My 2yo has chicken pox.

[ravinlunachick]

She's fully vaccinated, but managed to be part of the tiny percentage of kids who get it anyway. It's somewhat mild (she never even had a fever). The worst part are the sores in her mouth and ears. It started on her feet, and we thought it was ant bites until it started spreading up her legs. So much for CP always starting on the trunk, huh? The first sores are getting blistery now, and she is beginning to scratch at them. Now we get to wait and see if my older 2 will get it as well.

 

Oh, and the best part? I have never had chicken pox! I'm 35 years old, and managed to never contract it, despite there being a huge epidemic when I was in 4th grade. All my friends had it, but I escaped somehow. Now I'm terrified of getting it, mostly because I have 3 young kids to take care of. I didn't even want to put my contacts in this morning, but I accidentally left my glasses at the Y a few days ago, so I have no choice.

 

Hmm....I suppose I ought to call the Y and let them know dd has chickenpox, since she was in the childcare there. She most likely either picked it up there or at the doctor's office when we took ds to get the last of his vaccines.

[gaillardia]

That doesn't sound somewhat mild to me.

Did you let your child's doctor know?

My dc thought the oatmeal baths worked well, and I think it helps the virus to come to the surface more, not that I'm a nurse or anything.

Moms know.

I hope she's not too miserable. Plain tea may help to soothe the sores in her mouth, or red raspberry leaf tea works as well.:grouphug:

[Mommyof4ks]

Ouch! Two of my kids got cp despite the vax, and yes it does present differently that cp with the vax. I would call the Y too just in case any kiddos there are immune compromised or under 1. :grouphug: Hope she feels better quick.

[Momof3littles]

You may want to call your physician and see if Valtrex is an option for you.

 

I never had CP (confirmed via titer in my teens). I was one of the first to get the varicella vax when it came out (I was a sr. in high school). I only ever got one dose as I worked in a job where getting the 2nd dose (later added to the schedule-when I got my first dose, they were only recommending one dose at that time) would have put my immune compromised patients at risk.

 

My kids are not vaxed for CP and I discussed w/ our family physician what I would do if I am exposed at some point (since I don't trust the vax will have me 100% covered and I'm not interested in a 2nd dose at this point for several reasons). He suggested valtrex early on may be something to consider. I may do this if we ever expose our kids to CP.

 

Valtrex is used for herpes but CP is in the same family and apparently it can be helpful for adults who lack immunity.

 

Just a thought. I think you need to take it asap. I assume they'd want you to take it as soon as you are exposed. It might be worth a call.

[Momof3littles]

You may want to call your physician and see if Valtrex is an option for you.

 

I never had CP (confirmed via titer in my teens). I was one of the first to get the varicella vax when it came out (I was a sr. in high school). I only ever got one dose as I worked in a job where getting the 2nd dose (later added to the schedule-when I got my first dose, they were only recommending one dose at that time) would have put my immune compromised patients at risk.

 

My kids are not vaxed for CP and I discussed w/ our family physician what I would do if I am exposed at some point (since I don't trust the vax will have me 100% covered and I'm not interested in a 2nd dose at this point for several reasons). He suggested valtrex early on may be something to consider. I may do this if we ever expose our kids to CP.

 

Valtrex is used for (genital) herpes but CP is in the same family and apparently it can be helpful for adults who lack immunity.

 

Just a thought. I think you need to take it asap. I assume they'd want you to take it as soon as you are exposed. It might be worth a call.

[NanceXToo]

Poor kiddo. My oldest had chicken pox as a toddler and just as a tip, I put socks on her hands safety pinned to the insides of her sleeves so she couldn't get them off (gloves or mittens would work too) to prevent her from scratching too badly and causing scarring or something.

 

Oatmeal baths are said to help.

 

Hope she recovers quickly! And hope you don't get it!

[ravinlunachick]

Momof3littles, that is interesting. I had no idea Valtrex was an option. I've certainly heard of it (via commercials for herpes), so I will ask the doctor about it.

 

I suppose mild is in the eye of the beholder, lol. Her blisters are certainly less scary looking than those I've seen after googling. They don't seem to be as intensely itchy as I was expecting; a little calamine and a dose of Benadryl kept her from scratching last night. She still has no fever, and thankfully is eating and drinking just fine. We will be doing an oatmeal bath in a little while.

 

My oldest shows no signs whatsoever. The Boy has a couple of spots that could be pox. He is a bug magnet, though, and I swear if there are any biting insects within a mile, they'll find him over anyone else. I'm watching those spots carefully to see if they change or spread. He is a major scratcher, so it will be a hideous ordeal if he gets any itchy pox. :-/

[Whereneverever]

:grouphug::grouphug::grouphug: All three of mine had it, simultaneously, this last spring.

 

Hope they get over it, soon!

[Photo Ninja]

Poor thing! One thing I was thinking. Are you sure it is chicken pox? Foot Hand and Mouth looks almost identical to chicken pox, and usually starts on the feet, hands (between fingers especially) or inside the mouth. Sometimes it stays only in those areas, and other times it spreads to the entire body. I thought my ds had chicken pox, but he never had a fever. He had pox on his feet and hands that then spread to the rest of his body. He could only eat liquid and very soft foods because the sores in his mouth hurt so much. The doctor said it was FHM disease. He said the pox look identical and have the same life cycle (red, blistery, then scabbing and healing), but the deciding difference is that they don't itch like chicken pox do. They can hurt and irritate, but not necessarily itch. My oldest had FHM much worse than when he had chicken pox. The FHM pox covered his entire body. He had fewer chicken pox when he got that. (My other dc also got FHM, but had far fewer pox and they pretty much stayed on their feet, hands and inside their mouths.) My oldest ds just had a severe case.

 

I am not doubting the chicken pox diagnosis, but you did say that it started on your dc's feet, and it doesn't itch like you expected, and no fever. That may also be because of the vaccine, though, making her have a lighter case of chicken pox. Anyway, it just made me remember when my dc had FHM because it presented like you describe, but when my dc had chicken pox they itched terribly and the FHM didn't. It may not matter because it runs the same course that chicken pox does.

[redsquirrel]

My boys had it a couple years ago.

 

Cut her nails to reduce the chance of infection. She'll feel lousy for about three days and then rebound quickly. Don't worry too much about scarring. At that age, everything heals up beautifully. My son scratched a pox on his cheek but the mark was totally gone in a couple months.

[ravinlunachick]

Poor thing! One thing I was thinking. Are you sure it is chicken pox? Foot Hand and Mouth looks almost identical to chicken pox, and usually starts on the feet, hands (between fingers especially) or inside the mouth. Sometimes it stays only in those areas, and other times it spreads to the entire body. I thought my ds had chicken pox, but he never had a fever. He had pox on his feet and hands that then spread to the rest of his body. He could only eat liquid and very soft foods because the sores in his mouth hurt so much. The doctor said it was FHM disease. He said the pox look identical and have the same life cycle (red, blistery, then scabbing and healing), but the deciding difference is that they don't itch like chicken pox do. They can hurt and irritate, but not necessarily itch. My oldest had FHM much worse than when he had chicken pox. The FHM pox covered his entire body. He had fewer chicken pox when he got that. (My other dc also got FHM, but had far fewer pox and they pretty much stayed on their feet, hands and inside their mouths.) My oldest ds just had a severe case.

 

I am not doubting the chicken pox diagnosis, but you did say that it started on your dc's feet, and it doesn't itch like you expected, and no fever. That may also be because of the vaccine, though, making her have a lighter case of chicken pox. Anyway, it just made me remember when my dc had FHM because it presented like you describe, but when my dc had chicken pox they itched terribly and the FHM didn't. It may not matter because it runs the same course that chicken pox does.

 

We did discuss the similarities with the ped. She said that the deciding factor was whether they eventually crusted over (Boo's are). When my older 2 had HFM and shared it with me :glare: , the sores itched like CRAZY. Maybe they're so similar it's impossible to know for certain without a blood test. IDK.

 

I do know that it seems that it's not spreading, and given the fact that they accidentally shared cups as it was first developing, I'd think it would have spread to my other kids if it were HFM. I am not a doctor, though. Nor do I play one on the internet, lol.

 

Thanks for the good thoughts. She is running around playing happily right now, although she told me at lunch earlier that a spider was biting her mouth. I guess the mouth sores aren't beginning to heal yet.