Chicken pox? Advice please!

[mersmam]

DC1 (aged 4) and DC3 (aged nearly 2) have spots - mainly on their bodies, some in their hair. They do not seem to be itchy. I noticed the first one on DC3's neck on Friday. They look a bit like blisters.
DC1 is fine in herself but DC3 is a bit cranky (no temperature though).
DC2 (aged 3) has no spots or symptoms.

Me and the DH both have bad colds so I'm wondering if the spots are in fact chicken pox or some other virus which has caused cold symptoms in me and DH and spots in the children...

My questions:

1. Is it the pox???
2. Should I keep Dc1 off school (she has spots on her body but is fine in herself - no other symptoms) and if so for how long?
3. Should I keep DC2 off nursery school given that she has no spots or any other symptoms (but is likely to be a carrier as both her siblings have it)?
4. Should I take them to the doctors?
5. I am 34 weeks pregnant. I had chicken pox badly as a child so I presume this means I'd be OK if it is the pox (?) I have had a bad cold for the past few days, but it seems to be getting better - is it likely to be just a coincidence?

Any advice would be appreciated! Thanks in advance...

If you google images chicken pox rash then there are heaps of unsavoury pictures for comparison.

If you are remotely concerned still that it is chicken pox, DC1 should be kept off school until the last spot has scabbed over (which is about 5 or 7 days, can't remember which).

Not sure about DC2? She might not get it, or might not get it for 3 weeks IYSWIM. You can hardly keep her off for that long as a precautionary measure. DS got chickenpox about 3-4 weeks after dd - he caught it from someone dd has passed it to, rather than dd herself .

BUt you are right - could be viral rash though without seeing it is difficult to tell. Definitely worth comparing spots with those on google.

1. sounds like the pox. Initially a couple of small blisters then they multiply and get redder then crust over. Ds started last night and by this morning I was 99% sure it was CP.

2. Any spotty child will need to be off school/nursery until the last spot has crusted over.

3. Technically you don't need to keep the non-spotty one off nursery although chances are she's incubating it and shedding virus. Depends how charitable you're feeling .

4. You don't need to take them to the doctors unless you're worried about them. If you do, tell the receptionist in advance so you can wait somewhere apart from the main waiting room to avoid infecting everyone!

5. Bad cold likely to be coincidence. If you definitely had CP as a child you should be OK.

HTH. Ds is spotty but happy at the moment. I'm expecting him to be more unwell over the next couple of days and not looking forward to being housebound with him and rather demanding 4 year old dd......

Thanks pooka. Have done the google comparison and they do look very similar (although some of the google pics look very disimilar from each other so it's a bit confusing!)
I think I'll keep DC1 off tomorrow (unless the spots have gone) and send DC2 in (unless spots have appeared!)...
Thanks again!

Thanks Liath - no the housebound thing fills me with dread too... three spotty children is not what I want in my last trimester!!

INterestingly, both mine also had cough/cold symptoms when they had chicken pox. Mostly the cough though.

Top tips:

Porridge oats tied in a muslin and left under the bath taps when running a bath. Then at end of bath squeeze the gunky oats out through the muslin and smear on skin. V. good for spots.

When the spots are starting to crust, a tablespoon of bicarb of soda in the bath seems to help dry out the spots (can be tempered with the oaty thing).

Calamine aqueous cream superior to calamine lotion - less drying and easier to apply.

Piriton (for older child) good for nights.

With dd (not ds as he was too young) lanacaine medicated talc was great at cooling and soothing the skin.

Thanks again Pooka - you are definitely in the know when it comes to the pox
Think I'll be trying out all of your tips over the coming days...

ONly in the know because it is burnt into my memory! Wasn't the best month really

DD was fine, as was ds really, but I don't cope well with being housebound and am a bit of a freak when it comes to trying every remedy (home or pharmaceutical) under the sun.

Hi liath, sorry to hear that ds has the pox. Has dd had it?

If you need a break then you can always give me a shout if you want me to take her for a bit.

Mawbroon - will you take my three as well please?

Hope your dcs are ok.

As pooka said, calamine aqueous cream is very good. dd4 is currently covered in it from head to toe. Incidentally she had no symptoms prior to the spots appearing.

dd3 on the other hand is EXTREMELY tearful and miserable atm... just waiting for the spots to appear.

My only tip would be to keep them occupied - dd4 has been on the wii and it has been the only time in 2 days where she hasn't been scratching like mad and feeling very sorry for herself.

Has anyone had it start in the mouth?
dd exposed 2 weeks ago. Been grumpy (in the extreme) tired and coldy, Tonight she says her head feels weird and it hurts under her tongue. She appears to have a red and white spot there.
I bet its not, shes been exposed numerous times and I think she must have had a really mild case at some point.

well it wasn't pox!

Sounds like hand, foot and mouth disease Oh youbadbadkitten

Could be - or it could be a random ulcer along with a cold

She seems utterly fine this morning apart from a bit of a cold. I think she is just teasing me.