Chicken Pox

[Unwell Cat]

My 3yr old has just been diagnosed with Chicken Pox (bless him).

Any good remedies that will relief the pain that anyone can recommend or is it just calamine lotion all the way?

[ChrisF]

Calamine, and Calpol. Loose fitting clothes too.

My 2 year old had it last year too... and subsequently gave it to me. Suffice to say I suffered much worse than him

[Anpanman]

Yep, calamine and calpol is all you'll need apart from DON'T SCRATCH if the little one can possibly help it.

Ours had it early too, doctor told us that some people have parties so their children can get infected and have it early as Chris mentioned the symptoms get much worse the older you get.

[abigsmurf]

I find intentionally spreading chicken pox a bit questionable really, Chicken pox immunity is not life long (fades as you age). Spreading it around too much risks OAPs and people who never had it as a child being in danger of catching it.

One piece of advice: trim his nails right down.

[EvilBoris]

Yeah you stop him scratching, I know several people that still have scars from where they had chicken pox and scratched it.

[Unwell Cat]

Thanks, the scratching is the biggest problem at the moment. That and the fact his temperature is regularly about 100. Calpol seems to being it down but then it goes back up again.

[gunrock]

Keep him stripped down to his undies to keep the temperature down (though he may want to scratch), don't put a cold flannel on his head or put fans on him or open windows.

You can run a luke-ish warm bath and get some Oilatum and put it in it, helps soothe the skin. You can get it from Boots or most chemists. It's a paraffin based substance that people use for Eczema and dry skin generally.

Boots

[abigsmurf]

Calpol contains paracetamol which reduces fevers

Is Calpol still as tasty as it was when I was a little kid? It used to be one of the big perks of getting sick.

[Unwell Cat]

Thanks guys. One thing I've found which does help a lot is to give him two baths a day in porridge. You put the oats into some muslin tie it with a hair band or something and leave it in the bath while it's running. You then squeeze the oats which release a white liquid into the bath and over the child. Apparently it's an old herbal type remedy.

This would appear to relieve the itching no end...

[gunrock]

Hah! I was going to suggest this, but as I've never tried it myself on my daughter I thought best not.

That, and the fact that I may have been hung out to dry as some kind of modern day witch.

"You must eat the arm, only then you will have their powah!"

Glad to know he's feeling a little better.

[Unwell Cat]

Hah! I was going to suggest this, but as I've never tried it myself on my daughter I thought best not.

That, and the fact that I may have been hung out to dry as some kind of modern day witch.

"You must eat the arm, only then you will have their powah!"

Glad to know he's feeling a little better.

Yeah, I did feel like a witch doctor swirling the porridge round the bath and holding the muslin up in the air like a sacrificial offering.

[Skull Commander]

My wee baby has just caught this. Hopefully it will be a mild case as there isn't a lot of spots at the moment, and so far she doesn't seem to be in any discomfort.

[Number45]

Best time for them to get it I think, when they don't have the temptation to scratch - and if they do there's not much they can do about it!

I got it when I was relatively old and I scratched myself to within an inch of my life!

(That might be a small exaggeration)

[Skull Commander]

Aye, I got mine when I was around 15 and it was awful.

[Atticus]

I was going to recommend bicarbonate of soda in the bath. Our youngest has just had it and it was the best thing for drying them up, reducing the itching and knocking the redness back. Used a cooling gel too, which helped, along with Calpol for the fever.

Had I read about the porridge thing I'd have definitely given that a go. Top sounding tip!