How Chickenpox Can Be Oh So Different

What a hell of two weeks we have had behind us and it’s not over yet. Three weeks ago there was a notice on the window of the kids crèche down the road. “A case of chickenpox is going around“. I haven’t thought any of  it because they were going around over two years ago in Matthew’s room and he didn’t pick it up at all.

This time it was going around in Chloe’s room. She only recently moved into the wobbler room. Just a few days after the notice went up, I received a phone call when I was only in work 30 minutes. They noticed a few spots coming up on her skin. As I haven’t had any experience with chickenpox before, the same day I booked an appointment with the GP to confirm that she had chickenpox.

2016-06-06 14.41.14

Chloe got away with murder. She only had a mild dose of chickenpox. When you hear chickenpox you think of spots all over them and they’re miserable. Somehow she only developed about 20 pox. Her temperature never went above 37.5. She did scratch the odd spot but we got really lucky. I couldn’t tell if she lost her appetite because she generally is very picky eating at home but eats pretty much everything in creche.

Yesterday was her first day back in creche. It took roughly a week to recover and for the spots to crust over. She could have gone back earlier but somehow she developed a high temperature a few days ago. I am putting it down to teething but I am not 100% sure because it was quite high (39.2). I am glad she got it at such a young age so we don’t have to worry about it anymore.

Last Friday we got another notice for Matthew’s room. And tada out of the middle of nowhere I got a phone call from crèche Monday at lunch time to say spots are appearing on his body. Another week at home.

2016-06-16 09.58.16

It’s funny how different chickenpox develop. Since Monday he got so many spots they are uncountable. He’s covered everywhere. Even some on his fingers.
The size of the pox is completely different to Chloe’s too. Her ones were pretty small. Matthew’s are big and aggressive. Maybe it’s got to do with the age they get it at, I don’t know. Apart from being itchy all over luckily he’s in good form. I didn’t mind being out and about with Chloe because you could barely see her spots but with Matthew I am trying to avoid places like restaurants for now.

What are the symptoms to look out for?

• It starts off with flu like symptoms such as feeling sick, a temperature of 38 and above, loss of appetite, runny nose

• An itchy rash will appear on your child’s body. This can differentiate as you could experience above

• Spots will appear in clusters and tend to be behind the ears, on the face, over the scalp, under the arms, on the chest and stomach and finally on the arms and legs

• New spots can keep appearing for the first 3 to 5 days.

• 12 to 14 hours after the rash started, the red itchy spots will develop into blisters which will become insanely itchy.

• After a day or two the fluid in the blisters dry out and build a crust over it . Once every single spot has a crust over it, your child is no longer contagious anymore and you can send them back to school/nursery. This can be five to six days.

17 Comments

  1. 30th June 2016 / 8:33 pm

    We had our turn at Easter with both girls getting it exactly two weeks a part. The youngest definitely suffered more.

  2. Janine's Little World
    Author
    23rd June 2016 / 11:08 am

    Impetigo is bad. My boy had it 4 weeks before he got chickenpox.

  3. Janine's Little World
    Author
    23rd June 2016 / 11:07 am

    the younger they are the better. Chloe had very little spots because she is still so young

  4. 22nd June 2016 / 1:43 am

    Awk sounds like you had a time of it with two kiddos getting them so close together. Glad to hear they both coped well mind you! 🙂 I’m dreading LU getting it but in some ways I kind of think it would be good to get it over with while she’s still young.

  5. 21st June 2016 / 9:22 am

    Chicken pox is such a horrible thing to pick up, and glad they’re both able to heal and put it behind them now. x

  6. 20th June 2016 / 9:55 pm

    We think Lilly had chicken pox BUT the doctors also said it could have been a bad case of impertigo so we are still unsure.

  7. 20th June 2016 / 2:31 pm

    Chicken pox seems to be one of those odd ones, where they either get LOADS of spots or just a few! At least it is all out of the way now!

  8. 20th June 2016 / 2:06 pm

    Chicken Pox is awful isn’t it! My niece has just had it and now they are waiting for them to come out on her sister. The twins haven’t had them yet but my eldest did and I remember him being so good while he was poorly. Hope all is ok now x

  9. 20th June 2016 / 2:01 pm

    None of my three have had it yet so I’m dreading when it does actually hot the house. I had twice when I was little. your poor little one seems to have really suffered.

  10. 20th June 2016 / 10:21 am

    e had exactly the same thing with our first two: the symptoms were really mild and just a few spots for one of them, but sky high temperature and covered in spots for the 2nd. I’m not looking forward to it with my younger 2!

  11. 20th June 2016 / 12:08 am

    Oh god, you’re scaring me! Tyler hasn’t had it yet and he’s 4, so I’m guessing it will be the aggressive kind if he’s older. The poor little babas! xx

  12. Janine's Little World
    Author
    19th June 2016 / 11:17 pm

    You’re gonna have to have a chickenpox party then once one of the kids have . At least you are over and done with it then or you could get them vaccinated. Xx

  13. Janine's Little World
    Author
    19th June 2016 / 11:16 pm

    I was thinking the same. Could be right. X

  14. Janine's Little World
    Author
    19th June 2016 / 11:15 pm

    Oh you’d better be careful then if you never had them. You can get shingles then and they are much worse in adults. Hopefully he’ll get them soon.

  15. 19th June 2016 / 10:59 pm

    Aww, bless them. I’ve never had chicken pox but Stacey had them really badly when she was about 5. Luckily Oscar hasn’t had them yet but no doubt he will!

    Louise x

  16. Fi Ni Neachtain
    19th June 2016 / 8:26 am

    Aww the poor dotes and poor you having to be rung at work. I wonder if it is the older a child gets them the more aggressive they are because I got them for my 6th birthday and they were everywhere.

  17. 19th June 2016 / 1:39 am

    Oh bless them both, lucky Chloe wasn’t too affected but it sounds horrible for Matthew! At least they’re both out of the way with it now. None of mine have had it yet, It scares me! xx