Your top chickenpox tips please

[wonderstuff]

DD is 11 mo and covered in spots! She seems happy at the mo, but I'm thinking tomorrow is going to be a long day! What should I stock up on? What to expect? Do we go to the doctors? Or will that be pointless?

Sorry to hear about your LO.
I have been told that Aqueous Calamine is better than the lotion.
make sure you have paracetamol to keep the temp under control and lots and lots of toys/dvd's on stand by!
Hope they get better soon.

Sudocrem if she has spots in the nappy area. DD2 had them there and was in real pain when they burst. Also lots of calpol and nurofen for pain relief. Maybe medised if she is itchy as it has antihistamine in as well.
I'm sending you lots of hugs, you'll need them. Mine have both had it and I am glad we have got it over with.

biggest scratch mits you can find for night time
i agree antihistamine
calamine works - slap it on all over her, with a cotton-wool ball. revolting stuff but stops the itching.

cool cotton clothing, it's worse when they get hot
calpol if she's feeling under the weather. yes i did say calpol.

Piriton is good. Don't feel guilty about tv.

A tiny warning re piriton. some children get very drowsy and chilled out on it. Others go a bit hyper and irritable. (one of my dds went irritable and it wasn't nice for her or me)

Try and find friends whose dcs have had it or don't mind having it. I was very lucky in that one of my friends and her dcs fitted this description. If you are really lucky with a friend like this he or she may even stay with your child for an hour and you can go to the supermarket. (whoopee do!!)

My older dd took great comfort in having lots of lukewarm showers.

When you run the bath, put some porridge oats in a muslin, secured by a rubber band, under the tap. And a table spoon of bicarb. After the bath, squeeze out the oaty sticky liquid on the skin. Seems to really soothe spots.

homeopathic remedy rhus tox, you can buy in boots...

I knew you lot would know what to do!

DS was never that ill with it, or particularly itchy, just bored with being quarantined.

Find amusement and diversion for DC (and yourself). I used to drive out to get DH in his lunch hour and bring him back to our house, just to have some company and break up the day. Trips in the car are about as exciting as it gets though with a contagious child

Oh don't go to docs - you could give it to some very vulnerable people and the doctor will say "So?" You could write it in the red book though, as a record.

Sorry to hijack, but a lot of DDs friends have it at the momet, so I think it's only a matter of time. I was just wndering, about how long are they usually contagious for?

Fay, they are contagious till the spots have all scabbed over.

Thanks, about how long is that from when the spots appear - or does it vary from child to child? I think I might go and stock up on a few of the remedies from here, just in case.

Aparently contagious for a couple of days before spots appear and actually get virus about 10 days before spots appear, and get cold symptoms. I thought it was taking her a while to get over this cold.

x-posts! I think takes 5 days for spots to scab over

Thanks, again sorry to hijack

Thanks all, thought I'd update you, no spots this morning! Must have been heat rash or something In my defence she is my first and it had been going round nursery. Anyho I spent last night being sick and still feel fecking awful, so thank god I have been able to pack her off to nursery today and organised cover for work yesterday..

definately acquious calamine cream...white tub, pink lid

absolutely brilliant tip someone gave me is put some porridge oats in an old pop sock and run their bath water through it. Kind of squeeze the oats while you do it. It creates a soothing milky oaty bath which REALLY soothes the skin. It seemed to really help when my DS had it..