Chicken Pox

My son also got chicken pox eventhough he had the immunization, there's not much you can do but Aveeno makes great lotions for poison ivy and other rashes. I know it's not much help but I found it to be the best thing for the itching.

She will not have scars if she does not scratch any of the scabs off. I know that is hard especially if she is itching.

I used calamine lotion on my boys, but I also bathed them in Avenno Oatmeal bath and used the Aveeno cream. I spent a lot of time lightly rubbing their backs just to keep them from scratching.

My youngest had 60 pox just on one side of his face. I quit counting after that. He had a really bad case. He has no scarring because he didn't pick off any of the scabs. It did take a few months for the faint dots to go away. It looks bad at the time, but don't worry.

It is very common for kids to get chicken pox even if they have had the vaccine. It just tends to be a lighter case. Neither of my older children had the vaccine and they both had the chicken pox. 40 pox is a very light case.

The itching part doesn't last too long. Hang in there and it will be over soon and she won't get it again!

Hi S.,

I have not ever heard a good thing about the Chicken Pox vaccine. I think it's just another way for the vaccine makers to make millions more dollars at the expense of our children.

A little girl got it at the home daycare my son goes to. She was vaccinated but still got a bad case. My son, who was not vaccinated, did not get them -- go figure.

Anyway, it is much better for kids to get chicken pox and build immunity to it as it is much worse as adults. My fear is that all of the kids that have been vaccinated will get it as adults as I have read the vaccine wears off.

I hope your little girl feels better soon. I think they have creams at the health food store with such things as calendula that might help.

Hi S.! I, too, had the chicken pox twice in my lifetime. Once when I was around two, only on my feet (weird, I know), and then again when I was twelve. My younger sister had them and I got them along with poison oak! Yikes. I was an itchy mess. Covered head to toe tip in either pox or oaks...had nightmares about oak leaves coming out of my arms...but that's another story...

Anyway, the calamine is good, oatmeal baths (Aveeno makes a good one or look up a homemade version), wet washcloths kept in the freezer and placed on my itchiest parts saved me from having LOTS of scars. My left arm was a large red mess from my shoulder to my wrist on the tender underside. My mom put those frozen towels on me and it was the best relief I can remember...along with the cool baths.

Good luck! And I only have about two or three small scars from my incident, so don't worry! Just keep her as comfortable as possible.

i know this may sound strange, but i can remember when i was little, my grandmother put milk of magnesia on my chicken pox. they were all over my face, too, and i don't have any scars.

Consider yourself extremely lucky that your daughter got chicken pox now instead of as an adult. The vacination does not give lifetime immunity rather, it prevents most kids from getting Chicken pox when they are young. It is so dangerous to get it as an adult. The stupidest thing in the world is a vacination for chicken pox.

Keep using calamine lotion but you may also try some of the homeopathic creams like calendula and arnica. Also, go to a health food store and get a homeopathic remedy for herpes. There are several that you put under the tongue. It may clear this up in days.
M

My daughter had chicken pox at the age of four. Believe me, she broke out everywhere. Her head and face were the worse. Aveeno baths three times a day were great. I used Benadryl Cream, in a tube, for itching. It was a little expensive, but worked better than any of the lotions. I alternated Tylenol and Motrin as we needed them. After about 10 days she was completely broke and then another ten days to heal. It is a drawn out process for chicken pox. We just have to make them as comfortable as possible. Just no Aspirin.

Good Luck

I had chicken pox twice when I was little!! Doctor said it was because I had such a mild case the first time - I still remember it!! Try a cool bath. Also the itching is what leaves the scars, not the pox itself. If they are itching try placing a cool washcloth or an icecube over the area that itches. Cool/cold helps the itch. You can even use a bag of frozen peas or etc!! :-) Good luck - you all are in my prayers.

Are you sure they are chicken pox? The reason I'm asking is I was under the impression the vaccine "wore off" when it was much older -- teens? The good news is that if they do break out with chicken pox, then they will usually carry a life time immunity!

I used to give my son (born BEFORE the vaccinne was on the market) Aveeno baths and calamine. Its the scratching of the blisters that causes the scarring. Ask your peds doctor if you can give her some OTC benedryl.

Good luck,
M.

Vitamin E oil to help with scarring but not to scratch off the scab is sure prevention of scarring. Just dab the oil on the area itself not all over the skin. I don't expect an answer on this but why would your daughter have been vaccinated against chicken-pox at such a young age? And she got them by being exposed to them. Most parent are glad to get this out of the way. My daughter was exposed 5 times and she never got them so I had her vaccinated at age 8. The summer after that she went to church camp, came home and two weeks later has mononucleosis (which is in the family of herpes viruses just like the chicken pox and shingles!) She was hospitilized with that but they told me that if she'd had the chicken pox themselves she would have had a better immunity to the mono. So, uh, in my own opinion chicken pox are better than mono! :)

And baking soda baths, cold packs, or Aveeno colloidial oatmeal baths are very soothing on the itching.
B.

It must be going around... I just had the chicken pox myself! (at 30+) My 4 year old now has it. We did not have her vaccinated. (the doctors/nurses all thought we were crazy for declining that one, but we had our reasons!)

Anyway... my daughter has hundreds right now. She had a rough night with the itching. Oatmeal baths help some (Aveeno), but don't offer long term relief. The Benadryl helped me (and helped me sleep through some of the day). The calamine lotion was more of a way to keep track of where new ones came up than for anything else. (for me anyway)

I was really worried about scarring my face. Since I'm an adult, I figured I would scar much easier than children. ALL of the places on my face are gone. Actually, there may be some that have tiny red marks, but I don't have perfect skin anyway, (I have freckles), so they blend in. I'm told that the "scars" can take 6 months or more to go away, so don't expect them to disappear right after the illness is gone. I bought some Mederma to put on the few scars that are exceptionally big. That's supposed to fade them.

Sounds like your daughter is lucky to only have about 40. Maybe the vaccination gave her enough to not have a huge awful case of the pox. Here's hoping both our daughters get over this FAST!

EDITED TO ADD: If you choose a cream or lotion other than Calamine lotion, check with the pharmacist first. The Benadryl cream says not to use it with any other medication containing its active ingredient, even in oral form - meaning, if you give her Benadryl orally, you should not use the Benadryl cream.

Hey S.
I know that first thing you need to do is try your best not to let her scratch! Hard to do but that will help. Also I know that several of the things I use on my daughter for her eczema are also used to help relieve the itching associated with the chicken pox. Of course since it helps to keep her from itching that will help to keep them from scarring! I am not sure how bad she is itching,but if you would like I would be glad to let you know what I use. Please just let me know- it may be worth a try!
Thanks
C. Stork

Give her Benedryl for the itching, they make it in liquid form for young children plus there are anti itch creams on the market that are much better than calamine lotion. I would use both the cream and Benedryl. Also they say baths with baking soda added to the water helps dry the sores quicker.

The vaccine is required for all the kids entering our school system here in TX, however that did not keep them from shutting down the school for a day while they disenfected the building because over 60% of the kids were out with chicken pox. One of my daughter's friends has had them 3 times. I'm sure its rare but they can get them more than once. As far as the vaccine... maybe it was a bad batch or too weak. Have heart they do go away. You can put regular cooking oatmeal in a sock and place it under the tap in the bath, works the same as the expensive stuff. Caladryl Clear or Calamine lotion for aftter the bath helps with the itching too.

Depending on how deep the spots go and how much they're scratched, scarring *is gonna* occur. I wouldn't fret too much about scarring if I were you. My 20 year old son has one tiny dot on his forehead from chickenpox. The girls think it's cute... She may have scars from acne when she gets older. And, again, scars occur from scratching. You could try to use this situation to your advantage; teach her not to pick and scratch at her sores as it'll come in handy when she hits her teens. That, and don't fret about her scarring as it may resonate within her in ways you can't foresee. When she gets over the chickenpox, count your blessings that scarring was all you had to worry about. From what I remember being told when my children were small was that chicken pox can cause blindness. And the immunizations weren't around when my children were babies with the pox.

I received the vaccine as well, when it first became available because I hadn't yet gotten them. Originally, they thought you wouldn't get them, but I did, and it seems like I read somewhere that there is a booster available to assist. In fact, I had trouble convincing the doctors that I in fact had chicken pox, and they insisted until the tests came back otherwise that I must have picked up a fungus or bacteria or something. The real benefit of the vaccine is the reduced severity. I was miserable for a week, but didn't get too many pox, mostly just had the fever, but because I was an adult it could have been much much worse. Sorry I don't have much to offer on the itching, I was mostly to miserable with fevers to deal with it but I would suggest calling the doctor. Some meds shouldn't be given with fever, not sure which ones off hand, but I do know that often times motrin or tylenol can help calm itching, so if the doc gives the ok, you might see if that helps any.

Do not let her scratch. I have a few scars from when I had chicken pox as a child and they are from the scratching, not the pox itself.

They shouldn't scar if she doesn't scratch them, and once they scab over, don't pick the scabs off.

About the vaccination at such a young age...they have started making it a routine shot with their 1 year shot. I didn't get it for my son because it just doesn't work. my 4 year old sister had the shot and still got the pox. I on the other hand have never had the Chicken Pox and am 21 years old, so I got the vaccine, and am going to get a booster because if an adult gets them, the can turn deadly (my mom got them at 29 and had to be rush to the hospital within hours of breaking out because they were inside every opening on her body...yes EVERY opening).