Children having chicken pox more than once?

[IdrisTheDragon]

DD had chicken pox when she was 6 weeks old. I was fully bf, and have had chicken pox so was told it was unlikely she would have it, but she definitely did with lots of spots (although not really ill).

She is now 3.4 and is very itchy (although she does have eczema, which flares up sometimes). She also has a bit of a temperature. I am taking her to the doctor anyway as she is running low on eczema medication, so will find out then, but am interested in other people's experiences. And can children get shingles, and if so what is it like?

if they catch it under one it doesnt 'count'and they get it again

I definately had it twice when I was a child.

From what I can remember from when mum had shingles, it feels like a hot, stabbing pain. I think it is usually in 1 or 2 places on the body (not all over) and usually has a red rash. Really painful.

My niece has had it twice. (had it under 2)My nephew has had it three times- once under 2, once when 3 and once when 4. And they were big stonking doses the last twice.

My niece has had it twice. (had it under 2)My nephew has had it three times- once under 2, once when 3 and once when 4. And they were big stonking doses the last twice.

And another one for good measure .

My ds had excema which totally flared up when he had chicken pox.

Bother.

DS had chicken pox at the same time so you'd think I'd remember what it looks like but it was 3 years ago, so can't remember. She is really itchy on her chest and tummy.

DS was just under 2 when he had it as well - if DD has got it he might get it as well I suppose...

Hiya. I'm a gp and see lots of children with chicken pox. Biologically, children shouldn't be able to get chicken pox more than once because the body develops immunity to it after an infection. The virus itself then lies dormant in the body, not causing any problems unless it flares up in the future as an episode of shingles. Shingles is localised to a particular nerve root, so appears as a strip on one side of the body. A shingles rash never crosses the midline (if you draw a line down the middle of the body at the front or back).

A lot of children end up being diagnosed with chicken pox more than once. I think this is most likely because there are hundreds and hundreds of viruses that can cause similar rashes and fever, and the gp has to make a diagnosis based upon a 10 minute consultation and what the rash looks like at that particular time. The rash of chicken pox is typically blistered in the centre and later forms a scab, but other infections can often look like this and many of these are probably labelled as chicken pox. The management is really the same ie treat the temperature with calpol etc, plenty of fluids and see the gp straight away if they deteriorate, so it doesn't matter hugely that these infections may be labelled incorrectly, but it does cause confusion regarding whether or not the child has previously had chicken pox.
xx

Thank you - have looked and the rash doesn't look like it is shingles .

Shall see what the gp says later on (and hope she hasn't infected an entire pre-school...)