38 weeks pregnant and think DS has chickenpox

[Maruni]

Hi all,
Having a very overwhelming day and just starting to worry incessantly. Will provide as much detail as possible so apologies for the length.

DS 6 had tonsillitis and 10 day course of antibiotics 3 weeks ago. On Wednesday he woke up with a temperature and vomiting so kept him off school- noticed his tonsils still looked red and inflamed, GP agreed and prescribed a different antibiotic for 5 days.

Yesterday evening DS complained of itching on his back, noticed there were 4 or 5 raised spots. Today there are around 14 spots on his back and 10 on his chest and shoulders, some look wet, like leaking fluid and some look dry (will try to attach pics). Now earlier in the week, he came home from school and told me a girl in his class had chickenpox all over her face and the teacher told her not to worry and the spots would go away soon so if this is true, then he has had some exposure in class.

My younger DS 4 seems okay so far but I’ve started panicking because I know it can take 2-3 weeks after exposure for spots to develop and if my younger one does get it, it will coincide right with the time where I am due my elective c section (date hasn’t come through yet) so you can imagine I’m really starting to feel very very nervous now.

I do have an appointment later this afternoon with a nurse just to confirm if it is chickenpox or not. I suffer from health anxiety and have done the dreaded googling which has led me down the route of flea bites/tick bites/scabies- my parents have cats and despite regularly treating their cats with flea treatment they have had some itching and spots in the past week, me and the kids have also felt a bit itchy when we visit there (which is almost daily) so I’m just feeling really all over the place right now.

I’m worried that whatever it is I’m going to bring a newborn home from the hospital into this situation and it’s just scaring me to be honest. My DH also says that according to his parents he has never had chickenpox so that’s something else to add to the list.

DS 6 has caught so many bugs this year and has had antibiotics 5 times in 7 months- before the worry about chickenpox I was actually going to post about his immune system because he seems to get ill a lot quicker and for a lot longer than his brother.

Also do I need to tell the midwife/hospital about this- will they delay the elective? Do I keep giving DS the antibiotics? What if it’s not tonsillitis and just the viral illness that comes before the spots?

Any advice/insight greatly appreciated.

^^

I couldn’t spot the single most important detail. Have you definitely had chicken pox. If there’s any doubt at all, the midwife needs to get your chicken pox immunity status checked on your booking bloods. Because if you were not immune, and developed chicken pox within 2 weeks either side of delivery, your baby would need IV treatment.

Have you had chicken pox?

That's the important question.

I had had chickenpox so offered DD3 some immunity when DD1 got it when I was 37 weeks and then DD2 when I was 39 weeks. DD3 did get it but only a couple of spots and no treatment was required. This was 20 years ago though so protocols may have changed!

Could your dh and younger ds get vaccinated? Supposed to help after exposure. Would need to pay for it privately

So sorry missed out the most important thing- my parents always thought I never got it so when I was actually pregnant with DS and was exposed to chickenpox, I had a blood test done which shows I have antibodies. The GP said at the time I must have it very mildly and my parents didn’t realise.

If I had it that mildly could I be at risk of getting it again?

Thank you for your replies and @Imadesomething I’m glad your little one was ok!

Hmm, they don’t look like CP spots to me but it’s very hard to tell, can you get a clear close up pic of a couple ? Typically the spots start as red spots that quickly become filled with fluid, these crust over and form a scab that falls off. They come in waves over a few days, eg each day there is usually an increase in spots, from days 1-3 ish, from my memory.

Tried to get some up close pictures but he was wriggling a lot

Saw a nurse who wasn’t sure it was chickenpox and called in a doctor to check who also wasn’t sure- they think it may be a reaction to the antibiotic so have given him antihistamines- I’m to go back in on Monday.

Despite stopping the antibiotics- more spots have appeared on DS’ chest and back- some are fluid filled and some have dried out. Nurse did say to come back on Monday if the spots increase.

I’ve looked into the vaccine and it’s past 5 days of exposure now, also it says as it’s a live vaccine and I’m pregnant, it’s not a good time to get it done?

OP just keep speaking with your doctor and midwife. Was also going to suggest maybe drug reaction rather than chick pox. However if there is uncertainty and given your worries, you could ask them to do a swap of your son’s spots to check for the virus?

If you have had chicken pox before, no matter how mild, you will be immune and baby will also have received your antibodies across the placenta so will have protection. Usually because of this then vaccination of your newborn and/or isolation from affected siblings won’t be necessary. It might be recommended to defer your elective until after your son’s spots have crusted over if chicken pox is confirmed. It will also be worthwhile for your midwife to discuss the situation with the obstetrician booking your CS, and perhaps with a neonatologist just to check they don’t recommend any extra vaccine for your baby. But ultimately it sounds like things will be absolutely fine - I’m sorry you’re going through this extra worry.

If you had a mild case of chickenpox, it IS possible that you might not be immune. Having said that, it is contagious from about 2 days before the spots show up, so a vaccine wouldn't be much good for you at the moment.

It's hard to tell whether it is chickenpox from your post, and seems thar your healthcare providers aren't sure either. If you look at the NHS chickenpox page, the photos on there are pretty representation. Even the early-stage spots have a sort of 'fluidy' look to them, and they develop into blisters within a day or so.

Hope he feels better soon, and all goes well with the last few days of your pregnancy!

Sounds like she was tested and had positive IgG though so evidence of antibody formation? So should be immune with those antibodies also transferring to baby

Thank you so much for your replies- I do really appreciate it.

I had a blood test to check for chickenpox antibodies back in 2018 and GP said the result was consistent with past infection even though my mum doesn’t really remember me having it as my sister got it a lot worse and was covered from head to toe.

I know I’ve got to take things one step at a time and take DS back to GP tomorrow but basically my main worry is that DH/DS2 start showing symptoms by the time I have the baby- I’ve read a few MN threads about newborn chickenpox and thankfully in most cases the babies were ok even when they did contract it but there were a couple where there were some long term complications and those are the stories that are sticking in my mind.

Thanks again - I will try to update just in case this is useful for anyone who find themselves in a similar situation.

Just coming back to say chickenpox has been confirmed for DS and this is Day 6 now and he’s really struggling- his temp yesterday was 38.1 and now it’s 39.8, I’m giving him calpol (did give nurofen for the first few days when we thought it was tonsillitis and not CP).

My C section has also been booked in for next Monday- DS2 not showing any symptoms yet but am aware incubation period is quite long. All in all feeling totally out of my depth- this is not how I thought the final week before baby arriving would be!

DS2 got CP from his brother at one week old. I have had CP and was bf but he came out in spots all the same. Very mild. Now 20 and never had it again.

Your DS should be past the contagious period in another week, but incubation is 10 days to 3 weeks so if you’ve got another DCs who hasn’t had it yet they will probably get it in a weeks time. When you have your newborn they should get some antibodies from you especially if you breastfeed, but I don’t think I’d risk it with a baby so young. Do you have anyone who can have your DSs when baby arrives until chickenpox is over with?

My eldest dd had full blown chicken pox when I had my second. She was covered in them! I’d had chicken pox as a kid so my newborn got immunity from me and through breast milk. My youngest did end up with shingles as a toddler though- never chicken pox. But the shingles was unpleasant for her

Thanks everyone for your replies and sorry you’ve had similar situations with babies so young! Very happy to hear they recovered well. I spoke to my midwife today who said it’s best to try and keep DC/DH separate when I go in next Monday. Trying to arrange something with my parents.

DS is now on day 6 from when spots first appeared and his temperature is still spiking- last night his temperature was almost 40. I keep checking his spots much to his irritation and some of them do look very red with a ring around them- is this normal or are they possibly infected? I did try and get an appointment with GP again today but they had nothing left and have put me on the triage list for tomorrow.