Chicken pox tips for 8mo

[JustaHHplease]

FTM so apologies if i sound utterly clueless. Since 5am, my 8mo DD has had a temp spiking 41 and has started coming out in many chicken pox spots. We went to A&E and they confirmed it was chicken pox outbreak. The only place she could have been in contact with this is nursery. Anyways, we were discharged once the temp was stable and told to keep an eye on this but not give her ibuprofen. Nothing about managing the spots or temp further. All the usual OTC medication/lotions google has suggested is for over 1y.

So does anyone have any tips/remedies that will help? Also, do we need to stay in complete isolation until the contagious stage has passed?

TIA

Oat baths - put a sock full of porridge oats over the tap and let the water run through it

Socks on hands to stop her from scratching

Don't give her ibuprofen, it can make the virus worse

Stay away from pregnant ladies, old people and anyone you know that is clinically vulnerable at the very least. Complete isolation until all the blisters have scabbed is best though as you don't know who you might pass in the shops etc.

Mine were much younger, but calpol, soothing baths, comfortable cotton clothing, a gentle fan if the room needs to be cooled, plenty fluids.

We didn't have too many spots, and the usual remedies don't do much. The worst part was that DH caught it and someone gave him some piriton to take which rendered him useless.

Also, is calamine lotion not suitable for babies? I thought it was good for everyone. My mum used it for all of us when we had CP

This is all really helpful thank you. Complete isolation won't be too much of an issue as it's just me and DD in the house and I've told my DGP's that we can't visit this week. I will need to get some calamine lotion though so it might be wise to pop to boots as soon as it opens to reduce the risk of being in contact with anyone.

The advice now is not to use calamine lotion. (Or so we were told when DD had it a couple of years ago). Virasoothe is good, and is Poxclin, and can both be used from 6 months plus.

Your best best is to go and ask your pharmacist for help and advice- both of the remedies I mention above are available in pharmacies.

Hope DC feels better soon- lots of cases about atm!

ETA: this explains why calamine isn't the best for the pox www.nurseryworld.co.uk/content/news/parents-wrongly-use-traditional-remedies-to-treat-their-childs-chickenpox/

Use virasoothe or poxclin mousse. But could it be hand foot and mouth? Where are the spots? I only ask as my DS got ‘diagnosed’ with chicken pox by the doctor at the same age but it was actually hand foot and mouth.

If baby isn’t sleeping the dr also prescribed Piriton which was a godsend

So far the spots are mainly on her stomach and chest. Aswell as a few on her upper groin area where the nappy straps sit, 1 behind her ear and 2 on her upper arm near her armpit.

ETA- there is also around 3 spots on her back.

Oil based calamine lotion if you can get it. The regular calamine lotion will dry the skin out and make the itch worse, whereas oil based calamine keeps the skin moisturised.

Fluids - jelly,

Keep them cool, out of the sun

Distract with favourite toys and books etc.

No Ibruprofen products.

Good luck and hopefully your DC will soon be better.

Antihistamine helps with the itch

As the linked article says, stop getting advice from random (unqualified) strangers on the internet. You can also find what to do here https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/chickenpox/

Oat baths were a godsend when dd had it - we’d give her an oat bath several times a day when it was at its worst and it did help.

do isolate until the contagious stage is over, so as not to pass it on. Good Luck

If you don’t have any camomile lotion in, we used sudocrem to dry out the spots.

all 3 of mine caught it this year (including my 3 month old). My 3 year old didn’t like the lotion as he said it stung but the sudocrem worked a treat ☺️

Be warned- my DS had it at 6m and his baby teeth had marks on them from chicken pox. Adult teeth were fine though. It was such a shock!

If you do pay baths don't put squeeze bath toys in....the oat makes them go gunky much more quickly than usual.

Both my DS had chicken pox when they were under 1. Unfortunately they both then had it a second time when they were pre school age. Not sure how common this is as my children could just be weird.

We found virasooth gel worked best plus popped them in babygrows to try to stop them scratching.

Oh that does sound like chicken pox then. DS didn’t have any spots on his back or tummy but loads everywhere else which is apparently normal for HFM. I know it was HFM as I caught it afterwards and it was awful!

If you’re still struggling I really recommend a Piriton prescription. It made DS drowsy so he slept and didn’t scratch.

We used poxclin on my 6 month old.

Another vote for Poxclin, my GS is in the middle of chickenpox and it seems to work.

If they have it mildly the first time then it’s possible to get it again as they don’t build up enough immunity against it the first time.

We used bicarb in the bath as it neutralizes the acid in the spots

Virasoothe or Poxclin are a god send!! You can keep them in the fridge so they feel nice and cool and help soothe the itching. The ingredients in them help kill the virus and stop scarring of the skin. I have 3 small children and all 3 have had chicken pox and these were a life saver! Keep the child in cool loose clothes too. Calpol and piriton too.

Also, when they're better and the shots have all scabbed over, continue to keep them fully protected from the sun until the spots have fully healed, as the scabbed spots can scar if exposed to sunlight.