daily.
then after that just when I remembered.
I think after that the surface of the skin was smoother, and the scars didn’t seem so deep

Original poster
DL77 · 23/07/2022 21:03

Atomicspider · 23/07/2022 21:01

I think I did it for about 4-6 months daily.
then after that just when I remembered.
I think after that the surface of the skin was smoother, and the scars didn’t seem so deep

Ok that’s good to know. Will keep going for another 3 months and see where we’re at. Have ordered some of the cream you suggested to try.

OP posts: