Chickenpox

[TopCat1]

My mum looks after my little girl (21mths) and my nephew everyday, I have just been told my nephew has chickenpox. How long should it take for my little girl to get it? Will it be a matter of days or weeks, I'm concerned she will be ill for Christmas.

Thanks

[mycatis]

between 10 and 21 days. I had chicken pox twice when I was small and you only feel ill for a couple of days. The spots stay for about a week or so

[NiceCupOfTea]

Oh God - is Chickenpox doing the rounds again? My little girl starts nursery on the 19th December - I'd hate for her to catch it in her very first week. It'd put her off for life!

[sam82]

Hi there, just a note, when i was little my neighbour watched 4 kids including me and my brother, they all got chicken pox and i never, my mum presumed i was the carrier, who doesnt get the infection, so hopefully she wont get them. fingers crossed.

[kick3m0n]

it is possible she won't catch them, or that they will be very, very mild. Some children are resistant to them. My wee boy is 36 months old and has been at Toddlers and play groups with lots of kids who've had chicken pox in the last 18 months. he's not had a single spot or a temperature. This is despite my best efforts, eg getting him to hug the affected kids etc, as I'd far rather he had them now than when he is older. Some of the kids were a bit hot and grumpy and off their food for a week or so, others had loads of spots but seemed otherwise unaffected, so your wee girl could be fine, even if she does get them.

[Drusilla]

Hi TopCat, www.medlineplus.gov is an excellent site. Click on Medical Encyclopaedia, then Ch-Co and scroll down to chicken pox. It's an excellent site, with piccies.
When my daughters had chicken pox, my mum recommended calamine lotion to ease the itching and warned me to keep their finger nails short to stop the scratching leaving scars. I really hope they don't catch it for Christmas and wish you luck!

[kick3m0n]

apparently Eurax is the best cream for little ones. Calamine can be very drying and causes itching due to dry skin. Also Piriton jnr syrup can be given to help ease the itch too.

[curiosity]

I caught chicken pox off my friends little girl when I was in my early 30's and passed it on to my two toddlers. The first itch and spot appeared exactly two weeks from exposure and I felt really ill for a week (real flu like), I was covered everywhere, as was my son, my daughter however got 3 spots. The young ones were a little hot and itchy, but nowhere near as ill as I was, and recovered really quick. You should be done with it by christmas. Good luck

[spudqueen]

Yes, there is the possibility that she won't get it, my younger son didn't catch it off his older brother (but ended up getting it a couple of years later), but as curiosity says it's better to get it when you're young.

[Redsaint]

You really shouldn't worry about your child getting chickenpox. I contracted it when I was 30. I was off sick from work for 4 weeks and was very ill. I also ended up having a termination as I was in the very early stages of pregnancy and was recommended not to continue with it.I now have two children who have both had chickenpox as a young age.It was very mild and didn't seem to bother them at all. In fact I was pleased that they had it, as I would hate them to go through what I did later in life.Even if you do keep your child away from your nephew, you could pick it up from shopping centres, playschool, friends etc. You can't wrap them in cotton wool!

[MumofAlex]

For anyone thinking of deliberately exposing their child to chickenpox - PLEASE DONT.

My son caught chicken pox from his sister and 3 months later had a stroke. I was told it was caused by an inflamed artery leading to the brain. The inflamed artery was caused by chickenpox. This can happen, according to Consultants at Great Ormond Street, up to 12 months after the chickenpox. Please get your child checked out if you start to notice them fall over more often, dribbling from the mouth, unable to lift one arm, or show a droopy face, or odd smile.