chickenpox - plz answer if you'v any ideas

loismustdie

i've tried googleing, and hav talked to a few doctors but ya know haow hard it can be gettin a straight answer from a doctor, and although i know this isn't a medical board, i just want to hear peoples experiences if allowed.

hypethetical, say ann has chickenpox and spends time with john who spends time with amy who spends time with jane who spends time with harry and so on, assume none of these people hav ever had chickenpox before, what is the chances of harry contracting it, and if once or two of them have had it are they still carriers or hav they broken the cycle?

ALso how serious is chickenbox if a baby aged 4 weeks who is not breastfed and who's mother has never had it?

and can a doctor early detect it while the child has a cold?

thanks so much for any answers you may have

cdb

My child had chickenpox at around 8 weeks but got over it in a matter of days. Our second child had it recently at 10 months old and was pretty sick from it, definitely affected for a couple of weeks before the first spots appeared, which then lasted around 8 days. In both cases we assumed it was from close contact with another child who had it.

I found this article on VHi very helpful:

http://www.vhi.ie/hfiles/hf-150.jsp

loismustdie

cdb thank you so much for reply, gonna read that article now, thanx so so much, glad your young baby got over it quick

hallelujajordan

Speaking as a Microbiologist and a parent of two who have both had chickenpox. . . .

• You can only catch chicken pox from a person who is infected, so in the example you give, Harry cannot catch chicken pox unless he is in contact with Amy directly or if the child he is in contact with (Jane) has chicken pox . . If any of the children in the chain have had it already they should be immune and will not be able to carry and transmit the virus to the next child in the chain.
• Assuming they have a healthy immune system, chicken pox is usually less severe in the very young so it would probably be in Harry's interests to get it now (he will get it eventually)

Zynks

As you said, this is not a medical forum, so I will tell you a bit about my experience.

When I was a kid my mother would take me to play with kids that had chickenpox so I would get over with it. She believed the younger you got it the better. Funny enough, I never caught it until my eldest child caught it (We have three kids, but only one at the time) when he was four and I was 35.

At the moment, there is an outbreak of chickenpox at the creche where our two youngest go. So far none of them caught it, but we do expect it to happen, though the creche is being very carefull keeping the "lucky ones" away.

Regarding your question on transmission from kid to kid considering that you are only infectious untill the blisters dry up, and whoever had it before does not go though it again, I would suspect that the chain is broken by a kid who had become immune due to an earlier infection. But, again, this is just a guess.

Zynks

hallelujajordan, I didn't see your post until I posted mine, so no intention to question your obviously knowledgeable view. I hope my "this is not a medical forum" comment didn't come across as a reference to your input.

meditraitor

Its a highly infectious disease but direct contact is nessesary.

My little one was in a car with her cousin 4 weeks ago and the following day her cousin broke out in Chicken pox.
Needless to say we were worried for the 3 weeks following (time period they could break out if contracted).
She didnt get them in the end ....
One thing I will say is if there is a small chance she might have contracted them make sure you advise the local health nurse before any schedualed immunisations.

Oryx

loismustdie wrote: »

ALso how serious is chickenbox if a baby aged 4 weeks who is not breastfed and who's mother has never had it?

The mother in this case would want to be careful, as chickenpox in adulthood can be bloody awful, and has a risk of complications like pneumonia. My hubby caught it off our kids and was sicker than Ive ever seen anyone who wasnt hospitalised. The doc told us then that had we known he was susceptible (we thought hed had them) he would have put him on antiviral medication once the kids caught it. No medical advice, just that hypothetical mummy should contact a doc asap if chickenpox hits her kids.

KittyeeTrix

I always thought that chickenpox is only contracted once and then lifelong immunity is conferred on the patient... however

my son two years when aged 5 had a mild case of chickenpox which was to come back again about 8 months later. He got them again about 2 months ago now aged 7. This 3rd case was much worse with mild illness before the onset of rash which itself was widespread..

I have since read that in some people the immune memory response to chickenpox is either not evoked or is evoked but not maintained.....

Has anybody else any similar experience of recurrent chickenpox and would Hallelujajordan with her experience as a microbiologist know if he is likely to contract it again after his last full-blown episode?

tallaght01

loismustdie wrote: »

ALso how serious is chickenbox if a baby aged 4 weeks who is not breastfed and who's mother has never had it?

ANY infectious disease in a baby aged 4 weeks is potentially very serious, and should be seen by a professional ASAP.

hallelujajordan

fluffyorganic1 wrote: »

I always thought that chickenpox is only contracted once and then lifelong immunity is conferred on the patient... however

my son two years when aged 5 had a mild case of chickenpox which was to come back again about 8 months later. He got them again about 2 months ago now aged 7. This 3rd case was much worse with mild illness before the onset of rash which itself was widespread..

I have since read that in some people the immune memory response to chickenpox is either not evoked or is evoked but not maintained.....

Has anybody else any similar experience of recurrent chickenpox and would Hallelujajordan with her experience as a microbiologist know if he is likely to contract it again after his last full-blown episode?

Lots of debate in the literature about this and the real difficulty is that we never definitively diagnose chicken pox (in the microbiological sense). To be confident that he had chicken pox twice it would be necessary to take blood samples during each infection. .

It is possible that your sons first infections were not chicken pox. . there are other (much less common) viruses that can mimic the symptoms of chicken pox and it is likely that they account for a large proportion of those that report re-infection. .

It is also possible that for some unknown reason he didn't develop a complete immune response the first time around. . which allowed him to get reinfected. . . this has been reported but is very rare. .

If he falls into the first category then he will likely never catch chicken pox again. . if he falls into the second then it is really hard to say but there are reports of children who have been infected up to 5 times.

The mother in this case would want to be careful, as chickenpox in adulthood can be bloody awful, and has a risk of complications like pneumonia. My hubby caught it off our kids and was sicker than Ive ever seen anyone who wasnt hospitalised. The doc told us then that had we known he was susceptible (we thought hed had them) he would have put him on antiviral medication once the kids caught it. No medical advice, just that hypothetical mummy should contact a doc asap if chickenpox hits her kids.

Absolutely agree . . measles, mumps, chicken pox are all far more serious (and very unpleasant) when caught in adulthood.

KittyeeTrix

Thanks hallelujajordan, at least if it happens again I will know the next time to have a chat with our GP about possibility of a blood test.
He was sure the first two times that it was chickenpox but never mentioned doing a blood test the 3rd time around.
Thanks again

Quality

My baby caught chicken pox off his brother, two weeks after his brother got them. He was 5 months at the time and exclusively breastfed, thankfully it was mild.

I believe they can get the chicken pox again if they have had them when under 1 year. (feel free to correct me if I am wrong).

delly

On a sidenote to the OP, a few months back I was enquiring about getting the chickenpox vaccine. Last week my little one actually got the jab which cost €98. It was the first case where my GP has administered the vaccine, but he was well up on what it does and the 90% or so coverage percentage.

I'm aware that chickenpox isn't considered too serious an infection, but my my own personal experience of seeing a family member seriously ill with it convinced me to get it done.

nesf

I got it three times as a kid.

JP Liz

any tips or help - an eight month baby has them now

hallelujajordan

JP Liz wrote: »

any tips or help - an eight month baby has them now

Usually quite mild in small babies . . see link posted above to VHI information site. .

http://www.vhi.ie/hfiles/hf-150.jsp#5

If you are concerned at all, call your GP.

Alib2009

Hi there my little boy had it at ten months. lots and lots of aloe vera, neurofen for the pain and discomfort. and cool pops mushed up for the ones in his mouth.

DS was a bit out of sorts and uncomfortable, so we let him go around in his nappy covered in eurex cream and aloe vera.

Unfortunately DH got them and was very ill, and left him with very severe scarring, i would advise anyone who has not had them to try stay away it is a very nasty thing as an adult.

Good luck, hugs to your little one.

metrovelvet

Had it twice as a child.

I remember Aveeno oatmeal baths helping a lot. And it is suggested to put mitts on hands.

I also remember a spray that takes the itch off, but it was in the US - don't know if they have it hear.

What I understand, is that you catch it from someone during its incubation - before the spots appear.

martdalto

If "Ann" has chicken pox and is in direct contact with "John", then they can incubate in "John" for up to 21 days.

"John" is then contagious from 4 to 5 days before the spots appear right up until the last spot to appear scabs over.

Hope this helps.

By the way....
Don't believe that it is usually mild in babies! My 3 had them, Ages 3, 1.5 and 7 mths, (the baby was last to get them, 2 weeks after the other two)

I though the older fella had them bad until the baby got them. He didn't have an inch of his body from the top of his head to the soles of his feet that wasn't covered. As a test I tried to count how many he had on one eyelid one day, and couldn't count them!