Red Bumps on Child's Arms... Could It Be Chicken Pox or Something Else?

I would hazard the guess that they are bug bites of some sort. Spider bites are usually a few smaller bites in a group, and sometimes they can be a single and can pretty big and irritated. I've never seen a recluse bite, but I've heard they get ugly fast,*as well as bed bug bites) so if it's been 3 days or so then that's not a concern.
Could be mosquito bites, if she sleeps with her arms out from under the covers.
If she is itching you can use Benadryl cream on them and itch goes away pretty fast.
I'm thinking if she had chicken pox that the ones she has would already be blistering, and she would have LOADS more on her torso and body creases. Measles are probably also out, unless she hasn't gotten her immunizations yet.
One suggestion, strip her bed down and wash all the bedclothes. including blankets. while that stuff is washinf flip the mattress and look for spider webs, and such. Clear all that out, and you should be good to go.
Good Luck

Sounds like it may either be mosquito bites or even ezcema. My daughter has suffered from ezcema since she was little and she is almost 8 now. She also usually got TONS of mosquito bites and even without scratching at them, they would get really red and swollen and actually caused her pain. She has had the vaccination for chicken pox but I know that she can still get them.. I wouldn't mind if she got the chicken pox but I have heard that they are linked to shingles and in talking to my sister, shingles is very very painful. I would just watch her over the next few days and if she is going anything out of the ordinary that concerns you, then take her in. Otherwise, try not to worry to much.

From 6 months my 4 year old daughter, every once in a while has red spots appear similar to what your discribing. I was scared about them at first also, so I took my daughter to the doctor at 9 months to try and figure out what the red spots were. I found out that my daughter had a light case of eczema. It is a common skin irritation that is possibly caused by some kind of allergy but is undetermined what the allergy is. We now think my daughter is slightly allergic to grass but we still really dont know. Anyhow, she still every once in a while has red spots appear. People who dont know about eczema may mistaken the red spots for chicken poxs, hives, ring worm and other possiblly contagious rashes. However, after explaining to those people and our doctor explaining to us that the spots were not contagious, our doctor perscribed a cream for our daughter to use anytime she has any of the red spots. My advise is to talk to your child's doctor at her next well child exam, unless your daughter gets a fever then take her in sooner. I hope this helps. M. sahm 4 year old girl, and 2 year old boy.

Chicken pox usually comes with a fever and overall unwell feeling for her. If she's acting pretty normal, it's probably a bite, like the other posters have suggested. As far as mosquito bites: one of my twin sons got bitten on the back of his neck. I know it was a mosquito bite because I was there and I SAW it bite him. after a day or two, it grew big and raised up. Definitely not looking like a mosquito bite. But now it's started to go away and hasn't bothered him otherwise. So I didn't really worry about it. Had I not actually seen the mosquito bite him, I probably would have freaked at the reaction of the site and called or taken him into a doctor. My other kids have had bites around the same time this summer and only my one twin boy reacted that way. If you're worried about it being something, you can call the doctor. Sometimes, even if it's chicken pox, you don't have to take them in. The doc can diagnose based on your description over the phone. Good luck. Chicken pox would be no fun, but it doesn't sound to me like that's what it is.

Hi A.,
It doesn't sound like chicken pox to me. Chicken pox starts with a fever, and your daughter would be acting very sick. Could they be mosquito bites?
M~

i don't think that it is possible for her to get them if she had the varivax immunization. and if she did have them she would have more than four and they would start to show up everywhere. try putting calamine lotion on it anyway so that here is some kind of relief.
good luck and god bless you and yours!!

Doubtful on the chicken pox. This time of year, more likely mosquito bites or spider bites. just watch them and make sure they don't get infected, and ignore them otherwise. If they aren't bothering her, don't let them bother you! Check her bed for spiders, as gross as that sounds.

If it were chicken pox she would be developing new bumps everyday for the next week or so until they covered a large part of her body and then they would start to scab over. It sounds like what the others have said that she has gotten some bug bites or something like that.

chicken pox will have a slight blister on the bump, as it is in the herpes family.

Hi A.-
My daughter gets the same things now and then. I think that they are just a little clogged pores. They hang around for a few days and then just clear up. I had chicken pox at age 16 so I can tell you that those begin as a blister, then that bursts and scabs up, then the itching begins. I don't care what anyone says about the vaccine and if you need to get a repeat dose, that would have been awesome. I have terrible scars and it was a horrible experience, there were literaly one million poxs all over me. I really hope your little girl doesn't have that!!!

Sounds like bug bites to me also. I wouldn't worry just watch to make sure they aren't growing, my DD reacts bad to any bite, not life threatning, she just swells really badley at the site.

A.,

If you do find out it is chicken pox, will you PLEASE, PLEASE let me know so I can bring my son over and get it? I am extremely hesitant to use the vaccine for chicken pox (as everything I've read says it's only good for 20 years!! - if they don't get re-vaccinated, they can get it as adults, and it's much more severe as an adult) and I'd much rather my son get it naturally.

My email is ____@____.com - please let me know if this does turn into chicken pox!

Thanks,
J.

Son is 19 months and I've been avoiding getting this round of vaccines specifically becuase of the chicken pox...

My 7 month old had a red rash with some of them larger than others. It didn't seem to bother her, just me. Didn't seem to be a heat rash so I took her to the doctor. Turns out, after a doctor visit, it is a virus that caused the rash. The skin is not contagious, but feces are so have to wash hands thoroughly after each diaper change. the doctor said it would take 2 weeks to run its course. He told me not to put anything on it.

If they are just bumps, I'm not sure, but if they blister, it could be hand, foot and mouth disease. My 15-month-old just got over a very mild case of it. She only got blisters on her feet and a few very small ones on her legs, but they can also get them on their face, in their throat, on their hands, feet, & arms.

My gut instinct would be to be very diligent about washing hands during the day and especially diaper changes. Beyond that, if she is happy and has no fever, I wouldn't take her to the doctor. Just keep and eye on her and try to keep her away from other kids as much as possible. My decision about the doctor is how my kids are acting. If they act sick, they always are. When they don't act sick, they don't usually need any intervention. My doc has always agreed with my instincts so far. Hope your bub is up and around soon.

Best of luck,
S.

ps - Regarding the comment that children cannot get chickenpox if they are vaccinated... this is NOT true. In fact, most of the recent outbreaks have occured among the vaccinated population. This vaccine has only been administered in the US for about 20 years, so they are still experimenting on dosage, how many boosters, etc. If your child get the vaccine they have a reduced chance of getting chickenpox, and if they do get it, it is more likely to be a mild case, but there is not guarantee that they are 100% protected.

To me they sound like bites. Chicken pox almost always starts on a warm place on your body, such as your belly and spreads fairly rapidly. My DD had chicken pox when she was 6 months old and it didn't take long for her whole body to be covered.

Any chance they are just mosquito bites?

If they don't seem to be itching her or no fever it is probably kerotosis (I think that is the name of them). This is a normal breakout due to heat and lack of moisture. Take her to the Dr if you are truly concerned by try keeping aqua phor on them to help them. My daughter gets them on the backs of her arms and upper thighs.

Is it possible they could be bites, possibly from a spider or ant or something of that nature? I know my daughter was getting bites on her legs from her daycare.

I bet she got bitten by something. Mosquito, spider, something like that. If they don't spread or get worse, I would just watch them.