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

Oats in cool baths really helped and keeping them in the bath as long as possible. Calamine lotion also helped.

I found my sons were more miserable than anything so I tried to be creative with some activities to keep them occupied and we watched films and read magazines.

Vaccinate your kids! Sorry PoxClin but your product would be obsolete if people protected their kids by vaccinating them. Hopefully the NHS will shortly include chicken pox in the standard vaccination schedule.

Be naked and cool baths.

Having just gone through this with two children, vitasoothe and poxclin used alternatively, along with sudocreme for night as it's thicker and took longer to soak in , along with an antihistamine and lukewarm baths with bicarbonate of soda and oats has worked wonders.

Lots of playing in the garden so no one gets cabin fever.
Naps are a good thing when they need it.
We used calamine on the skin and oats in a sock in the bath.

Oh yes we used sudocrem on some of the bigger spots too.

DS got 3 spots - then nothing for 5 days. During the many “is it, isn’t it chicken pox“ conversations that week, someone recommended PoxClin. I got some as soon as the many, many other spots came out, then again 5 days later when DD (who was only 9 months old) came out it spots from head to toe overnight. I always recommend PoxClin - and Lego!

Virasooth gel and calpol worked for us. It seemed to last forever though. We just got through it with DD1 and then pimples started appearing on DS2

My 4 year old has just recovered from chickenpox. Nice cool baths to calm down his skin, no bubble just cool water. Patted him down and smothered him in calmomine lotion. Abit of piriton also helped to calm down the itching. And on a night when he tended to scratch most in his sleep I put socks over his hands. He was confused in the morning when he woke up and seen he had socks on his hands 😂 but it definitely helped him to stop knocking the scabs off. Just waiting for my 6 year old to catch it now as no doubt he will! Oh the joys!

Fresh air is good for them - mine felt ok with pox, just a bit more tired. So we still played in the garden. Otherwise duvets on the sofa! Books, games, puzzles

We found liquid piriton was very good relief but they hated the camomile lotion and it actually made them more upset!

be patient! Cancel plans and don't feel pressured to get out and about until your child is well again. Also remember to consider those for whom getting chicken pox can have serious implications eg immunosuppressed children so be considerate of them by not going to places until spots no longer contagious. Just allow plenty of time for rest and movies and cuddles.

I used Calpol, a fan in the bedroom and Calamine lotion. Lots of water and squash to drink and anything like tv , games for distraction.

A bath with porridge oats that we strained through a baby muslin. Also a bag of cold peas on some of his angriest patches

Baths with lavender oil & a sock with porridge oats tied off is really good to help stop itching.

Keep them hydrated and occupied with arts and crafts. Cool baths and lovely fluffy towels, so there's no need to rub, just snuggle in them to get dry.
Comfort is so important, so soft jersey cotton bedding, bed wear and day wear helps.

Matthew was 17 when he got chicken pox, he was coming versed in spots that he’d assumed were acne, he collapsed on the bathroom floor with a really high temperature and a visit to the gp next day confirmed it.
Armed with the numbing spray for chicken pox he literally stood in his boxers whilst I doused him with the spray ( it had been slightly cooled in the fridge so was quite relieving) he took piriton and had hefty spoonfuls of 6+ child’s paracetamol ( he was unable to swallow paracetamols), loads of calamine lotion that was cooled, tapping an itch rather than scratching, lots of fluids, fruit juices and iced drinks and really bizarrely he took to lining the bathtub with his duvet and resting in there during the day (obviously no water).

Forgot to add he was sitting his As levels at the time !!!

Vaccinate. Poxyclin won't help when it comes to complications.

My son had a stroke due to chickenpox. He was completely healthy even his chickenpox wasn't so bad. Now he requires life long medication and will need continued medical support due to the brain damage from the stroke caused by chickenpox.

I wish Mumsnet HQ would support adding chickenpox to the routine immunisation campaign rather than promoting a product which will do fuck all when it comes to the serious side effects of this infection and normalising the effects. Chickenpox has changed me and my son's life immeasurably.

Vaccinate vaccinate vaccinate.

My youngest got it when she was in Reception - cool oat baths, piriton and calamine lotion worked for us. My son, who's nearly 12, has never had it, so may have to think about using poxclin if he gets it one day.

Poxclin was our saviour when my DD had chicken pox. It went on smoothly and didn't make the spots go crusty and itchy as I remember calamine lotion made mine when I had "the pox".

Anti-histamines, calamine lotion and no clothes!

My children were 12 and 10 when they had Chicken Pox so probably easier to handle than very young children. Calomine lotion and cool baths seemed to help.

DS1 had the cheek to get CP the day before we were due to fly on a family holiday. Obviously we didn't go. If we'd had made it through the airport we'd have been confined to the hotel room!

Cuddles, TV, paracetamol and an online delivery of really nice food helped (the CP and me, looking after a poorly boy and nursing the disappointment of lost holiday!)

DS2 is one and I know CP will strike at some point. I didn't know about poxclin! When it does hit our house for a second time, I'll be ready! 🤣

My daughter got chickenpox when she was a toddler. Luckily we have a local nature reserve which is basically a big grassy field. So I took her there where she ran around and we blew bubbles. There was no one else around so no risk of passing it on. Now she has no memory of it!