Chicken Pox

[Bellenden Jo]

My son has chicken pox - whoop de doo! Poor we soul is covered in spots, and I know bicarb in the bath is supposed to help, but how much do I put in? A teaspoon/tablespoon/half a pot?

Also any other tips on helping him deal with the itching would be great.

Thanks

[minder]

Poor thing! The old-fashioned rememdy is calamine lotion - pat it on with a cotton wall balls and leave it. Put a bottle in the fridge for extra effect.

If the itching gets really bad you can get a mild anti-histimine from the chemist or docs. Depending on how old your child is really.

Best wishes.

[FatherJack]

Aqueous calamine cream, piriton for the irritation......

Best wishes for a quick recovery, one tip if you are travelling soon and have any trace of CP left get a fit to travel/fly etc letter from your doctor in case some jobsworth (think low-cost airline)comes over all powerful and declines your travel!

[Pickle]

Poor thing... my 2.5 year old had the pox about 2 months ago so I feel your pain!

For us the best things for relieving the discomfort were aqueous calamine (normal calamine seemed to irritate him more when it dried) and Piriton. Cool baths, light clothing etc. will all help.

Good luck.

[plimsoul]

hi to answer the original question i would put in half a cup (one of those plastic ikea ones) and never knew if it was right or wrong but they weren't bothered by that. but they were bothered with the WHOLE thing: taking clothes off, seeing the pox, getting in the bath and the calamine lotion.

it's hell, don't let anyone tell you any different. mine had it bad but it does last as long as they say, after 4 days of the pox appearing they'll start to burst and about 5 days later they're up and playing again.

piriton was great but we only used the aqueous cream with calamine where their skin was dry before teh pox already.

again, good luck!

[Bellenden Jo]

Thanks for all the advice, he's had 4 baths today, piraton and a cream I found in Boots for chicken pox. Don't think I'm going to get a good night either, he's waking up every half hour or so because of the itching. Luckily (or not) other half is away so he's in my bed for ease of rubbing.

[Keef]

Bringing this thread back up, our 18 month old has CP, and we're not sure if you can use anti-histimines at her age. Anyone got any advise?

She's covered in the spots, but thankfully it doesn't seem to be bothering her... yet!!!

[EDmummy]

We tried the aqueous calamine cream with our second child and found that there was no benefit in keeping the pustules moist and in fact made them worse (he was very severely affected with most of them on his scalp, ears, face and neck. Definitely Piriton, bi-carb and, for us, the normal calamine plus lots and lots of distraction.

[candj]

Keef - just looked at my bottle of Piriton and dose for 1-2 year olds is 2.5ml spoon twice daily. Hope that helps.

[Sanne Panne]

For those reading this and really not wanting their kids to get it... you can get a private vaccine (Harley Street, around ?50-?75). Not saying it's better, or even good, but just that the option exists in case you want to avoid it.

[Tulsie]

Hi everyone,

Keef, my daughter had cp about the same age and I gave her oat baths 3-4 times a day. Normal bath but then put oats in an old sock....a good 2-3heaped tablespoons, tie it up and put it in the water. Keep squidging it and all the oaty milkiness comes out. The more the better. I used to gently squidge the sock all over her, especially where she was particularly itchy.

(good for grown up foot baths too!)

Good luck everyone! It will pass and everything will be shiny and non itchy again soon! :)

T xx

[buggie]

Eurax cream is meant to be v good - longer acting than camomile lotion.

[Keef]

Tulsie, we were told about porridge socks, and tried last night. Great stuff, and good for other skin complaints too.

[Saffron]

You can also put dry oatmeal in a food processor until it's powdered. Sprinkle the powder under running water in the bath and give it a good swirl. Do take care however, as oatmeal can make the bath very slippery.

Also I agree w plimsoul, about 1/2 cup bi-carb in the bath is around the right amount. Making bi-carb into a paste with just a few spoons of water, you can place it directly on badly affected areas during the bath.

[pebbles]

When do most people think the worst day is? Spots arrived on Sunday and he's not covered yet and apart from his scalp not really itchy. I'm partly feeling a little smug however am concerned that i'm going to start celebrating coming out unscathed only for it to hit with avengence on Friday or something!!! What are most people's timelines?

Cheers

[standswithfist]

for my daughter it was day 3 and 4 where she did not sleep, fever high etc. day 1 was friday beginning from when she woke up and I spotted a couple of blisters. Day 3 was sunday and sunday from lunch she went downhill till monday night.

These two for her were the worst. good luck!!

[Dulwich Born And Bred]

Is eurax lotion ok for a two year old? I bought it on recommendations from this thread but realised when I got home that it said for three years and over .

[Fuschia]

These notes don't specify such an age limit -

http://www.medicines.org.uk/emc/medicine/20253/SPC/eurax%20lotion/

[Dulwich Born And Bred]

Thanks for that , it said consult your doctor for use on children under three just as it says on the box. sigh. Guess I better go to the chemist tomorrow and make sure I read the box this time!

[Fuschia]

Prob worth speaking to pharmacist

That seems to be nhs advice

http://www.nhs.uk/medicine-guides/pages/MedicineOverview.aspx?medicine=Eurax