oh noo! Chicken Pox

[Jina]

So Friday I had to pick DS up from daycare as he had fever and threw up a couple of times. Saturday went to a wedding anniversary and noticed some small spots hear his lips after lunch. Thought it was the almond cake as he was borderline when tested for tree nut allergy. Sunday, LOTS of spots on his legs and arms. Today, took him to hospital and it's chicken pox. We had no idea and it doesn't look like it at all. Spots only on his legs and arms and near the lips. We found out that it's a milder form because he already had his vaccination.
So, after the vaccination, you can still have it

Have to figure out what to do with work now, since he has to stay home for a few days

[nadiabreckon]

Awwww, calamine lotion baths and lots and lots of loving from you! He'll be better in no time!!

[Shwa Girl]

Sorry for you and your DS, OP.

You are right. The vaccine is no foolproof.

If this helps, it's better to get chicken pox as a child rather than as an adult.

I hope he heals soon.

[Jina]

Thanks! Now I have to let everyone know at the anniversary that they and their kids might have it too. I was told it's air born so if you're in the same room you can catch it. I'm more worried for the pregnant woman who was there. Hope she did not catch it or had it already in the past.

[mama_to_one_in_a_half]

I hope your ds gets better soon

[princesskimmi]

Ahh poor you and poor DS - Calamine lotion works great and I believe I gave my DD Aveeno Oatmeal baths to help with the itch. I took her to a chicken pox party when she was four to get them before she started school. I can't remember if she had been vacinated or not.

[Darth Penguin]

My daycare let me take the kids in since most of the other children had already been exposed...thanks to the non-vaxxing parent who had taken her child to a "pox-party".....Her child was fine, natch!

eta..my kids were on a delayed vax schedule due to allergy issues.

[Darth Penguin]

Chicken Pox can kill

In otherwise healthy children aged 1-14 years, the mortality rate is estimated at 2 deaths per 100,000 cases. The case-fatality rate in the general population is 6.7 cases per 100,000 population. Children with immunocompromised states, however, are at risk for severe disease and death. The mortality rate in children who are immunocompromised is much higher than that in otherwise healthy children. Among children with leukemia, the mortality rate of varicella is 7%.

And can affect pregnant woen and their fetii

The disease can be serious in neonates, depending on the timing of infection in the mother. Varicella during pregnancy can cause various adverse outcomes for mother and infant, depending on the stage of pregnancy. Neonatal varicella mortality rates can reach 30%.

[Patty Smyth]

Mine got a mild case after being vaccinated also.

[Abby5]

My ds got shingles 3 weeks after his vaccine

[KrazE]

I had chicken pox spread through my house one time; my kids were 5, 4, 1, & 3 months - it was 6+ weeks of hell.

[ninna]

Yuck. Chicken pox. But as other posters pointed out, at least they're getting it as children. I've heard it's horrible to get it as an adult.

Sit your son down in a bathtub with a jug of calamine lotion and a paintbrush and let him paint his spots. Entertainment and relief all rolled into one!

Good luck. Nice thing is, chickenpox inevitably does go away!

[Jina]

Thanks everyone.

DS already had eczema, add chicken pox to that and you get a scratch frenzy! He's sleeping well right now, thanks to Benadryl.

He threw up 4 times (all his dinner) on my bed at bedtime earlier after a few coughs.
Not sure if vomiting is related to chicken pox? There's a bug around and he's had it couple of weeks ago with fever and/or diarrhea or can be from the coughs, but we'll keep an eye on this...

[KrazE]

Runny noses & coughs are very very typical with chicken pox; since it's most contagious during the first 2 to 5 days of being sick (which is usually about 2 days before the rash shows up) it spreads a lot easier without some parents even knowing that their child has it; it's pretty tough to lay blame

Once the rash is there, it's already too late & it's been spread anyway, so when I used to hear parents talk about how could the parents of the child not have known because the child had a rash.. well, by that time the child was no longer contagious.

I remember when I had them at 4, my Mom used to stand me on the coffee table & load me up with calamine lotion after an oatmeal bath & I would make sure to tell her that "I wasn't near any chickens!"

[Natalka]

Hoping he's handling things okay - my son got it when he was in Grade 1.
Unfortunately, he has a few scars - and he told me recently he remembers scratching and picking at scabs when I wasn't looking - and really regrets it now!