Chicken pox blisters

[WinkyWinkola]

I think DS has chicken pox. I'm not worried. His nursery warned me it was going around. His torso has maybe 8 or 10 little red spots on it.

But there is one thumping great thing on his ribcage. It looks like a big crusty blister. Do chicken pox blisters get quite big or could this be something else?

Also, if kids incubate chicken pox for three weeks (or so) before the spots emerge and these three weeks are the contagious time, why are we advised to stay in for five days once the spots arrive because surely all the contagion has been 'done' by then? Or am I wrong?

they are only contagious from 1 or 2 days before the spots appear until they scab over which is about 5-7 days from when they first appear. The incubation period is up to 3 weeks but they are not contagious all that time. I dont know about the blister thing - they can look quite nasty - how big actually is it?

The 3 weeks the child incubates the virus are NOT the contagious period. The contagious period is 2 days before spots appear until the last blister has dried up (usually takes 5-7 days)

The one big blister sounds like a chicken pox. Ds has chickenpox at the moment, quiete badly. He is covered, hair, face, inside mouth, front and rear torso, bottom, testicles, etc etc. A few of these spots are very red, with a large red ring round them. I am assuming this is normal.

Ds is now on day 4, and today is the first day his appetite is returning and he is no longer feeling ill.

Seona and hippipotami are definately right about the incubation period and also about the contagious period lasting until all the scabs have dropped off. You should be being advised that your DS is contagious until all the spots have scabbed over and no more are forming (time for this to happen varies greatly).

Chicken Pox blisters can get really huge IME - DD1 has some huge ones on her rib cage too - still has the scars from those ones (despite never scratching them

Thank you very much for your advice. Will keep an eye on the big blister thing. It's the size of a pea.. . . .

But, another question that may sound daft (advance apologies). Isn't cp a typically mild childhood disease that we all want out of the way so getting infected is a Good Thing for those kids who haven't had it yet?

Chicken pox is usually one of those things we all want out of the way, but occasionally has complications attached.

There was a report recently on the number of deaths associated with it - I think there was an announcement at the time that vaccinations were to be introduced in the UK sometime soon.

It can be very mild, but it can be severe. I had it as an adult and it was truly, truly awful. Anyone with cp has my heartfelt sympathies. My doctor said it was a myth that adults get it worse - some kids get it very badly and can be off colour for up to a month, as I was - but, he said, kids complain less than adults, bless 'em.

No, it's definitely not always mild. My DD is usually very robust to these things and shakes them off easily but she was really rather ill for two weeks with hers. She also had excema and getting pox blisters over that isn't much fun I can tell you - she couldn't wear her proper shoes for over a month as her feet were so swollen.

When she wasn't contagious anymore and I took her out, I was approached by other mums who wanted their child to get it ASAP to get it over with. IME it just doesn't work that way, my DD had been repeatly exposed to the virus at nursery for 8 months before she got it so I don't think you can control when your child is going to get it very easily. My DDs best friend had it a few weeks earlier and she had a baby sister of 6 weeks who caught it and ended up in hospital, luckily my, then 8 week old was BF'd and had some immunity to it from my milk.

Just a couple of hints by the way. Chicken pox spots arrive in three waves, three days apart. Each wave tends to take the spots to new places.

The spots can go into any orifice in the body, so check inside ears, bottoms etc. If they go down the throat, eating can be quite painful. I found that cutting grapes in half and then popping them into jelly before putting it in the fridge was magic. Soup or jelly was the only thing I could eat, but the grapes were wonderfully cool and soothing as they slid down!

Not everyone gets it in the throat, but best prepared. Piriton is fantastic at reducing the itching.

Best of luck.

I noticed the 3 day thing, just as I thought 'that must be it', we would wake up in the morning with a fresh batch!

Ds has them in his throat, and has lived on soup, jelly, yoghurt and custard for the past two days.

Last night he managed some pasta with salmon, and today he is a lot brighter so he is on the mend I think.

How long does it take (roughly) for all the spots to dry up??

Sorry, hit post before I was ready.

So, spots drying up - 5 - 7 days, is that from when the first spots appear or from when the last spots arrived (so 3 days into the illness)?

Eurax Lotion helps too, as does a bath in epsom salts.

BTW for adults who catch it, demand acyclovar from the doctors (anti-viral used to treat shingles) and start taking the moment the temperature arrives (three weeks from infection). Works a treat and really helps the recovery process too.

Ds has hardly suffered from itchyness. He was only itchy on Day 2, so when the second batch of spots came out.

Now the spots are drying up he is not itchy at all.

Strange, no?