HELP: Chicken Pox or Molluscum?? How do I see the difference?

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My 2 1/2 year old has never had chicken pox, it has been going around in nursery several times, yet he has not picked it up.

But, yesterday I noticed a slightly raised bump or spot on his bottom, and a few on his back. They are still there, but not much bigger today.

I cannot quite decide whether it looks like this

or

the smaller ones here

What do you think?

Unless it is quite obviously chicken pox tomorrow should I send him to nursery? He is otherwise well. Must I take him to the docs for Molluscum?

Tomorrow you will know.

Doctors don't do anything about moluscum. Nor chickenpox, for that matter. Moluscum tends to be very localised like, just under the arms, or back of the knee, and it might spread in a few weeks. Moluscums don't usually appear inflamed straight away, but it starts off like the small white bits that surround the big spot on your link.

I think it's probably chickenpox, but as I said, tomorrow you will know, because it's very quick to appear/spread over the body.

Hth

molloscum is skin coloured raised bumps. chicken pox will usually be redder and more blister-like. (should completely blister in a day or 2)
CP tend to come up quite quickly

Difficult to tell really. Like HHOH says, you'll probably know tomorrow if its CP!

DD2 didn't get fluid-filled bumps, at least not the way DD1 had.

it was deffo chickenpox, though.

Isnt it always so that chicken pox comes at the most inconvenient of times?

My oldest sons 6th birthday party is on the 14th, do you reckon he will be ok enough to go???? SOb.

I agree you'll definitely know by the morning - both DS1 and 2 started off with just 1 or 2, and withhing hours there were loads of them.

thanks guys, replies finally! I heart MN.

My oldest son got CP on his third birthday. 1st day there was one lump, 2nd day there was 3, and the 3rd day it was fullblown easy to recognise CP.

I think chicken pox typically starts on the trunk - so where the spots are now would be typical. Can't add anything else - but I was on the grumpy thread and you ordered us over here so here I am!

DS1's CP started on the back of his legs behind his knees.

He had it, then DS2 got it just after DS1 got better........his last spot scabbed over the day before DS3 arrived !

FAQ, did DS3 get it! (What a tour de force)

I was pg with DS2 when DS1 got it, so needed blood tests, etc.

I am very keen to see the spot development on my little guy tomorrow.

No - I was very lucky that DS2 stopped being infectious the day before he was born - and I had CP when I was younger.

DS3 was 2 weeks early so I was mightily relieved that DS2 was better before his baby brother put in an appearance

dd2's chickenpox looked completely different from dd1's - and left different marks.

dd2 still has some scars that are pock marks, whereas dd1 had, until recently, pink spots where the poxes were, like a pin prick sunburn.

dd2 has olive skin, whereas dd1's is pink in undertone and white as a lilly.

dd1 also got most pocks on her trunk whereas dd2 had many on her face.

oh, and the scalp ones are gross when they crust over and take forever to fall out.

My oldest has no sign of ever having had chicken pox. Lucky he has already had it, so his birthday wont be ruined (I hope)

both DS's (particularly DS2) still look like they've only just recovered from cP - almost every spot on their body has got hyper-pigmentation which can (apparently takes months, or even years! to fade)......DS3 is 9 months old!

how long did it take him for him to have no marks, QS?

dd1 had it in January and she still has some of those pink spots where the blisters sat on top.

dd2 still has a couple of actual pockmarks - 1 on her face, the other on her ankle.

Oh, he had CP 3 years ago in April.... Not comforting, but I cant remember having seen a cp mark the last year....

I had NO idea it could take so long to fade!

Will have to be extra careful about their sun exposure, not that there's ever much of it in this neck of the woods!

I think if you just dab a little factor 50 on them, should be fine. But yes, you are in a beautiful weather beaten place!

DD1 is translucent. And her hair goes blond in summer.

They get slathered in Ultra-Sun everyday.

DS1 is milkyblue, and pale honey in summer. And yes, it is factor 20 and 40 for us.

I remember being in Sri Lanka on holiday (at the end of a three month stay in India) when he was nearly 2. Another guest at the hotel waved me aside, and said "you have to be careful with the sun exposure with the wee one, he will burn easily in such strong sun, being so blonde". He was very surprised to learn that we had been in India for 3 months already!

Just thinking about this thread - was it CP???

No, cant have been! Yet he has still little spots just like on that link, few new on his arm yesterday, but he is well in himself, and the old ones are just fading, no blistering, no scabbing over, etc. So I dont know what this is!