Wedding Forum

[Ellie]

I have just had a phone call about my DD, she's not feeling the best apparently - She looks very pale and has some dark areas under her eyes. Her Kindy teacher called an asked me how she was over the weekend and I said "great", then I was informed one the Kindy friends of DD has come down with chicken pox .


So my questions:

1. What are the first signs other than spots?
2: How long does it usually take to come out - (she was with the affected child on Friday)

They are calling me back at lunch to see if she needs to come home (I am at work BTW not a bad mum )

[light_sabe_r]

Depends on the person. As an example:- My brother got chicken pox ay 19, He squeezed what he thought was a pimple... Within 30mins the whole back of his neck was itching and red. Within an hour they'd become the typical POX welts.

Within a DAY they covered his entire body.

My other little brother who had spent the entire weekend with him and went for a run with him that morning - DID NOT GET IT - from school he went straight to the doctors to get immunised (I'd already been vaccinated as I worked at a Doctor's Surgery and hadn't had it as a child - despite my entire year 2 class having it over the course of 3 months)

If your DD hasn't been immunised for chicken pox yet - I'd get her to a doctor after work and explain one of her friends has just been diagnosed.

[MandyEdgo]

Hi Ellie....

I thought I would post some info for you, just in case you don't really have the time to go looking.

What is Chickenpox?

Chickenpox is a viral illness caused by the herpes zoster virus (also known as the Varicella-Zoster virus)
In children it usually causes a relatively mild illness.
Chickenpox in adults and immunosuppressed people can be severe.
Infection in pregnancy can cause foetal malformations, skin scarring, and other problems in the baby.
Before routine vaccination began in 2006, chickenpox was a very common illness. The incidence of chickenpox is likely to decrease as more people receive the vaccine.

What are the symptoms?

Chickenpox begins with a sudden onset of slight fever, runny nose, feeling generally unwell and a skin rash.
The rash usually begins as small lumps that turn into blisters and then scabs.
The rash appears over three to four days. At any one time, the lesions of the rash vary in stages of development.
Symptoms usually occur two weeks after exposure to the virus.
Most people recover without complications, but sometimes the infection can lead to serious complications, such as pneumonia and inflammation of the brain. Rarely, the infection can be fatal.

How is it spread?

Early in the illness, the virus is spread by coughing.
Later in the illness, the virus is spread by direct contact with the fluid in the blisters.
The infection is highly contagious to people who have never had chickenpox or who have not been immunised.
People are infectious from one or two days before the rash appears (that is, during the runny nose phase) and up to five days after (when the blisters have formed crusts or scabs)
Chickenpox infection triggers an immune response and people rarely get chickenpox twice.

[Stormy]

Spots usually appear as little pink dots on the stomach first and then change into pimple- like spots then spread to chest and back before rest of body. Contagious period is before the spots come out and the exclusion period is until all spots have scabbed over so if your daughter does have it she will need to be kept away from kindy until then (usually 7-10 days).

Good luck - I've had it twice and also had shingles (different condition but same infection).

[Ellie]

Thanks for that info Mandy - you got it spot on I just didn't have the time.

The affected child was at the centre wed - Fri last week so the chances DD has it at this stage would need to considered I guess

The general unwellness is the only symptom she has at this stage, enough for the teacher to contact me.

Stormy - I'll check her over tonight.

And no she is not immunised against it.

[Ellie]

Hi Ladies,

Miss Me???

Well DD came down with the chicken pox exactly 20 days after being exposed to the little girl with it. So please excuse the MIA from me last week.

DD is doing much better now and heads back to kindy on Thursday. Lucky she managed to not pick them and there are only a handfull of band ones (large ones which will scar) and thankfully none of those are on her face.

So we are all poxed out

[Mizzle]

I was wondering how you were!

Your poor DD...glad to hear she coped well with it and won't have any big scars.

I know this might sound horrible to some people, but in a way it's good she got it now...I had it at 16 and it was terrible, so much worse than if I'd had it in childhood (and mum did try to make sure I gor it!).

[Ellie]

Mizzle - Thanks for thinking of me. I am great, DD kept me busy, it's been so long since I havve had her fulltime and gee did she run me wild lol.

TBH (and I don't want to start and arguement ) hubby and I choose not to have DD vaccinated as we wanted her to get a full dose (and the child who brought it to the kindy was vaccinated so they get it anyway just not as bad) before Primary Skool.

She's doing great, the fever was terrible - I had never seen her cold and sweating

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