My 8 Month Old Was Exposed to Chicken Pox

My daughter had chicken pox at 10 months and she handled it very well, she didn't know to scratch herself. I gave her baking soda baths and she was great. It was nice to tell her pediatrician that she had a good case of chicken pox already. Good luck, M. L

My oldest had chicken pox when he was 10 months old but it did't bother him much. He doesn't even have any scars. With my youngest, I decided to get him the immunization at one year because he hadn't had them yet. He didn't have any adverse effects from it. Good luck!

G.,
My 5 month old son just got over the chicken poxs. It was pretty easy. He got the fever with them and about 30 spots. I was told by the doctor when he was exposed that its much easier in infants than even children. I was told to just give tylenol for the fever and to dress him lightly because they are more itchy the hotter thier skin gets. The good thing about getting them as an infant is that it will be one less shot your one year old will need to get because he will have the natural immunity to it.Good luck.

G.--

I would not worry. The chicken Pox vaccine does not work any way both my kids had the vaccine and my daughter had chicken pox twice. My son had it too. I had chicken pox at two and I am fine today. It is going to be a tough week but it'll be OK. And he might not even get it if you are nursing and he has your antiboties... Take Care M.

All but 3 of my children have had chicken pox. (None of them were under the age of one.) I can tell you that it makes for a long week, but my kids actually have fond memories of it! lol Personally, I would rather they get the actual chicken pox than have the vaccine, just my opinion.

G.,

In away it would be a blessing for your children to get the chicken pox before he had to be immunized for it. My children have never had the chicken pox but my doctor was totally against it when it first came out. He was afraid that when these group of kids hit college there would be a huge break out of young adults with the chicken pox. Well he was right but it hit sooner than he thought. My nephew who is 11 had a bad case of the chicken pox it was all over him down his throat and everything. My doctor told me if you know someone with chicken pox expose him because it would be better for him to have them naturally then to have the vaccine. Unfortunately I did not know anyone at the time with them before he turned 2 which was the longest we could wait at that time. Now he has to be re-vaccinated at 10 and who knows how long that will last.

I've read all the posts, and one thing I didn't see was that you may have a hard time when your son goes to school. Our daughter had CP when she was 8 months old, a mild case, so she didn't have to have the immunization. However, when you start filling out forms for your child to start pre-school or kindergarten, they always ask you when they were immunized for CP. Since she wasn't, I just wrote in that she had had CP when she was 8 months old, etc. They never accepted that explanation, and always had to call us to ask us to explain why we didn't want her immunized - it had nothing to do with "not" wanting her immunized, she didn't NEED to be immunized. Just be ready for questions from people who are basically ignorant.

I had the chicken pox the first time when I was only three weeks old, thanks to a visit to long distance relatives that failed to mentioned the cousins had it! My case was very mild and I did get them again when I was 8, which was slightly worse only because it was over Christmas vacation!
Now that I am grown with a child of my own, they said that my risk of getting it again is slim since my daughter has been vaccinated.

My first born also had chicken pox at 8 months. He was just fine, with regular doses of tylenol- (maybe even benedril, ask your doctor). I was certainly worried, but I was more concerned about him having to get the chicken pox vaccine. While we think of our little guys as being so vulnerable, it is much worse the older they get. The vaccine will likely just prolong the disease for many, especially if they do not get the booster at the right time. Oatmeal baths really helped the itching and healing for my son (I used a large tea ball with good ol' Quaker Oats). Keep his fingernails trimmed and if he will tolerate it, them covered at night. Hang in there. Wishing you a fast recovery.

Hi. I am a grandma who went through chicken pox with my own kids. It is usually not that bad. It's just the complications you have to watch out for. If the pox point inside the body instead of outside that is a time to worry. That is rare, though. It is said that the second child to get it in a family usually gets it worse because he has been exposed longer. You won't have to worry about that, though. Most kids are fairly miserable with it. I, myself, was 11 when I got it and I was unusually bad. I think the older the child, the worse the case. When my youngest son had it at age 3 he said,"I don't ever want to get chicken pops again!" I told him he wouldn't. Just keep the calomine lotion handy. Maybe there is something better to use now. Ask your doctor.

Well when my second child was 6months old she and I both got the chicken pox. (Me for a second time!!) We didn't know we had been exposed and having had a bad case my first time I wasn't sure that was what we had, but the doctor said yep! So she was breastfed and really was just a little irritable, got some spots but being so little couldn't scratch them, and she had a little fever but nothing a little tylenol couldn't ease. So it was just a stay at home till you scab event! I know there is always a possibility of a worse reaction but overall not something I would spend a lot of time panicked about! But like I said we were exposed accidentally...

My six week old got chicken pox and I was terrified! It didn't turn out to be that bad though. Usually little babies don't get it as bad as older children. I just did what I could to keep him comfortable, and waited it out. It turned out fine!

Chicken Pox has a 14 day incubation period, so give or take a few days before you'll see signs/symptoms. There is no preventative therapy, just have the things you may need on hand and let the doc know that he was exposed. Remember never to give aspirin. You are right, don't panic and take it as it comes. He may not even have gotten enough exposure to matter. Relax and call your doc and then wait and see..

~L.

wow! I had to respond to your question because I went through the exact same thing. I was visiting a friend out of town with my 7 month old son. Her son had been to the doctor about a week before I arrived. He had received his chicken pox vaccination. I was changing her son's diaper when I noticed a couple of pox marks. She took him to the doctor and sure enough, he did have a mild case due to exposure from the vaccine. Unfortunately, my son had been around her son for about a day and a half. Three weeks later my son broke out with a case that was mild to moderate, but not severe. There is absolutely nothing you can do about it. Just be aware of the time line- approximately 3 weeks after he was exposed he will break out if he is going to get it. My son was cranky at bedtime the night before he broke out. Aveeno baths helped and calamine. Lots of tlc too since they have no understanding of what is happening to them.

Good luck!

Hi G.
I am a mother of 11. Two of my sons were exposed to chicken pox as infants. They were breastfed and generally healthy. They never showed any signs, symptoms of chicken pox, not even when it came around again in the family years later. So keep breastfeeding, and try not to worry. Keep an eye out for symptoms and if they appear then you can take any appropriate actions.

It is much better to have it as a baby then when they get older. The vaccine is so new, we have no idea what is going to happen in the future. Whether it will last a lifetime, 40 years, 20 years or 5 years. We know that natural immunization protects you very well. Only time will tell how the vaccine will work. I would rather my children get pox as a baby. They are sick but not anything they can't handle and it is much easier then as a 10 year old or 20 year old.

Generally, the younger a child is when first exposed, the milder the case will be. If he gets CP he should be fine and will then have lifelong immunity. If he comes down with it, take him to the doctor and keep him comfortable with oatmeal baths. It may help to put mittens on his hands if he scratches. If he is healthy and breastfed he should handle it like a champ even if he gets it (which is not guaranteed). Some babies get such a mild case the parents are unaware they've contracted it.

CP is most risky for children with compromised immune systems like those with AIDS or leukemia. It used to be something that all kids went through, remember. Don't let the vaccine companies drive you into a panic. It's annoying but far less life threatening than even the flu (and that's hyped up too). Good luck!

I am a mother of four with only one young enough to deal with the vaccination. When the rest of mine were young I would look for others with chicken pox to expose them (and sometimes it took a few tries, you have to get them at just the right time to be contagious). To me it was easier because the conditions were within my control. Though mine were not quite as young, I did realize that the younger they were the less itching, thus less scaring. Mine were also never that fussy. I was very diligent to stay up on Tylenol at bedtime and always have the pox covered in Calamine. I also remember something about not getting them wet. I think I did sponge baths for a few days to help them dry out more quickly (check on that one it has been a while). Anyway when I had my youngest he was exposed a couple of times and he never got them. Bottom line, your child may not even brake out. My 2 middle children only had a few pox, my oldest got them pretty good. Every case is different but if you treat the symptoms your child should be fairly comfortable.

G.-
My daughter who is now 21 years old had chicken pox as an infant. The only thing that showed was one or two pox on her eyelid. Several years later my siser-in-law brought her family to visit not realizing they had been exposed to chicken pox before they left on vacation. This same daughter was again exposed and got a bad case of chicken pox. If it happens as an infant there is a good chance it will not happen again, but certainly no gaurentee as in this case. Good luck P.

i oldest daughter had chicken pox when she was young and now she is 18 and got a bad case of the full that brought her imune system down that lead to shingles wiche is very pain full so if you can prevent chicken pox then do it good luck