Chicken pox

- Written by Ben

On the Thursday Tommy had his 13 month MMR vaccine, and as usual he was as good as gold, after a little cry all was great, Saturday morning he woke up with a fever and while washing and dressing him we noticed a few little spots on his back and tummy.

Obviously on a Saturday our local doctors surgery is closed so I called NHS direct, just to confirm my thoughts that it was just a side effect of the MMR vaccine and possibly a Measles rash as mentioned by the nurse, The Boss was convinced it was something else (Chicken Pox) but i knew better.......or did I?
The nurse on the phone went through some checks and said it could be a side effect of the vaccine, insect bites or Chicken Pox and if the spots spread any further to go to the local pharmacy and get the pharmacist to take a look.

Saturday night was terrible, Tommy went from the little boy that has slept for 10 hours a night since he was 3 months, to waking every hour crying, as the night went on the spots spread so the next morning we went to the pharmacy as advised, the pharmacist confirmed what The Boss had suspected and it was the dreaded pox. We were pointed in the direction of the calamine lotion and recommended what turned out to be some "magic medicine". Piriton Syrup - http://piriallergy.com/piri-range/piriton/piriton-syrup.aspx
(WARNING: May cause drowsiness. If affected do not drive or operate machinery. Avoid alcoholic drink. Piriton should not be used in pregnancy or when breastfeeding except on the advice of a doctor. If symptoms persist, consult your doctor. Please read the full patient information leaflet before using the product.)

After the calamine bath and a bottle Tommy was getting sleepy but was to agitated by the itching, we gave him a dose of Piriton Syrup and after around 20mins we put him to bed, he was out like a light! He did wake up about 5 hours later with a full nappy, but once that was changed he was back to sleep until the morning, Bliss!

 

This routine has gone on for the best part of a week and Tommy appears to be over the worst, his spots that seemed to cover most of his face and tummy have almost gone.

So now for a few signs of chicken pox and a few facts about it.

Symptoms
The most common sign/symptom of chickenpox is a red rash that can cover the whole body but before that appears there are some other signs to look out for:

• feeling sick
• a high temperature (fever) of 38ºC (100.4ºF) or over
• aching, painful muscles
• headache
• generally feeling unwell
• loss of appetite

These symptoms are followed by the red itchy rash which can appear anywhere on the body but and the spots normally appear in clusters and tend to be:

• behind the ears

• on the face

• over the scalp

• under the arms

• on the chest and stomach

• on the arms and legs

they can also be in the mouth, ears, on the palms.

 

I hope you find this article useful, and please remember this is my experiences and please see the disclaimer page for information regarding this.