My 4 year old has what I think may be Chicken Pox, even thou she had been immunized against it. The small red "zits" (as she calls them) started to appear on Saturday, by Monday they had white heads and were rupturing. She is NOT complaining about itiching nor does she have a fever. I had thought with the immunization she would not get them. We called the Dr. and were told that she could still get them, but there was no treatment unless they were BAD (she has maybe a dozen 'zits') so they didn't feel the need to see her. I feel horrible as I sent her to school on Friday and all of this week, not thinking she would get them. Now all the kids will have been exposed, and the teachers as well. (I found out that one of her teachers has not had them...) My question is if it is the Chicken Pox, how do I know when she is no longer contagious, and is it to late for the kids or Teacher to get the immunization shots against it?
Thanks all.
Thanks to everyone for your wonderful advise. The Pox are only on her stomach, back and under arms. None on her legs, face or arms. I did get her in to see the Dr. and it was/is Chicken Pox, she just for some reason was not bothered by the itching.(I have been giving her Benedryal and using Calamine lotion which helps a lot.) It looks like it has about run it's course, and she should be able to return to school by the end of the week. After speaking with the Dr. I found out that the vaccine is not a guarantee against getting the Chicken Pox, but if the child does get them it is a much milder case than it would have been.
I notified the school and they sent out a notice to all the parents, so they can watch for it.
Again thanks all for the advise and concern.
even though a child gets the varivax they can get a very small case of chicken pox- which usually become blister like and scab over. She is no longer contagious after they have all become scabbed over. if its more pimple like and and dont get scabbed over I would see the ped. since they are not itchy and are covered and she has not had a temp- I think the likelyhood of spreading them is pretty thin.
Yes, it can be a mild case of the Chicken Pox, yes you can get it more than once, yes you can get them even with shots. Usually there is a mild fever that goes with it. It can last for at LEAST week or two. Cut her nails short so she won't scratch, it doesn't take much to leave a scar. When the last sore has scabbed over then they are no longer contagious. (If I remember correctly) Take her to the doctor but call them ahead of time so they can put you in a sick room. Also call the school and let them know that it is a possiblity.
If it isn't chicken pox it is better to know anyway. =)
It is actually better to be exposed/get the disease because you are guaranteed immunity to after that. With the vaccine, as you have experienced, there is a good chance that it will not be effective.
It could be chicken pox. If you are unsure take her to the doctor. The vaccine is like only 60% effective, and as adults if they don't remember to get a booster, they can end up with it then which is worse. She will no longer be contagious after the blisters scab over.
chicken pox when they rupture end up spreading and the body will become broke out unless it is a very mild case of them. chicken pox are itchy and you typically have a fever with them. You are not contagious once they start drying up but until then you are contagious. sounds like you also may want to switch doctors. any doctor would want to see your child to assess whether or not she does have them no matter how mild the case or how severe the case. most kids should have already been vaccinated for the chicken pox. as far as the teacher goes i believe that once you are exposed it is too late to get the immunization against chicken pox. D.
My own daughter had the chicken pox after being vaccinated. She first had a few bumps - I thought they might be spider bites, took her to the doctor and they were not sure. They went away and then a few month later she had a very large case of chicken pox - over 100 spots, fever, itchy. If your daughter has the chicken box, she is contagious until the final 'zit' has popped and crusted over. I do not know the answer about other people being immunized. You will want your doctor to know she has had them, if it really is the chicken pox, because then your daughter will not need the booster shot.
It very well could be chicken pox. The contagious part starts usually before you even notice the bumps. We didn't even realize our son had actually had chicken pox until weeks later my mom came down with Shingles.Mainly because he had the vaccine. We didn't think he would get it. He had ran a slight fever, and I thought he just had a rash. He has sensitive skin anyways, so I thought it was from something he came into contact with. The rash only lasted for a few days. But he itched like crazy. Then, probably two weeks later my mom went to the doctor and was diagnosed with Shingles. This was horrible for her, but the ped. assured us that by the time we saw the spots, it was already too late to prevent spreading it. So, if it is indeed chicken pox, there's not much you can do to prevent others from getting it. Hope this helped. :)And I hope your daughter starts feeling better soon.
Hi C.
You are contagious until all the pox rupture and scab over. However, you are not as contagious as if you had natural chicken pox. Once you have bee vaccinated, usually the chicken pox is for only a 5 day period. If someone who has not had the chicken pox is exposed, you need to get vaccinate immediately. It takes 2 weeks to start to work (there is 2 shots for 13 years and up). She is a teacher and should know what to do. This can't be the first time she has been exposed. I hope your daughter is doing better.
Jen
well, i don't know what that actually IS, but surely chicken pox always itches? otherwise, it does sound like chickenpox.
the relevant parts of the description in the AMA book i have says:
"... Groups of small, red, fluid-filled spots appear on many parts of the body. After a few days the spots burst or dry out, and then crust over. Thye are very itchy and it is difficult to resist scratching them. ..."
my book does not answer either of your other questions, but to my knowledge people should certainly cease to be contagious when they are no longer ill (and probably before!) and once a person actually GETS the disease there is no longer any point in being vaccinated. but if a classmate was indeed exposed but did not actually fall sick, then perhaps a vaccination would still be worthwhile.
certainly, though, no vaccination of any kind is definitive protection against the disease it is meant to prevent. vaccines prevent disease MOST of the time. not always, not in every single recipient.
i hope this helps.
Does your daughter have a fever? In my experience chicken pox comes with a fever. Also if they get any bigger that pin size pimples I would definitely take your daughter to the doctor to have them checked out. My daughter had 7 pimples on her stomach in January and and it turned out to be a community based methacilin resistant staph infection (MRSA) and if not treated with antibiotics could become larger infections that are painful and highly contagious.
K. P.
38 year old mom with a three year old daughter
My daughter got chicken pox when she was 2 1/2 (even though she was vaccinated) and it was about 20 little red bumps on her arm, no fever, no other symptoms. The doctor told me that she was no longer contagious after the bumps started to scab over. I believe that once others have been exposed to it, it is too late to be vaccinated.
Did the spots first appear on her stomach? That's usually a good indicator.
Otherwise, as far as contagiousness goes, you're in the clear once the "pox" crust over. If her classmates are exposed, better they should get it now than later. I didn't have chicken pox until I was 18 years old, and trust me, it was MISERABLE. I wish more parents had exposed their kids' chicken pox to me when I was four!
Last year my son has similar symptoms, and I initially thought it was CP, but it turns out that it was molluscum.
Take a look at this, just to check your daughter's symptoms against it:
http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/guide/m...
~J.~
Your daughter is no longer contagious once the pox dry out or scab over.
FYI for you and anyone else who reads this. No, the vaccine is not a guarrentee against the pox and, your doc is wrong, if a kid gets it, it's not always milder. The nurse who does the vaccines I chose to give my son said her son got them worse than any other case she had ever seen after he had had the vaccine! This is why I think it's pretty silly to get the vaccine - might as well just get them the real way :) But many docs wouldn't tell you this.
Hope she's all better soon, sounds like she's not uncomfortable, so that's good!
chicken pox are contagious before you see any spots (so don't feel bad about sending her to school) and until the spots crust over. your doc should be able to answer all your questions.
Usually, by the time you notice someone has the CP, everyone's already been exposed. There is nothing you can do at this point.
The vaccine does not guarantee immunity...and the immunity it does give is short-lived. If she does have the CP, she'll have lifelong immunity. Not every case of the CP is a bad case. My daughter is not vaccinated and when she was exposed to the CP, she had no symptoms except for a fever for 3 days. I didn't think much of it and when she hadn't "gotten" the pox by the time she was 5 (this past year) I had her titers checked and she's got full immunity.
You can always take a picture of the pox and email them to your doctor (most won't want you to take your daughter to the office) and see what they say.
Also, as another person stated, it could be impetigo (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/impetigo.html). Chicken pox USUALLY (but not always) starts on the abdomen and spreads from there. Impetigo can start on the arms, face, and legs.
Younger kids do well getting Chicken Pox as it can prevent them from getting it again. The teacher who has never had it should really have gotten the vaccine against it since working with kids exposes you to a heap of things. So while you exposed them all there was no way you could have known she had Chicken Pox until the spots showed. Once the spots show the kid isn't contagious anymore.
And yes you can get Chicken Pox again even if you had it once but it is a rare occurrence. My aunt got them a few years back after her boys got Chicken Pox. The boys had gotten the vaccine and she had Chicken Pox as a kid.
C.,
She will no longer be contagious when they have started to scab over(dry up). At that point she can return to school and wont spread them. I wouldnt worry about her spreading them to her school if she didnt scratch them. Good luck...and yes I was also shocked to learn even with the shot they could still get a lite case of them....
Hi C., This doesn't sound like any case of Chicken Pox my kids have ever had. Chicken Pox itch like crazy. They tend to start on the trunk both front and back, and spread from there. If it does turn out to be Chicken Pox they cease being contagious when all the pox have scabbed over. Good luck. E.
The best thing to do is these situations is not take anyone's word for it and look it up yourself on the Internet. Also, contact your daughter's school and tell them that she MAY have chickenpox. That way they can make other parents aware as soon as possible. Although most of the time, it's not anything serious, some kids can have bad reactions to it, and you need to let them know, that way other parents can atleast watch out for it.
My 4 and 2 year olds also had the vaccine but were infected with Chicken Pox over Thanksgiving. I can't believe your Dr. didn't want to see them to confirm? Our Dr. told us that they were highly contagious until all of them had ruptured and had a scab on them, and more appearing for about 2 weeks. So, we were quarantined for a about 2 weeks. The good thing is that they WERE vaccinated so it was a mild case, but that does protect them better from getting them in the future.
As for the immunizations for the teachers and the other children, I really don't know.
I know it stinks to be in the house for so long, so hang in there and good luck!
Check with your doctor to see if it's impetigo... very common and easy to cure.
