DD has chicken pox

Moms View Message Board: Parenting Discussion: Archive January-June 2003: DD has chicken pox

WOW huh? I thought vaccinations were the "cure" to them but obviously not. I guess that means I'm in for a long Christmas now!!! Hopefully they all got infected around the same time so it will just be 3 weeks rather than 6 LOL! Or maybe the vaccination will work for the other two. Dr. did say that maybe the vaccination will help it be a mild case.

It started out on her torso and now it's on her face, neck, butt... oh jeepers! Any advice?? LOL
Wish me luck guys.

By Mechelle on Wednesday, December 11, 2002 - 06:34 pm:

Whohoooo!!! She's definaltey got it!! Right in time for Christmas too.
What I heard a vaccanation is a tiny bit of the virus itself. What it does, your body gets it, and knows to fight it off, if it happens to come around next time. Ex: the flu shot. 80% of people that get the flu shot, get the flu in less than 24 hours of getting the shot.
Hmm. To help with the itching, for my 2 (got it at the same time, I was happy! done and over with all at once!) I bought some oatmeal soap. Gave them a bath with that, and there is some oatmeal cream ( I think thats what it's called) also, and stuff for the bath water. I let my 2 sit in the water with this oatmeal bath, for 20-30min. and then I bathed them (gently,softly) with a cotton cloth and the oatmeal soap. There is the cream that you can put on the chicken pox to help them not to itch as much. After bath I patted them dry, tried not to break open any of the sores.

I hope I helped!! Hopefully all of your Dks can get it at once, so you can be done with it!!
Good LUCK!!

By Trina on Wednesday, December 11, 2002 - 06:44 pm:

Oh no! Poor kiddo! Yes, oatmeal baths are great! There is a brand name that's usually recommended (??) but we used the store brand (cheaper) and it worked just as well. It came in envelopes and you mix it into the bath water. I would imagine Benadryl would help with the itching too, but as with any other medication, I'd check with the Dr. first. Hope it's a mild case and she's better soon!

By Jann on Wednesday, December 11, 2002 - 07:20 pm:

Aveeno! We lived on that stuff when my oldest two got it (they baby got the shot and so far so good)
Hope it's a mild case too!

By Missymelissy on Wednesday, December 11, 2002 - 07:52 pm:

BTDT - not fun. I used Aveeno oatmeal bath and calamine lotion to stop the itch on my DS. I hope your daughter gets over them fast.

By Jewlz on Wednesday, December 11, 2002 - 08:23 pm:

AVEENO my kids lived with it ... they played in the bath tub three times a day id just sprinkle it in the tub in the morning and then reheat the water thru out the day ... that helped ... it cost a bit but is worth it .... and the calamdryl lotion we played dot to dot with qtips lol and made lots of pics lol giggling .... and tylenol ... and popsicles and puddin and soft foods my kids got them everywhere yeah there to and in their mouth ...sighs ... good luck ... we did it spring break and easter break ...

By Dana on Wednesday, December 11, 2002 - 10:18 pm:

Could you send me the germs? I really want DD to get them before heading to school next year. So far I've been lucky in avoiding the vaccine on them.

I just don't trust that it will do much good when she turns 20 and gets exposed. I want the real thing while she's young child. Only 9 more months before she'll be required to take the vaccine.

Sorry to hear this happened over the holidays Good luck!

By Palmbchprincess on Wednesday, December 11, 2002 - 11:40 pm:

(((HUGS))) I had them when I was around 4, but my mom had them when she was 16 and was deathly ill. It's so much better to get them young. Aveeno is great, I hope it helps!! Sending ***get well vibes*** to your home!!!!

By Lieska on Thursday, December 12, 2002 - 01:30 am:

Thanks so much ladies! I'll be sure to pick up some Aveeno tomorrow (or the generic brand one ). I've had some time to let it all sink in and now it's not all that bad after all. We didn't have any big plans for Christmas or anything so really the timing couldn't be better (if that makes any sense at all LOL!!! ).

By Jann on Thursday, December 12, 2002 - 08:18 am:

Dana, I worry about that too. My boys were old enough that they got the pox before the vaccine ever came out, but my dd got the vaccine. I really wrestled with letting her get it "naturally" because I was afraid of the vaccine's effect wearing off. In the end, I got her vaccinated cause my boys had such bad cases of it, especially on their faces that I guess I got sexist a little. I want her to hang around people with chicken pox too, but no one here has had it since my middle boy was little!!!!

By Kaye on Thursday, December 12, 2002 - 08:34 am:

We got the pox 2 weeks from the day we moved here...UGH. Not really how I wanted to start my life in my new home. If your other child doesn't get it, it will be about 2 weeks. I found that my kids pretty much were better in 7 days, so by Christmas you should be okay. Out of the three, 2 were mostly okay, they had one day of uncomfort. Oh the big thing I heard, keep them cool, hot blankets, baths etc, just encourage the virus to reproduce. If you can keep underware off of them, or they are likely to have a bunch of pox on the elastic line, or you could have them wear baggie undies or boxers. One of my kids got really sick, he ran 103 temp for 7 days, he was seriously dehydrated and we spent quite a bit of time in the docs office. Watch them closely if they run a temp, it doesn't take long for them to get punky looking!

By Karen55 on Thursday, December 12, 2002 - 09:51 am:

Agree with Kaye. Sounds like her experience with chicken pox was much like mine. Jeff had no problems with his case of them, but 2 weeks later when Jenn had them she had a very high temp for days and was dehydrated and we spent 2 days at the ped's office with her getting IV fluids.
And ditto the advice on the Aveeno, it's a life saver!
Hope the worst is over for your family by Christmas.

By Colette on Thursday, December 12, 2002 - 12:49 pm:

http://www.cnn.com/2002/HEALTH/12/11/health.chickenpox.reut/index.html

By Jewlz on Tuesday, December 17, 2002 - 05:18 pm:

how are the chicken pox comin along ? hope its not a bad case of them .... think of ya

By Lieska on Tuesday, December 17, 2002 - 07:14 pm:

Hey thanks for asking. They were so uneventful I already forgot about this post LOLOL . She ended up with maybe 30ish spots. She never got them lower than her butt and only 2 there. She did a great job not scratching the few she had. I never even opened the calamine lotion!! They are now completely gone. No scabs no spots nothing, and it will be a week tomorrow.

I only have a few days of freedom because if my other 2 get them it may be on Christmas day. They will be contagious 5 days prior to rash which puts me back to this Sat. Wish me luck again !!!

By Jewlz on Tuesday, December 17, 2002 - 08:38 pm:

wonderful news with ur dd ... hope ur others dont get it over christmas break ... never a good time to get them but is more fun to have christmas with out the events of sickness
keep us up todate

By Dana on Wednesday, December 18, 2002 - 08:56 am:

wow, how lucky can you get. If the others get them, I wish you the same luck.

By Janet on Wednesday, December 18, 2002 - 02:27 pm:

My little dd got the pox just in time for Christmas last year, but she'd had the vaccination, so it was a very light case. Maybe a couple of days of Aveeno, a few spots, and no fever. That was that! Glad yours weren't that big a deal either.

By Emine on Sunday, December 29, 2002 - 02:18 pm:

Well, we just got the chicken pox in our house. Heather had the vaccine, but boy she sure does have a ton of them. Probably 60 or so. They are itching a little, but not too bad. My dad was visiting today so he ran out for me, all he found was Aveno lotion so we are doing that right now. After DH gets home today I'm going out for Aveno bath. Emily (1 yr old) got the vaccine just a couple of weeks ago so we will see what happens with her. My sister in law brought her kids over for Emily's first birthday party and they each had a small outbreak, but she didn't tell any of us until later. So today I got to call all of my friends to inform them of the situation, there were two little babies here, too young to have received the vaccine. Poor Heather, she is just miserable

By Jewlz on Monday, January 6, 2003 - 05:15 pm:

found this article on a abc news page on the net ... makes ya wonder ....
Unsettling News About Chicken Pox

HEALTHY LIVING — Doctors applauded when researchers created a chicken pox vaccine, but now a new study reveals it may not be as effective as earlier thought.
A report in this week's New England Journal of Medicine suggests children should get two shots instead of one.

An outbreak at a day car center two years ago found the vaccinations to be surprisingly ineffective. A boy who had been vaccinated came down with chicken pox and spread it to about 20 other kids who also were vaccinated.

Despite this finding, health experts are not ready to propose a change just yet.

By Dana on Monday, January 6, 2003 - 07:44 pm:

Boy, I sure wish it weren't mandatory. Since DD doesn't go to daycare, we've been able to avoid the vaccine, but that time is coming to an end. I really want to find someone with chicken pox SOON!

I really do fear she will get them later in life and be worse off.

By Emine on Wednesday, January 8, 2003 - 10:40 pm:

Where we live the chicken pox vaccine is not manditory. Alot of our local dr's are telling patients not to get it because of the question about whether you need a booster. I think the ideal is to get the vaccine and then get the chicken pox and get it over with. Emily did get 3 spots, definately chicken pox. She had the vaccine about 7 days before Heather would have been contageous. I'm glad to get it over with. It's interesting, when I was doing a search on the net regarding chicken pox there was an article about "chicken pox parties" and how it was NOT recommended. I guess that what people do is when one kid gets it they have all the other kids come over to get it so they can get it over with. Pretty *funny* hugh?