Bad chicken pox in 8 m.o baby - what should i do?

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DD2 has really bad chicken pox. Can't sleep or eat and has temp (roasting hot at 0300 today). This is the third day she's been like this. she won't let me put her down at all and just cries and cries and can't get comfortable. she is covered in spots.
I have been giving her calprofen, calpol and, in desperation last night, one dose of medised. I am trying to stagger painkillers so she always goes 4 hours between doses and i alternate paracetamol and ibruprofen.
a dose of calprofen has just got her off to sleep - in her cot for the first time in abour 48 hours.
She is the picture of misery. Is there anything else i can do? The piriton i got for DD1 when she had the pox says not to be given to children under 1.
I have cal lotion and bicarb for baths.
Any other tips or do i just have to wait it out?

Phone nhs-direct.

young babies are not normally that ill or that hot with chicken pox. I would consider a visit to gp to see if there is anything else going on. Chemists do not give piriton to under ones but I have a feeling it can be prescribed by a gp.

My dd had piriton (under hospital advice) when she was 4mo. But they administered it and kept us in for an hour to make sure she didn't react to it.

ok thanks - it doesn't seem right that she is so ill with 'just' chicken pox. I'm going to ring gp now.

Are any of her spots infected?
I ask because my 2 dd's had CP very badly,the doctor even said they were severe cases.dd2 was about 14 months at the time and she was just as you have described your dd2.Turned out that yes CP can be very nasty(god knows why people have CP parties)and on top of that her spots were infected ,she was given AB's.

Hope your dd is soon well.

My dd had bad chicken pox at 6 months - we had 3 days of hell (high temp, not sleeping etc.) and then she started to get better. Worth getting it checked out though

Hope she feels better soon

last straw with gp. tomorrow afternoon. can someone come out? no. best they'd offer is take her in now. i said not willing to wake her up when first time she's slept/stopped crying since 0300. and they didn't budge. they're closed this afternoon.
i'm moving practice. aibu?!

Good, let us know how she gets on.

hi there just had to post, my lo had chicken pox at exactly the same age and he was really bad with it (see profile pic, that is him improving!). He swelled up dead puffy and his temp went just above 39. Emerg doc on phone told me to keep with the calpol, nurofen mix and keep him cool (it was summer too), but if temp went any higher to bring him straight in. He didn't go much higher and he started to improve the next day. He was bad from the Friday til the Sunday then just floppy poorly for a few days, then back to old self the following friday - albeit with many many spots.

He is scarred now (3.5) but can barely see em.

What I would say though is if she really bad now, keep an eye out in a few weeks for chest issues. DS had been sitting for a while unaided, but then stopped and also stopped rolling, got fractious and hot. then we noticed a raised red lump on his chest (sternum area), took him to doc, was brushed aside as having a sensitive sternum and to stop touching it as it was bothering him. Over weekend was really bad - too him to emerg doc was told it was a bruise (!), then fortunately he was due for a check up with the paed on the Monday (he was prem, was his 8 month check)...saw a registra, again told it was a bruise but he thought he would check with DS actual paed first (prolly to report he'd been abused!) and the paed took one look and admitted him to baby ward. Was an infection between bone and skin caused by the chicken pox making his lungs weak, 2 days of IV antibiotics and he was a new boy! so glad we saw the paed as no one would believe me that something wasn't right.

Chicken Pox can spread internally (down wind pipe etc) and can weaken lung lining or summut I understand, so just keep an eye out.

Your poor dd I would get her seen asap in case of infection, but also ask by phone (if you can't get seen stat) if Piriton is ok, if Eurax is ok (much better than calamine for my dd) and also get some homoepathic Rhus Tox: recommended by my non-homeopathy-believing HV for a little boy whose itching was dreadful, and it worked, apparently.

FWIW, dd1 has had temp of 38.3 with it, but came down with Calpol and got better once spots appeared.

Am in mid CP with dd1 and anticipating with dd2 soon, much sympathy, hope she's better soon xxx

x post - yes, I've heard same as Meeely says, CP can lead to chest infections. Do get her checked, so hope she's better soon!

just looked at your profile Meeely2 and your boys are gorgeous...and chicken pox is a horrible horrible illness. I had no idea! I was so relaxed about them getting it, believing that thing about the younger the better. DD1 was bad but DD2 is off the scale. Thanks so much for your warning, i will keep an eye on her.
She doesn't seem right to me now. She just looks at me and cries and then collapses onto my chest again. And of course she looks awful. It's heartbreaking to see her like this.

the other twin had CP first and he sailed through it. I remember the floppyness and looking pathetic - I just spent days on the sofa cuddling (luckily cos DT2 was over his bout he was allowed back to nursery). I remember distinctly the look in Edwards eyes "mummy, this hurts, help me"...ooo I'm welling up!

gawd don't, you'll set me off.

hi again. just to say thanks again to everyone for posting. dd2 is much better today, still ill but glimpses of usual self. phew!

we found some bicarb in the bath worked wonders and hepled dry the spots up and stop itching. dd and ds had several baths a day with few tablespoons in and it really helped get through it