Help... Chicken Pox

HAPPYMOMMY

Sun, Nov 23 2008, 1:01 pm

So ds has chicken pox. Now what? Will his younger brother get it as well? Dh thinks he's never had chicken pox.

Is it Ok to send my younger son to the babysitter? (I'll have to ask her if she would even take him.)

He hasn't been complaining about the itching yet, but I bought the Aveeno powder for the bath. Does it really help?

avigailmiriam

Sun, Nov 23 2008, 1:05 pm

Talk to the babysitter. Ask if she's had the pox, if she's immunocompromised, etc. Explain the situation,she may be fine with it.

Whatever you do, do NOT send your healthy son over without an warning/explanation.

justanothermother

Sun, Nov 23 2008, 1:34 pm

Kids are contagious before they show any symptoms, so definitely check with the babysitter first. Does she watch other kids as well?

Check with your MIL about DH. If he never had it he doesn't want to be exposed now. Chicken pox as an adult (shingles) is a horrendous experience. It would be super hard on you, but if it were my DH I would give him the choice to move out for the duration of the illness.

Aveeno bath does help for the itching. So does calamine lotion. Make sure to keep nails as short as possible, it will help prevent scarring and infection.

HAPPYMOMMY

Sun, Nov 23 2008, 1:46 pm

avigailmiriam wrote:

I sure hope she'll be fine about having my healthy son. I would never send him without asking her first. It's just that I feel so down now since this is a new babysitter I started using last week.

HAPPYMOMMY

Sun, Nov 23 2008, 1:49 pm

justanothermother wrote:

I just checked with Dh's doctor that he used before we married since MIL didn't remember which of her children didn't have it. They checked his chart and he never had it. They said that he's already been exposed since the spots already came out on ds. They said they can check with a blood test to see if it's in his system.

Good idea about his nails. I will definitely cut them today IY"H. Thanks.

leomom

Sun, Nov 23 2008, 11:14 pm

justanothermother wrote:

Chicken pox as an adult (shingles) is a horrendous experience.

Just a little correction: When an adult gets chicken pox, it's chicken pox. It's usually a very intense case, with more risk of complications than when a child gets it.

Shingles is caused by the same virus, but you don't get it from someone who has chicken pox. You get it because YOU had chicken pox in the past, and the virus remains dormant for a long time, and then manifests later as shingles.

leomom

Sun, Nov 23 2008, 11:18 pm

Also, OP, Aveeno makes an anti-itch lotion in a pinkish-beige tube, which seemed to help my kids a lot when they had chicken pox.

I seem to remember that warm washcloths were very soothing, too.

Cutting nails short is a good idea, and/or kids can wear thin gloves.

Benadryl is good to have on hand. It reduces itching all over. But ask your doctor about whether it's appropriate for your children before you give it, what dose, etc.

HAPPYMOMMY

Sun, Nov 23 2008, 11:20 pm

Thank you, yy.

So, will a chicken pox vaccine be of any help to my dh now at this point. Or is too late and we just have to wait to see if anything will develop?

leomom

Sun, Nov 23 2008, 11:30 pm

A great question for your doctor! Ask right away so that if getting vaccinated would help, you can do it ASAP.

Also, there may be antiviral medication that could reduce the severity of the illness in an adult.

Another thing to look into is homeopathic treatments to reduce symptoms/severity. I don't have any more info on this, but it's worth looking into.

leomom

Sun, Nov 23 2008, 11:33 pm

One more thing: it's very likely that your husband is immune, even if he never had chicken pox. Some people are immune naturally, or they had mild cases that weren't detected, etc.

I went through the same thing with my husband when our kids had chicken pox. No one could remember my husband ever having chicken pox as a child, but he was exposed to all of our kids and was fine.

justanothermother

Mon, Nov 24 2008, 12:01 am

yy wrote:

justanothermother wrote:

Chicken pox as an adult (shingles) is a horrendous experience.

Thank you for the correction. I did know that, but I got a little mixed up.

yy, I started a question for you here, but then realized it may totally hijack HAPPYMOMMY's thread. I put it in the "chicken pox shot/shots for school" thread instead.

HAPPYMOMMY

Mon, Nov 24 2008, 9:23 am

I haven't been able to reach my dr. yet. I will try again today.

Another question: If I have immunity to chicken pox since I had it as a child, will this keep my 15 month old nursing baby from getting it now?

Justanothermother, don't worry about hijacking, he more the merrier. I enjoy reading all the info.

BTW, I delayed giving the chicken pox shot since I preferred he get it naturally. However, the school said that the Dept. of Health requires that each child get the vaccine and I was told he had to get it ASAP. I was going to give it to him this week since last week he was just finishing up a bad stomach virus. Looks like Hashem had his plan all ready!

leomom

Mon, Nov 24 2008, 10:20 am

HAPPYMOMMY wrote:

It's possible.... not sure.... but at 15 months old, it's actually a great time to have chicken pox! It's old enough to get lifetime immunity from having it, and young enough that the case is often mild, and the baby will forget all about the experience. Plus, 15-months-old aren't vain and don't care if they have spots on their faces. Very Happy

Quote:

BTW, I delayed giving the chicken pox shot since I preferred he get it naturally. However, the school said that the Dept. of Health requires that each child get the vaccine and I was told he had to get it ASAP. I was going to give it to him this week since last week he was just finishing up a bad stomach virus. Looks like Hashem had his plan all ready!

B"H!

drumjj

Mon, Nov 24 2008, 11:00 am

no it wont necessarily give him ammunity and its a very good age to get it. ur hub should be checked asap bc it can be very nasty as an adult and ye the most contagious time is right before the spots come out on a person I was told that if ur child doesnt get it (ur other one after two weeks of the other one having it then he wont get it. my younger daughter got it to the day of the two weeks she was 3 months old

justanothermother

Mon, Nov 24 2008, 11:41 am

HAPPYMOMMY wrote:

My DD got it at 20 months when DS was a newborn. When I asked my Dr about DS's immunity he told me it is for the first 6 months after birth that the baby is protected fully. I agree with yy that 15 months is a great age. Just remember, the greatest risk of complications at that age come from secondary infections. If your 15mo does get it, keep the nails short and remember to wash their hands frequently.

HAPPYMOMMY

Mon, Nov 24 2008, 3:11 pm

So I spoke to my doctor and dh will have blood taken to see if he is immune to the chicken pox. It is possible that he had no symptoms, but already contracted it as a child. If he is not immune then he will probably get it now.

I hope my 15 month old gets it now as well since they are both home anyway. Neither of them can go to school or a babysitter so we might as well get over it now.

Inspired

Mon, Nov 24 2008, 3:19 pm

yy wrote:

One more thing: it's very likely that your husband is immune, even if he never had chicken pox. Some people are immune naturally, or they had mild cases that weren't detected, etc.

Yeah, one of my kids did not have a noticeable case of chicken pox, but by 9 years old I wondered if he really never had it. I had him titered and he was immune.