Thursday 1 May 2014

Chicken Pox aaarrrgghhh!

OK, so CP has been going around nursery since my youngest was born.  'Great' I thought, 'let's get it over and done with before I go back to work.'

But it took 8 months to catch it and right on the back of a chest infection and tonsillitis the poor thing (DS1 got it for the sake of clarity).

It started with a call from nursery to say they'd noticed a rash on his boy bits but they'd turned to blisters.  They'd googled it and thought it was nappy rash.

It was no nappy rash I'd ever seen and when I found a similar one on his back later I was sure chicken pox had finally visited.

Next day I was sure as the spots appeared over and over again.  We only had a touch of fever and for the most part he was pretty good.  His boy bits were medieval though! 

I made his baths with bicarbonate of soda and then discovered another recipe with salt, bicarb and tea tree oil.  I really think that helped the spots in the nappy area dry.  He refused to take his nappy off to let it all air.  I think it was modesty but I've not met a modest three year old!

All in all it was the cabin fever and his refusal to nap that was the worst so I think we got off lightly.

But I discovered one problem I think. Piriton Syrup does not make DS1 drowsy.  It makes his manic!  I couldn't work out why this ill boy took two hours to go to sleep but a brief google and I made the connection.  It happens to other kids too.

Honestly, he was naughty, loud, restless and all at bedtime.

So I stopped giving it to him but caved at two in the afternoon when he virtually begged me.  It's easier to deal with hyper in the daytime.  Luckily he was normal for bedtime and I didn't have the previous nightmares.

So here is my Chicken Pox first aid kit, prepped and ready for DS2...

1.  Calamine aqueous cream.  Calamine lotion dries and makes skin more itchy.  My son HATES any kind of cream and let me smother this one on. 
2. Bicarbonate of soda - helps spots to dry
3. Salt - has antiseptic properties in case spots threaten to infect
4. Piriton - except try the first dose long before bedtime in case your child has the opposite effect to drowsiness!
5. Calpol - the spots around his genitals really hurt him and helps with the fever.

With a 10-21 day incubation period I'm an on spot watch from Saturday!

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