chicken pox- advise me pls!

[nearlythere]

My poor little dt2 has REALLY BAD chicken pox, dt1 didn't have many spots but dt2 looks like one big blotchy mess. We've covered him in calamine cream but i just wondered what to do with nappies etc.

He's got them all over his bum and winkle and i'm worried that they might get infected. We use washables, bamboozles in the day and fluffles at night, have put anti-bac stuff in the last rinse to get rid of any bugs but will this be enough?

We had the same with 20mnth DD2 a few weeks ago. All we could do was slap sudocreme on (which seemed to help) and let her run nappyless as and when.

It does get better, you have my sympathy x

Give him Piriton medicine (free from your doctor and also Eurax cream/lotion, also free from your doctor).

The Piriton will make him feel more comfortable and stop him scratching and the Eurax cream will also stop the itching for up to 10 hours and sooth the spots. Nice luke warm baths too will help. .

i can't think of anything worse than having blistery spots on your winkle! he's quite proud of his spots- shows everyone!

Baths with some Bicarb in do seem to help. Agree re Sudacreme - a great help with my DCs.

oh yes, and porridge baths. DD2 was so much better after a porridge bath!

aah nt, my two eldest dd's got them bad too...horrible isnt it? all over their private bits!! i had to put them in the bath to have a wee!! as long as he is kept clean and you stop him itching down there he should be fine. bless him lots of hugs and sympathy to all of you. a normal wash will get rid of the bug. good luck

definitely second piritin and the porridge/oatmeal bath. Only problem we had was that ds tried to drink the water .

Hope dt2 feels better soon. @ proud of spots and showing everybody...

Youngest ds is still getting over this, the ones in his nappy were horrid. We had lots of naked running around, it did help.

cheers ladies- at least i know i haven't missed something really obvious!

we'll carry on, unfortunatly the baths are a tricky issue atm- dt1 won't get in the bath with dt2 because "he's got the lurgy", dt2 once he sees me come home from work is surgically attatched to me until i put him to bed! I washed him down with camomile tea last night in a bid to stop the itching!

nearlythere my DTs had it the same - DT1 next to nothing, not poorly in the slightest then DT2 really bad, antibiotics after 5 days of rash as they got infected, but then cleared up quickly, though spots are still visible 3 weeks on. Piriton is great as it helps them sleep too

We are just getting over the pox too. Seems to be a national epidemic at the mo.

We have abandoned our real nappies because of the same worries about infection in the spots on his bits. Its the ones on his belly that seem to itch most.

Tried an oatmeal bath last night and he slept really well without medication. Think we are over the worst of it.

Good luck and sympathies

My DS had chicken pox a few months ago as did all of his friends. He has got really sensitive skin so I was worried about putting creams on him. I went to see a herbalist who gave me a pot of chamomile and chickweed cream to put on his skin and some dandelion and lavender leaves for his bath. You basically brew tham like tea and pour them in his bath water. All my frinds laughed at my 'witchy poo' remedies but they were great. He didn't scratch at all and the spots cleared up really quickly. Don't know if they would have done anyway but worth a try. Hope dt2 gets better soon.

Oh another really good homeopathic rememdy is this: (from a book on children's homeopathy)

Extract from Practical Homeopathy by Beth MacEoin

Chickenpox
Practical self-help
Ø A great deal can be done to ease the severe itching of the rash, thus making your child much more comfortable and less distressed. Instead of calamine lotion (which may be initially soothing but quickly dries on the skin), Hypercal or Urtica urens tincture should be used diluted, or added to the bathwater. If the spots are maddeningly itchy or stinging, choose Uritca urens. If they are painful and there is a risk of infection from the skin being broken as a result of scratching, select Hypercal. Dilute one part of tincture to ten parts of boiled, cooled water, soak a cotton wool pad with the lotion and bathe the spots as often as needed. This is immensely soothing and will do a great deal to make spots less irritable. You may also add either tincture to the bathwater in order to soothe and calm the irritation. However, warm bathing is best avoided in the early stages of the illness when the spots are still emerging, because it can leave your child feeling feverish and enervated.

Ø Additional relief may also be obtained from soaking in an oatmeal bath. Place a handful of oats in a pouch or fine muslin or gauze and suspend it under the hot water tap while it is running.

Ø After the spots have been bathed with diluted tincture as recommended above, frequently apply Hypercal or Urica urens cream to the irritated skin. Calendula cream may also be useful if there is any risk or the spots becoming infected. Always choose cream rather than ointment when dealing with a chickenpox rash, because ointment may discourage the rash from drying out.