Is this Chicken Pox or more serious?

[VegTrug]

Hi please forgive my naivety on this, I had CP as a baby and only have one DC so no experience whatsoever.

DD started with pimple-like spots on her scalp, followed by back of neck & behind ear that were painful, so I assumed Scalp Folliculitis. Then last night I noticed 10 red spots on her abdomen & same on her back. There's about 5 others elsewhere on her but that's it and no more have appeared today.

Obviously I realise every case is different and some worse than others but it's not just the lack of spots, she's also extremely lethargic and going hot & cold (no thermometer, but I can tell when she's hotter than she should be).

She also has one of those headaches where it gets worse when you sit up... (headaches are an existing issue with DD which she's seeing Paediatrics about, although they're never this bad).
She's refusing to go to the bathroom because of headache and now says she has a tummy ache.

Is all this 'normal' for Chicken Pox please? Or should I be calling the Doc? The only reason I haven't so far is that I'm conscious that the NHS is overstretched so I'd hate to waste their time if this is standard for CP? I try not to Google health stuff.

Thanks.

Apologies I forgot photos. None of these are from any sensitive areas!

Oh and the spots do disappear under a glass! Crucial piece of info I missed 🤦🏼‍♀️

How old is your daughter? I had CP aged 13 and was very unwell and bedridden for a week - apparently this is not unusual - the older you are the more likely you are to be unwell with CP.

One of my children had CP at 2 years old and ended up in hosipital with a lung infection which was linked to the CP. So whilst CP can 'just' be spots in most children it can also cause illness in others - trust your instints and see the GP if you think it's warrented.

Thank you, she's 9. I don't know how we've managed to avoid them before now.

My Mum has just told me not to even consider taking her to A&E (which I wasn't yet anyway) as her friend took her grandson once with very bad CP and they apparently shouted at them to get out and refused to allow him to see any doctor. Thanks for that, Mum! That's reassuring 😳👍🏻

Why don't you ring 111 for advice if you are concerned OP?

I’d call 111. They might reassure, or might advise going to an out of hours GP service or urgent care centre.

It does look like chicken pox op. It usually starts with one big one . Then quickly spreads

Try sticking her in a hot bath, I once read that heat can bring on a fresh wave of spots, and that might be true as there are places that are more common for spots to show where body temp is higher like scalp, tummy etc. Usually new waves come every 4-8 hours. I find they start off really tiny then gradually grow, it's why you end up with them all different sizes. It's strange how your daughter has clusters of different sizes, but they do look like chicken pox and I can't think what else it could be. You could take her to a pharmacist, I guess most late night pharmacists are in supermarkets so you won't want to take her where there are a lot of other people around.

Call your gp if they are unwell (or 111 if out of hours and can't wait til morning) they will come out to the car park to see them, do not go inside unless told to do so as it's potentially really dangerous to those with compromised immune systems eg cancer patients. My gp saw mine in the car park to confirm and told us to give calpol and put camomile lotion on the spots.

Because they always just tell you to call an ambulance! I've had countless instances whereby they've told me to call an ambulance or go to A&E, only for the Doctor to roll their eyes and send us straight home, whilst moaning about 111.

Have you been giving Calpol?

I'd ring 111.

CP isn't always mild, and you can get secondary infections. My DC got strep on top of it then sepsis and was critically ill.

Don’t give ibuprofen. If it’s chicken pox it can make it 10 times worse.

It does look like chickenpox, and chickenpox does tend to start on the head and neck and move down the body as it spreads

Yeah I know about the ibuprofen, thanks. I did give her some yesterday when I was convinced it was scalp folliculitis (I know, I know) 🤦🏼‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️ but none from the moment I suspected CP.

Yeah she's had paracetamol

I used Virasoothe spray gel when I had shingles, and it really did help the pain of the blisters. Might make her a bit more comfortable.

Is she drinking enough? Headache might be being made worse if she's a bit dehydrated.

Chicken pox can be horrible. I remember phoning the HT at DD1's special school saying that I just couldn't get her in that day because she was whingy and crying and not herself at all (not all that verbal at that age). The HT said 'Hmm....has she had chicken pox?' I said that she hadn't, but didn't have any spots. The first spot appeared an hour later. They do come in clusters and they stay red like that for a while before they blister up.

I think it looks more like hand, foot and mouth. My two had it when little and it started like this. Phone 111 to get advice especially because of headache.

Don't put her in a hot bath - it's likely to make her dizzy especially with a headache and more likely to irritate spots further and cause scarring.

Thanks all. Taking all your advice on board.

She doesn't have any on her hand foot or mouth though?

Ours started behind their ears and progressed over three days.

Hmm she has no sores in or around her mouth though. I’ll keep it in mind though, thanks. She seems to be feeling fine now as long as she doesn’t touch a spot. She’s back to playing again, very odd!