chickenpox solutions....

[bea]

friends ds has chickenpox and is really really having bad nights due to itchyness...

she's done the bicarbonate baths and some piriton.. her doc advised that calamine really is of no help... (i've heard this too!)...

sooo she's absolutely knackered and does anyone have any other solutions???

tia!

bump for the knowledgable evening crowd????

piriton for children (liquid form). stops itching and makes them drowsy.

Piriton is great, doubled up with calamine. However, i was given some good advice re: calamine.

The standard (old fashioned) version is calamine LOTION which - whilst soothing the itching with the cool calamine - acutally dries out quite hard/dry on the spots which are already crusty (too much info i know!), therefore making them itchier when the calamine benefit has worn off - it kind of soothes but dries, and the dryness is uncomfortable.

However you can buy - if you ask - calamine in AQUEOUS CREAM which not only soothes from the calamine, but also does not dry up the skin, so the moisture in the cream is soothing too, no itchy crustiness. Much much better than the lotion in my experience (very severe chicken pox had by DD1, in ears, bottom, inside eyelids etc.)

Good luck...

yes I used the calamine and aqeous cream mix for ds's chicken pox earlier this year, it's only about £1.50 a tub. Keep it in the fridge and its nice and soothing when you apply it and as mmoob says it doesnt dry the spots or skin out making them even more sore.

My ds was ready to go back to nursery quite quickly I think as we kept slathering him with it.

HTH

my HV said bicarb made into a paste and kept in fridge then applied as needed. Worked like a dream for ds who was just a year old at the time and had it everywhere - really bothered by the ones on his eyes and the end of his willy!!

this was the only useful advice my hv ever gave me!!

piriton did not work for my dd1 but another vote here for the aquaeous cream was great.

friend went out and got some a cream, this morning and she's very grateful for all the help!!!

thanks mumsnetters... here's hoping that uit will do the trick....