Oh no ! Its Chicken pox !

I think that the age for the shingles vaccine is coming down now. I had mine last October and was just over 78 H had his the year before also at 78, it is worth asking at your surgery if you have reached this.

DGS had CP over his third birthday last May. It wasn't too bad and he seemed to get over it. But ever since, he's been very tired, only has short bursts of energy then just lies down where he is, hasn't grown as much as was expected ie gone from average height/weight to small for his age. After umpteen blood tests, plenty of iron, vitamins etc he's been diagnosed with post viral syndrome and we're waiting to see the specialist. Apparently it's quite common in children so keep an eye out.

Don't forget that if you are 70 or 79, you can have the shingles vaccine free on the NHS. Husband has had it, I am too young and to get it done privately is prohibitively expensive. If the NHS was properly funded, those from 65 upwards would be given it, would save so much misery.

I knew there was something about oats, so thank you craftycats and Jalima.

I popped in this morning because I have already been exposed to him so I didn't see the point in not, but will keep a close eye out in case the dreaded shingles gets me.

I'm still feeling a little under the weather but nothing specific.

He is looking like a little dot-to-dot puzzle this morning , very spot heavy on his body and scalp , but not too much on his arms or face yet. His little brother is still spot free.

His poor mum seems to be suffering most after a week with both boys at home for half term. I made a chicken pox spotty treat bag and filled it with bits and bobs , lots of fruit etc and a car, and Grampy bought him new pjs .

Ive sent Grampy out for oats and that will be in their bath this afternoon.

Craftycat, l forgot the oats, a great remedy! Plus it is very helpful with eczema.

I contracted shingles from a child with chickenpox (see Anya's comment, above). If you can get Acyclovir from your doctor within 72 hours, it usually prevents too bad an attack. My DD told me to get St John's Wort oil (I got it from Neal's Yard) and rub it gently into the affected part. I did this and it eased the pain and healed the spots without scabs forming, so no scarring. I also had hardly any post-herpetic pain. DD used it on the DGG when she caught chickenpox, with the same results. I also use it for neuralgia, simply rubbing the oil into the affected nerve. St John Wort's feeds the nerves.

Porridge Oats!!! Seriously this WORKS. My sons practically had spots on spots when they had CP & I was told his method & they got better twice as fast as their class mates with no scars at all.
You get a muslin bag or leg of a pair of tights & fill it with dry oats. Tie it up & run a tepid bath. Swish the bag in water until it goes milky. Bathe the children & when they come out squeeze the bag & you get a sticky paste coming through the holes. Dab this on all the spots - yes -it takes time- & let it dry. I did this twice a day & the spots dried up really fast with very little itching. My doctor was amazed & used it when his children got CP a few weeks later.
Only 2 of my GC have had CP but we used this method then too & it is brilliant.
I have no idea how it works- I seem to remember something about it going through the scab to heal skin but I may have got it wrong.
Once word got round the local shop ran out of porridge oats.

Plus porridge is good for them once the spots have gone if you have any oats left!

My DD had chickenpox twice - once really mildly (about 6 spots) and again, quite mildly, but then her little brother caught it and was really poorly - he still bears the scars 30 years later! Worst of all DH got it! We thought it was quite funny at first, especially when the Doctor (remember the days when you could see a Doctor on the first day you were ill?) told him he'd need 3 weeks off work. Boy oh boy there was nothing funny about it at all - at first he was afraid he was going to die, then he was afraid he wasn't, he had spots UNDER HIS EYELIDS! We're now at the stage when both of us have suffered some quite bad episodes of poor health, but he still puts chickenpox as the worst ever.

Hi I have had chicken pox twice, once when I was a child and again when I was 40 when it was awful. Recently had shingles but luckily got medication within .72hours and have not had any pain. Please please shoot off to doctors if you get any blisters as the meds really worked for me.
When I had chicken pox I used to sit in a tepid bath and let the water cool and the heat used to go from my spots into the water and stop the itching and pain for a couple of hours. Worth a try !

Here it is N&g, it is apparently quite wellknown:

m.wikihow.com/Relieve-Itching-from-the-Chicken-Pox-with-Oats

Yes, you can get chickenpox twice but it is rare. The DGD have just had it (one worse than the other, it was in her mouth and everywhere, although the other one had a goodly amount of spots too.)
Apparently! you cannot catch shingles from chickenpox although you can catch chickenpox from shingles - only if you touch a shingles blister and transfer it that way.

However, a nurse told me she always sees a rise in shingles cases when chickenpox is doing its rounds, but the doctor said no. Shingles is very painful.
I haven't kept away, despite having had shingles twice, because i had been with the little one when she was at her most infectious - before the spots erupted. So fingers crossed.

They had the calamine ointment (forget its name), antihistamine and a porridge bath. When DGD2 told me she had had a porridge bath i envisaged her sitting in porridge and it gluing up the waste system, but you put the porridge oats into a muslin bag and drop that into the water and swish it around.
I think it helped.

There is a cream or lotion you can buy which is more effective than calamine, but I can't remember the name ask the pharmacist. I don't ever seem to had had chicken pox although both my children and two grandchildren have had it.

I have a friend who found she had shingles in her throat on Christmas Eve. She still isn't brilliant. So it would be very sensible to get some sort of protection sorted.

You might be sceptical Anya but it is possible to have it more than once, as I know to my cost!

I've twice had CP, once as a child and again in my 30s when I caught it at the same time as DS2 who was suffering - he also for the second time.

I was a paediatric nurse at the time, so it was correctly diagnosed.

NanaandGrampy you are very unlikely to get chickenpox again, especially as you've had a pretty full-on dose of it already. I'm always sceptical of those who claim to have had it more than once and wonder if it was correctly diagnosed the other times. But of course it is always possible I suppose.

Once you've had CP the herpes virus stays in your body and can reactivate for various reasons (.stress, compromised immune system, being run down, etc) and reappear as shingles.

Thank you all . Great advice.

DGS3 is now getting more blisters ( even on his 'skittles') as he explained to me .

DGS4 is still spot free , and I just feel lousy so hopefully I've got a bug and nothing worse.

I've sent my husband off to buy the things recommended and then we'll be painting crosses on the door to warn of contagion

I've never had chickenpox although DC and DGDs have all had it. I'm hoping I'm immune - don't fancy getting it at my time of life!

I worked with a guy who claimed he'd had it three times. I didn't know you could get it from someone with shingles, my father had shingles before I had CP.

I caught chickenpox from my DDs about 30 years ago. It was awful, think I got it worse than they did. I did not catch it a second time when DGS caught it. He was living with us at the time so plenty of time for the germs to have travelled. Never had shingles, fingers crossed.
There are newer creams/lotions available now, DDs used them on the grandchildren. Sorry, cannot remember the names, could google?
Good luck, hope you stay free of it!

I had shingles 9 years ago and the pain was worse than the major abdominal surgery that I had last month.
Calamine lotion works but the cream is kinder on the skin.
Two of our nieces had chicken pox twice.

Shingles pain is awful

nelliemoser is right of course. What you do have to be careful is the exudate which contains the virus so handwashing is vital as usual.

I'm always pleased when children get chicken pox. My husband didn't have this as a child but caught it in his mid thirties from my daughter. He was very ill indeed. Its a much more serious illness in adults.

I hope the children are comfortable from the itching soon.

Its not uncommon to have shingles more than once but has already been said the varicella virus mutates in the adult (who has previously had chicken pox) and emerges as Shingles usually at a most inconvenient moment - I speak from experience.

My friend who had chemo just over a year ago, has had shingles several times in the last few months. Just one small patch which keeps coming and going.

Nellie you are correct, you cannot get chickenpox from shingles. As mentioned, go to the GP asap for anti viral treatment, especially if the shingles is on the face and eye region. It can be incredibly painful and unfortunately this can last for ages.

It is possible to get shingles more than once but happens rarely- usually if the person is immuno suppressed.

I have had Chicken Pox twice. Once as a child, aged about 10, and again in my early thirties. I was teaching 6 year olds at the time. Over 20 children in my class had it. My own two had it. I have never been so I'll. I was off work for 2 months, and still not right after 3.