Best laid plans of mice and men……..

Oh this struck a chord! When she was about 9 DD went to stay with my aunt for a couple of days. Next day I had a phone call. She had got flu and was vomiting and having nosebleeds, DH and I went and collected her. Stopped several times on the way home while she either threw up or poured with blood and DH parked well away from us and pretended he didn't know us! The following year both children went to spend half term with a friend of mine. Next morning we went and collected them because they'd both got chicken pox!

MY GD age 5 has a really bad dose of chickenpox. Over everypart of her body Including her face. They are everywhere. She is well apart from spots. They have now dried up and are starting to drop off. She has not been contagious for ages now. My daughter took her out to McDonald’s for a treat today and was met with stares and a woman telling her in earshot of my GD that it’s awful and looks dirty !!!!!! My GD became very upset by this comment She has been doing so well and doesn’t need a nasty woman making nasty comments. I wish I had been there as I think I may have had a harsher word to say back to her !!!!!

Been exposed to chickenpox many times but never caught it. Asked my GP about the shingles vac and he gave it to me, not sure if I needed it from what I've read here but better safe than sorry, I hear it can be really bad. I work for a GP and we often get mums wanting to bring their children to the surgery to confirm chickenpox, we politely say they are not allowed in as it is highly contagious and we have quite sick people in our waiting area.

Calendargirl

Have you and your DH had your shingles jabs?

You do not get shingles from chickenpox . It only works the other way you get chickenpox from shingles.

As far as I can remember all seven of us caught chicken pox in 1961. We lived in our grans house and we all slept in the same room. I vaguely remember my mum being upset. She was up all night putting calamine lotion on our sores and comforting us all.

I was 17 when I caught chicken pox, probably on the school bus. Two weeks off school in the middle of winter got a bit boring.

I had chicken pox at 14 very badly - caught it from my sister. I still have scars from it because I picked at the scabs. I also caught measles from her and a couple of other childhood diseases. Thanks sis!

I dont know if there is any relationship between chicken pox and small pox but I can remember in the 1960s when I first began to visit Morocco I had to have a re-vaccination (for smallpox). Other people would have huge scabs on their arms or even might be off work for a day or two. Mine was like a little acne pimple. I still have a mark on my arm from my original smallpox vaccination when I was 5.

I never had chickenpox as a child even though I was exposed to it on a number of occasions. It was something my mum always remarked upon.
As an adult I was exposed again when several colleagues were diagnosed with chickenpox within days of each other. We worked in a health care setting and occupational health got involved because so many members of staff had it at the same time.
We all had to have a blood test to check for the dormant virus, indicating immunity. I was the only person with no virus but my blood threw up an anomaly which together with me telling them I had never had chickenpox prompted further blood tests. I was advised that I either have a natural immunity to chickenpox or could be a 'carrier' a bit like typhoid Mary...... spreading it around but not showing any symptoms myself!
I had to self isolate for two weeks during the most glorious sunshine. I managed to get the garden shipshape, had
long conversations with my neighbour over a sneaky G&T over the garden wall, and generally relaxed into this enforced but unexpected time off.
I felt completely well and thoroughly enjoyed my lazy days whilst messaging my colleagues who were trying to manage a busy department with a heavy staff sickness burden. I felt a little bit guilty but told myself this type of opportunity doesn't come around very often and to make the most of it!!

I've just had shingles for second time as well as having been vaccinated. Nothing guaranteed! Hope your GD isn't too out of sorts with the drat infection.

We have had a lovely day today, we have had a picnic in the garden.
The chicken pox is better but looks awful as it’s scabbed over.
She is so worried about the spots on her face bless her.

Their house is of great historical interest, it was a safe house during the English civil war, so my husband is taking the children in one of the paddocks with a metal detector; a real treasure hunt!
I will endeavour to get to the bottom of the ironing pile.

I’m sure we will wonder how so many ring pulls ended up in the ground😂.

4children, a rug or two and a mystery picnic on the stairs ( they could not see what they were eating) amused them all for an hour or so

Please have your picnic in the garden. The children will find it a novelty.

I hope your granddaughter is soon feeling better.

I would recommend the virasoothe products.The spray is good as it doesn’t need rubbing in.Also you probably already know but she mustn’t have ibuprofen while she has chickenpox.

Sympathy Sago! Hope your granddaughter is soon well. Just to clear up another chicken pox myth - as well as shingles only occurring after an initial childhood infection of CP, it will not be provoked by contact with CP, quite the reverse! Having contact with CP helps arm the immune system against shingles by increasing the circulating antibodies and T cells. This was discovered after the USA introduced childhood CP immunisation - suddenly lots of older adults were suffering shingles because they were not having contact with children with CP. So grandparents will be doing themselves a favour by offering to look after their grandchildren with CP. Keep your immune system armed folks!

x posts minimoon

It is not very well advertised, but you can get children vaccinated against chicken pox. it’s not routinely offered on NHS, but you can get it done for about £40. My youngest G children have had it, and didn’t have to miss nursery when half the children went down with it.

My daughter had all her children vaccinated against chicken pox. It isn't routinely offered, but is available to children over 1 year of age. A friend of hers at primary school was very badly affected, and hospitalised with chicken pox, which prompted her to seek it out.

I had shingles when there were several cases of chicken pox in my class!

This has cropped up so many times. And so many (older) people get the wrong end of the stick.
To repeat
You get shingles if you have had chickenpox as the virus responsible lies dormant and tends only to surface when you are run down or your immune system is low (eg old people)
If you have NOT had Chickenpox you can catch it from Shingles and adult Chickenpox can be very unpleasant indeed.
Of course you can catch Chickenpox from Chickenpox and it is generally considered best to get it in childhood- remember "chickenpox parties"?
All of this does not apply to tiny babies or pregnant mums who must avoid chickenpox.

Nandalot

*Calendargirl*, I think you can catch chickenpox from shingles but not the other way around so Sago should be all right if she has had chickenpox.

Thanks, good to know.

👍🏻

No reason to be confined to the house and garden. Clearly stay away from babies or pregnant women but otherwise there is no reason to self-isolate providing the children feel.up to it. In fact keeping busy (riding cycling, trips to country parks etc) should help keep their minds off it.
For the spots I recommend Poxclin foam it cools and dries the "pox" up combining the best of calamine and witch hazel. Anti histamine, suitable for their ages too

Calendargirl, I think you can catch chickenpox from shingles but not the other way around so Sago should be all right if she has had chickenpox.

Will your daughter be coming back today?

Ooh no! Hope it’s only a mild dose and the weather allows you all outside.

Have you and your DH had your shingles jabs?