Severe chicken pox help!

[DL77]

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!

My DS had a horrible dose of the Pox at 7.5yr. He was mostly marked on his torso, his neck and head. The red spots took months and months to go, we had to explain to people that he was recovered every time he went swimming for a looong time!
I could still see the marks as pale scars on his body until a year or two ago, and he's now 14!
He still has an indent on his wrist where the first BIG pox was and a small bald spot on his crown where we had a non-healing, over-granulating scab for weeks after he recovered, but thats it now. 🙂

My DD had terrible chicken pox at 3 and was left with huge craters, some a cm across and I could put my finger in them. She had 7 on her cheeks and forehead like this.

She's 15 now and... they're still there! Not as bad as they were as they're no longer red and they've smoothed out a little but they never went.

Does she care? Nope. Has she been teased? Nope. Do I ever think about it? Nope.

I reckon you'll see huge improvement as the marks you've got now are nothing like dd's were. Give it time.

I'd say I was daily (morning) with solution for scars for 2 months and then daily (evening) with bio oil for an extra month/6 weeks. So not quick . But saw steady improvement then gone

Thanks for all the messages everyone. Really appreciate the help and advice!

Hey - my DD has it very badly mid July - huge craters all over her face and body - the crusts have gone and left with three relatively large indented scars on face and also a few scars on body - the body ones are filling up quite quickly but the dermo told me that generally it takes 6 months to a year for sunken atrophic scars to fill up either partially if deep or disappear completely If not too deep - the pictures you posted are very reassuring - there seems to have been a lot of improvement in only 3 months - let me know if you have any tips you’ve found useful !! @DL77

You need Mederma scar gel.
www.mederma.co.uk/product/mederma-advanced-scar-gel/

its the best stuff out there.

@Discovereads dermo told me that silicone gels don’t work on atrophic sunken scars and can actually be damaging

Mederma isn’t a silicone gel. It’s an allantoin gel.

My child had horrible CP when in infant school. 8 years later she still has over a hundred scars. The worse ones are on her torso but she does have lots on her face.

BUT whilst I can see every single one, I can honestly say that after the first year, other people very very rarely notice them.

Moisturise, protect from the sun and give her the confidence to deal with any questions.

Ok thank you !! Just ordered it !!

Hi there,

Sorry to hear this. It’s cruel how bad it can hit some children. My son was fine with it yet my daughter ended up in hospital for 3 days. Just no logic to it whatsoever. She’s definitely improved - the body ones have all pretty much gone but the face ones are still there albeit they are better than they were. Have tried alsorts of products with varied results and honestly think as the saying goes time is the best healer.

Happy to chat if you want to drop me a private message and see if I can help.

I’ve not used mederma and it might be good but do avoid silicone gels. As you say they aren’t for athrophic scars as one of their key features is to reduce the production of excess collagen which is the opposite of what you want to do for an strophic scar.

Hey @DL77 , I know it’s been a while.. I hope your daughter is doing okay? Can I ask how her skin is healing now?

Really could do with you perspective..

Hi all,
my daughter who is six had chickenpox and was off of school all of last week.

Then suddenly on Friday afternoon after seeming well for the past two days she developed a really bad headache and pain behind her eyes it really concernd me so we took her straight to A&E where they observed her for a few hours and subsequently she started being sick. The hospital wanted to send her home but I was adamant that she was to be watched for a few more hours as I was really concerned about her she wasn’t herself. In the end they told us to go home and observe her overnight and bring her back in the morning if there was no improvement, the morning came and she threw up again so I decided to take her back. However she said to me she was hungry before we went back to the hospital she had a ginger biscuit and after that turned a corner and became her old self again it was really very strange and I’m convinced it was something to do with the chickenpox and not another virus as the hospital kept telling me it was, it almost seemed like a really bad migraine. She has gone back to school today as she has back to herself I’m very concerned about any lasting effects and I wondered whether Any body has had a similar experience to me as I know chickenpox can cause brain inflammation, please let me know any of your experiences and the outcome with regard to chickenpox complications.

Chicken pox scars are horrific and I was appalled to hear there was a vaccine... after the event. Without doubt the worst 5 days of parenting EVER.
My daughter had it pretty badly and around her eyes and genitals . I thought the scarring would be awful. Honestly. Her pretty baby eyes were horribly pock marked . 3 years on and you would never know. All gone . Nothing round her bits and pieces either.
Chicken pox is in the vaccine programme where I now live and I just can't believe the uk doesn't do it as standard. I remember on day 4 of no nights sleep and a screaming child I just desperately needed some milk and tea. I was stopped in the street by several people to ask me if f she had chicken pox and to get back inside. This had been my only point on parenting history that I broke down in tears in public. Forget breastfeeding dramas, sleep deprivation, nappy training. Chicken pox is the worst!

30 years later I still have a few on my forehead... Like little indent scars. You can barely notice them if you don't know they are there. Give them time and maybe some bio oil

100% agree with you on this. Can be such a devastating virus and like you nobody tells you about the vaccine. Out of interest did you treat your little ones marks with anything? My daughter had tons all over her face and forehead and one year on looks miles better. However you can still see the indents in places and much worse in direct sunlight. Just wondering even though a year has passed whether they will improve more as she grows or if this is how they will stay now.

Hi there, here's a recent picture of the worst ones which are on her forehead. This is one year on. Considering she had them all over her face there's only 3 or 4 indents still visible which is a minor miracle. Not sure if these will fill in anymore but from a distance you wouldn't know they were there. Time genuinely is a healer as the saying goes.

Wow @DL77 .. what a transformation. My DD has four fresh pitted scars on her forehead from CPs 4 weeks ago.

What did you use? Or is it simply that time is a healer? I am currently using bio oil and solutions for scars.

Hi there, my little one has been left with deep scars following a bad bout of molloscum mixed with eczema prone skin.
they look a little similar to your bubs… how did yours heal up?
i wish there were more before and after pics out there, so we could have some more reassurance.
thanks in advance

Sorry for the delayed reply. Have not been on for a while. We tried absolutely all sorts from Solution for Scars to Bio Oil to Manuka honey and all manner of things in between. No idea if it helped or not as a few of them healed naturally on their own better than others.

Do think it's pot luck as to which ones heal and which don't and some of it depends where on the body/face they are and the thickness of the skin/fat underneath. My daughter's worst ones are on her forehead where the skin seems thinner but whilst they are still visible when you know where to look, thankfully from a distance you wouldn't know she's had it.

Time is definitely a healer and as they grown up the skin should stretch more to flatten them out a little more hopefully.

Appreciate it's a pretty lonely place out there as for most people this is a mild illness to content with but for an unfortunate few they get hit really hard by it and so if I can help or provide any further advice just let me know.

@DL77 thank you so much for your reply. It has been 2 months since I commented and wow.. what a difference that time has made. Yes the scars are very much still there but the redness has pretty much gone and they have started to fill in a bit. I have managed to start to get used to them, which I didn’t think I would be able too. And have been a lot easier on myself about it all.

Thank you so much for your original posts and progress pics, it gave me some hope when I really needed it.

Hi there,

Sorry for the delay, I've not been on here for a while. Sorry to hear about your little one, it's really cruel how bad it affects some children. The first thing to say is that time is definitely a healer. My daughter had some big pitted marks for a good few months after the CP but they have gradually filled in over time. Whilst they haven't completely gone they are a million times less obvious than they were.

In terms of treatments, see my previous post. We tried absolutely all sorts but I think the best think is time and perhaps a good replenishing moisturiser/balm. We've been using Tamanu balm recently which seems good and the Moo Goo moisturiser too.

You're welcome and sorry for the delay. I know having been there myself it's heartbreaking stuff and is made all the worse by the fact there is very little information online about severe CP and how to deal with it.

So pleased your little one is progressing well. I honestly think another 6 months from now and the difference will be even more. I can definitely say that the redness will have completely gone after 3-4 months and whilst the pits might not disappear fully they will be much, much better than they are today.

Do think the forehead is one of the hardest places for the skin to heal properly on but it sounds like things are moving in the right direction for you which is great to hear.

Hi @DL77 ,

I'm very sorry to revive what was a very difficult thread/time for you.

I was hoping you might not mind giving an update now it's been another year? How are the indentations?

I unfortunately have PTSD from scarring incidents on my DD (2.5) and chicken pox has been horrific as it has left atrophic /craters on her head between her eyebrows.

This little girl really doesn't need another scar. I feel so awful for her, while trying to ensure she has absolutely no worries about it at all and isn't picking up on my trauma, of course.

Your replies have been so helpful. I have scoured the internet and your photo updates have been so informative.

I hope your daughter has continued to thrive xx

Hi there,

So sorry to hear about your daughter. My little girl is much better after the chicken pox but still has a few remaining indents on her forehead. Suspect these won’t ever go away but they are so much better than they were and most people wouldn’t ever even notice. They are only noticeable close up and in certain lights. I will put an everyday picture up and you’ll see what I mean that they are a million times better than they were. Unfortunately some children seem to be hit hard with CP and there is no real help or support for those parents who have to handle a severe case and the long term scarring it causes.

Not sure whether there’s any cream or
treatment that genuinely helps -
believe me we tried everything! Think time is the best healer but if you’ve found anything that works let me know.