Chicken Pox and resulting Hip Pain??

[Smurfs]

Good Morning, my DS has had Chicken pox in recent weeks and the spots are all but gone now. However he is complaining of a very sore left hip to the point whereby I had to carry him to the toilet and he is on the sofa no wanting to move. Anybody else had similar. All help gratefully received.

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How old is he? I would ring nhs-direct, esp. if he's running a fever, else I'd assume it's just moaning + tiredness.
It's poss. that he's got an infection (like meningitis) in the joint, this happened 2 friend's baby (altho not related 2 cpox). He was ok in the end, but was hard 2 diagnse.

Thanks OHT, I am waiting on our family doctor to call me back at some stage today, the receptionist wanted me to go down to Surgery and wait for a slot even after I explained I couldn't get DS to bend his leg to get him in a car seat and my DD curently has Chicken Pox all over her body which are just starting to crust so still infectious I will phone NHS Direct.

Could be an infected hip - resulting from the virus which is in his body or could be unrelated. If the GP thinks it is, they'll probably admit him to be on the safe side.

DD had an infected hip and had to be admitted overnight to check for fluid build up.

Ur ds is probably fine, but joint pain is unusual, so worth the risk of seeming like neurotic mum.
Let us know how it goes.

Hello OHT, Dr's kept us waiting for over an hour and had DD with me who is highly infectious as she is not all crusted over yet Said that it was probably the tail end of the Chicken Pox and to go back in 2 days if still painful and they would look at other possible causes. Fingers crossed it goes I scared myself stupid this morning looking on the internet

Don't scare yourself by thinking it looks like Perthes Syndrome - I googled infected hip and it said about it when DD was ill.

However, it's important that they check it's not something like that if her symptoms persist.

Thanks luciemule, every comes up and the and the majority seem to be serious or fatal. I scared myself silly googling so by the time I got to the Dr's I was a shockingly anxious mother. Currently DS is on the sofa with warm hot water bottle, blanket and adoring DD sat beside him fussing over him. I have thrown the telly rules out of the window I shall keep you posted.

Hi Smurfs, Just read your post about your DS and his sore hip. How is he this evening, is he moving it at all, able to walk on it?

If he's unable to put any weight on it at all, I'd really take him to A & E just to be on the safe side or get your GP to refer him to Paeds outpatients clinic the same day or something.

Hello pushki and luciemule, DS has been fine for most of today on and off and then this afternoon and this evening he was again unable to put weight on his left hip/leg. I have given him some childrens Nurofen and he is quite comfortable tucked up in bed looking at his books. He keeps getting temperature spikes and then is fine again. I was going to check him again in a few minutes and see how he is. Do you think I should take him down to A & E tonight or wait and see? He is 4.5 years old.

There is a post-viral condition called Irritable Hip, which is very common in small boys and usually comes on after they have had some kind of viral infection. It usually doesn't last long and has no lasting damage, although it can re-occur with subsequent infections. My DS had this when he was 3, after a cold virus. His hip/groin was agony for about 3 days, he was crying in pain. It was very worrying and traumatic at the time. The GP sent us straight up to the hospital for further tests, but concluded this was what it was, and it just went away by itself pretty quickly. It's never recurred.

Thanks Celery, DS is fast asleep now and not showing any signs of distress. Unless he wakes up in pain in the night I am going to leave it until the morning and see where we are then and if no improvement off to A&E or the Dr's.

If he stays soundly asleep, yes I would leave him - but I would be inclined to take him to a&E in the a.m. if he still can't put weight on it/ painful etc. It may be irritable hip as Celery suggested and although management is usually just rest/ pain relief etc important to rule out that it is not an infective/septic hip as this can present the same but requires very different treatment. The fact that he has gone off to sleep well though is reassuring - so try to have a good nights sleep yourself! Hope he's better in the a.m. and comes running in to wake you up!

Sorry - I kept saying infected hip - I emant irritable hip!
My DD had 2 x-rays and a scan and the scan showed the fluid around the hip joint. If it hadn't have cleared, they said they might have to drain it. But it did clear and they left it but she had to have regular check ups until they were certain it was nothing more sinister than IH.

Thank you pushki and luciemule, we all had a good night sleep however this morning DS is not comfortable putting weight on it and the hip and the knee are hot to the touch in comparison with the rest of his leg. I am going to speak to the Dr's this morning and then I think we will be off to A & E to get it checked out. Thank you for all info.

Hope all goes well this morning, Smurfs.

How has DS been today? Did you go to
A & E/GP?

Hello luciemule, sorry I didn't reply yesterday - one of those mad days! DS is on the mend much more mobility in his hip and knee and he can actually straighten his leg fully which is a huge improvement. He still needs help moving around and he has taken to hoping everywhere which in the short term is fine but if not back to normal tomorrow off to the Dr's agfain

Hi Smurfs - glad he's a bit better.
I would try to carry him/help him as much as possible until you see what happens - in hospital, DD had to have complete rest, no weight on the leg at all and then had to rest it for a complete week once home. Even then, she wasn't allowed to do PE for 3 weeks afterwards.

Hello luciemule - DS is much improved and has a slight limp which I will monitor closely. He has been off school for nearly 4 weeks with Chicken Pox and the hip problem and so as a concession I have allowed him back to school today he is missing it dreadfully but just for half a day I am picking him up before lunchtime to avoid any furthur problems. I think he may be half days next week as a precaution. Thank you for all your help I will let you know how we progress.