chicken pox

[pinkcowprint]

my nephew has got chicken pox,his spots came out this morning,my son is nearly 10 months old and they are both supposed to be staying over at my mums on saturday night,will my son be ok if he does catch them or is it a bit young for him,i have been told its better for them the younger they get them?any advice appreciated.

[aniani]

It would be wise to expose him to chicken pox now

[pinkcowprint]

hi,you mean it would be ok for him if he did catch them now?is it not as bad the younger they are?

[aniani]

It's definitely ok for him to catch it now , the younger the better x

[zebra]

Although horrible to say, I think it is definitely better the younger they get them, my daughter was 9 months, you would have hardly known she was ill, my son was 3 and he was a bit hot and itchy but done with in a few days. I caught it aged 9 and it was absolutely vile!!

Just remember exposure to pregnant women can be dangerous for the moother and unborn baby. Similar to Rubella.

[zebra]

''moother'' I obviously meant mother......sorry!

[shanx]

i think its safer when the spots are leaving , i think 10 months is a little early , but thats just my opinion .

[zebra]

If worried about when the chickenpox are infectious, it is until the last spot has scabbed over, when they are clear/red and with fluid, they are infectious. You hear all sorts of rumours, when the spots have gone blah blah after so many days they have had spots etc etc.

[trish432]

It`s probably a good idea to let him go, don`t know if it`s still done, but people used to hold chicken pox parties to get it over with. Think they say the earlier the better, but take further advice to be on the safe side

[redcrx]

my 3 year old has come down with it overnight. Im expecting that my 11 month old will get it it time too. from what i read its worse in adults and can be very nasty if elderly or very young (as in 8 weeks and under) get it.

[Lil O'lady]

Have the two lads been in contact over the last five days or so before the spots appeared? I think the kids are infectious anyway before breaking out, so likelihood is your boy has already got it - and passed it on!
It's much better got over with now. Keep them cool, loose cotton clothes, calpol, baths to sooth, calomine, the lot. It soon goes.

[mumof3angels]

Believe me the younger the better. When my daughter was 5 she caught chickenpox-she was poorly for 1 day before the spots came out then just a bit of discomfort with the itchiness. 2 weeks later my son who was 1yr caught it-he shrugged it off completely. He came out in spots but they didn't really bother him. 2 weeks later I had it-never had it when I was a kid- I've never been so ill in my life. It took me 2 weeks to get over it. I could hardly move, my mum had to come round every day to help out mr mum with the kids while he worked. By the way if he does get it, calamine cream is better than calamine lotion as it doesn't dry the skin out so much. Mum xx

[crisgal]

hi, there is an outbreak of the pox at the school where i work and have been hoping that my two kids get it. My eldest got it aged 5 and was ok. He passed it onto my husband aged 35 and he was very poorly.
To give you an idea of how many he had, he had 17 on his nose alone!!
My brother also got them as an adult and was completely covered. I mean in his mouth, eyes, ears, bottom and penis! Not nice at all.

I had them when 10 weeks pregnant. They didn't tell me until my scan showed that eveything was fine, that I could have lost the baby.

good luck x

[Greedyfly]

Just wanted to say that I have had chicken pox 3 times and my sister twice - so it isnt always the case that you catch it once only =)

[Greedyfly]

Posted too quick - Although it is uncommon to get it more than once lol

[crisgal]

ooh, greedyfly, is that really true?

We have all the latest information from the GMC regarding common illnesses, and it doesn't say so in there.

A colleague did say that she had had them twice but I didn't believe her.