Chicken Pox or Is It?

Updated on June 05, 2010
S.V. asks from Kirkland, WA
15 answers

I am wondering if anyone has had this happen to their children that have had the varicella (chicken pox) vaccine.
My daughter is 4 and has had 2 doses of the varicella vaccine. NONE RECENTLY. On Tuesday night she complained of being itchy. On Wednesday morning she had some bumps that she was itching like crazy. Stomach, behind the ears, inner thighs. I thought it might be mosquitoes or spider bites. Also, she has been on amoxicillin for a week for a sinus infection and I also thought it might be an allergic reaction. The bumps spread and I called the nurse line. They couldn't say for sure and with any rash they wanted us to come in to check it out. The doctor ruled out an allergy because more were spreading and said that it was "acting" like chicken pox. She said that only 5% of kids with the vaccine still can get chicken pox but it is usually a very mild version. Anyway, today (Thursday) she isn't complaining of itching and her bumps seem to be going away.
Could this be something completely different? I have to admit that I was fine with the diagnosis of chicken pox and was just moving on and getting through it. Just curious if anyone has had such a short duration of chicken pox.
Thanks for your time

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H.O.

answers from Anchorage on

Sounds like a reaction to the antibiotic really. That's how I reacted to Amoxicillin when I had my first reaction. If she's had a dose recently or even while she had the hives that would keep them coming. I had a reaction within the last few pills. If there isn't a fever my guess is it wasn't chicken pox.

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B.D.

answers from Grand Rapids on

Has she been swimming lately? It could be swimmer itch? Looks and acts just like chicken pox. Just a thought; I used to get it as a kids way to often when I would swim in lakes etc.

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T.H.

answers from Kansas City on

I don't know much about this vaccine, my kids are still too young for it, but I'm sure like all other vaccines it has the actual chicken pox virus in it, so it's totally possible that she got it, and it makes sense since it was right after her appointment.

If it was a mild case and she seems to be fine now I wouldn't worry.

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K.W.

answers from Seattle on

It was probably a mild case because she had previous exposure to the virus via the vaccine. I had the pox twice, once as a baby and again when I was 10. Apparently, having it as a baby didn't give me enough of an immune boost. This was pre-chicken pox-vaccine era.

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L.W.

answers from Miami on

My oldest child got a mild case of chicken pox a few days after his vaccine. My younger 3 didn't. This mild case was so much better then when I had full blown chicken pox as a child. I was miserable and have scars all over my legs. My son was only itchy for a day, then the spots went away.

G.R.

answers from Dallas on

i took my daughter fir the chicken pox vaccine and she start having a rash in all her body 2 days after the shot,the rash last 3 days until it was gonne,the dr. say it was chicken pox.

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A.D.

answers from New York on

I know the MMR vaccine can give a rash that looks like measles (and it happens weeks after the vaccine), so I would guess the same is possible with the chicken pox vaccine. Also, reading the other posts it seems other mom's have witnessed this. Sounds like a reaction to the vaccine.

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J.V.

answers from Lansing on

Vaccines are a milder form of the disease. They give them too you to give your immunity system a "blue print" of the disease, then if you are ever in contact with it again your immunity system already "knows" what it is and reacts immediately. If she didn't have the shot recently it probably wasn't caused by an "inside" source but rather an outside one. Go with what your dr. said and think about what she did that day to keep an eye out for a recurring problem.

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J.C.

answers from Anchorage on

Sounds like what the pox are like these days thanks to the vaccine. Just be happy its over and caused so little discomfort for the child.

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W.L.

answers from Portland on

My husband had shingles around christmas time and my son who had his first dose of the vaccine got the chicken pox he had about a hundred spots head to toe fever and was so sad. The pox started out looking like a small cluster of blisters (a lot like cold sore blisters) when these blisters popped they left itchy red spots. I hear that his case was mild but I felt so bad for him. The incident lasted about 6-7 days.

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M.H.

answers from Atlanta on

HI S.,

My husband contracted chicken pox last summer after we had an outbreak at our church conference.I immediately started pumping him with natural, anti-viral supplements to build his immune system to fight it off. He had a mild case and he went through it fairly quickly. Other than the extreme fatigue, the only bumps he had were around his waste, his back and his inner thighs. It lasted about a week.

The vaccine probably didn't prevent the chicken pox but gave enough immunity to have a slight case. It's probably a good thing as the vaccine is not meant to last more than 10 years and a case of the chicken pox should keep her from getting it again. There are secondary conditions with chicken pox if the immune system is low like fever blisters and even Shingles. I keep my family on an absorbable multivitamin/mineral complex and have detoxed my home to keep the immune systems at the top of their game!

God bless,

M.

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W.C.

answers from Seattle on

Duration of chicken pox can be short or long. In the "olden days" before vaccines, when I was teaching and chicken pox went through a class room, the first five to ten children always had the worst cases. They were covered, including in their ears, mouths and eye lids. Yuck!

The last one or two only had a couple because they had built up an immunity due to their exposure to others with the disease. You could hardly find the pox.

Your child because she had the vaccine had a mild case of chicken pox. Count your blessing. I have seen children seen really sick and covered kids.

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S.B.

answers from Seattle on

My son also had the vaccine but got the chicken pox when he was 5. It was a mild case of bumps on his tummy, but they didn't itch. He was fine after about three days.

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S.B.

answers from Minneapolis on

My neighbor's sons (two different neighbors, two different kids) got the vaccine and they both did get a "mild" version of the chicken pox. Lasted less than a week and neither got a fever or anything. Up until then, I had never heard of such a thing. They both took their boys and and they were told it really wasn't that uncommon. However, next time she is on amoxicilling, I would definitely watch to see if she rashes again - I have had allergies "spread" so I wouldn't rule it out.

As a mom who had 2 kiddos hospitalized with chicken pox (one the vaccine wasn't really available yet and the other was scheduled to get it and got the chicken pox the week prior to the appointment), I am envious (and happy, of course), that this option is available to kids :)

Good luck!

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L.Y.

answers from Wausau on

I know of kids who did get chicken pox after receiving the vaccine years ago when it was first out. I was still told when my kids had it (they are 6 and 8 now) that it will not prevent it in everyone but if they do contract chicken pox it will be a milder illness for them. My husband and I both had horrible cases of it...I couldn't get up and had the pox EVERYWHERE on my body. I'm thankful that less kids have to deal with it now.

It is true that once the varicella is in your body you can get shingles. My brother ended up with it after he ran through the house and smashed his side on a table and ended up with a big bruise/scrape. A trauma to your body, ongoing sickness for quite a while, bad burn, etc can bring about shingles. The cold sore virus is a different form of varicella. Once you reach 60 yrs of age you can receive a shingles vaccine. I encourage our parents to get it. It's expensive but I think medicare will pay part and the VA too. My fil ended up with shingles last year. He said he wished he knew about the vaccine as he was 61 at the time. It can be really bad in senior citizens...you won't pass the shingles to someone but if you are pg you should not be around a person with shingles and if your child hasn't had them then they shouldn't be around.
Glad your little one is recuperating and it wasn't too bad of a case.

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