Share your tips for coping when your children have chickenpox with PoxClin

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Though most children will get it at some stage, chickenpox is an illness that can be difficult for all involved. With that in mind, PoxClin would like to hear the tips you have for when children get chickenpox.

Here’s what PoxClin has to say: “It’s never easy when your children are ill and it’s natural for parents to worry about the itching and discomfort chickenpox can cause. 46% of parents say that stopping children from scratching is the most important thing for them when their child has chickenpox and 34% also worry about longer-term effects like scarring. These issues, combined with children being at home and unable to attend school or nursery until the spots have crusted over can put everyone to the test, with children being restless and parents feeling anxious and stressed from juggling work and unexpected childcare. It’s at times like this that support and advice from other parents can be so valuable. So, if you have some amazing parenting “hacks” to share, we want to hear from you!”

Do you have any tips for dealing with being housebound while your child is contagious? Perhaps you know of remedies that help with relieving the itching and scratching that accompanies chickenpox? Maybe you have tips for dealing with more than one child getting chickenpox at the same time?

All who post below sharing their tips will be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £300 voucher for the store of their choice (from a list).

Thanks and good luck!

MNHQ

Insight Terms and Conditions apply

*An online survey was conducted by Atomik Research among 1,300 UK adults aged 18+. The research fieldwork took place on 8th – 12th April 2019. Atomik Research is an independent creative market research agency that employs MRS-certified researchers and abides to MRS code

tape oven mitts on them

Mine had it as a teenager - still horrible. Cooling bath, calamine, etc. helped a bit.

Make sure they get them at the same time as a friend so they can still play together :-)

It's easier if they all get chicken pox young as then they don't remember it. I use calamine lotion to soothe the itching and nice long baths.

Calamine lotion, and calpol , cool baths and ice cream.

I found that using calamine lotion and antihistamine helped a lot when my children had chickenpox, I told them to tap themselves if they felt like scratching, and I used to keep them busy watching the tv to try and take their minds off it.

Cool baths and lots of soothing cream worked wonders in our house. Plus getting to watch whatever they wanted on TV!

its awful, but cool baths, calomine, and mittens at night

When my children had chickenpox I used a lotion called virasooth. Regular Calpol when needed and also an antihistamine to help with itching. Oatmeal baths helped too

My 5 year old came down with them and then five days later so did my one year old. I found putting them in their rash vests for the beach during the day stopped them scratching so ferociously and avoided scarring. They also seemed to find oat baths soothing x

tell the child to slap the itch rather than scratching

I used cold ice packs to place on the spots causing the most itch - it helps to take out the heat and itch.

Some ointment and calpol. Apart from that they got to lay down and watch tv all day.

We found oat baths an absolute godsend. Put oats in a muslin and then tie it with an elastic band and run under a tap and use the oaty muslin as a "dabber". It really soothed both my children, and as an added bonus also helped my son's eczema!

Oat baths help and this can be fun for them too when they're feeling miserable.

We had a bed on the sofa and watched lots of films with juice and home baking.

My daughters didn't suffer too badly. I've tried to distract them during the day and keep them cool at night

Cool cotton clothes, luke warm baths with porridge oats and a decent barrier cream to stop them scratching and getting infected

calamine lotion :-)

Get it over and done with for everyone at once! And bribery with toys if they don't scratch

We bought shares in the camomile company

Vitasooth was great. Cool baths and lots of drinks. Weather was chilly so indoors with hugs on sofa with story books and DVDs. Fortunately it was not too bad.

The best thing was camoline lotion all over. Plus three capfuls in the bath try keep little ones felt more comfortable when I kept them cool so kept bath time nice and cool and kept in a pants/nappy and a vest or t-shirt.
Use calpol as needed my youngest was only a baby so we put socks on his hands to stop him scratching

Long luke warm baths and I do remember actually painting over some of the worst 'pox' with calamine lotion and 1 of my make up brushes

cold compresses and lots of patience.

We've been through it a couple of times. What worked for us was:

• Virasoothe was brilliant to relieve the itching
• lukewarm baths in oats or baking soda with a little dettol added to it (the antiseptic kind, not cleaning one!). I was told it would help prevent the spots becoming infected. Baths were also good as a distraction.
• Lots of cool drinks and ice lollies.
• Piriton at night to stop the itching and get a good sleep.