Anyone remember what to expect with chicken poxs, how to treat em, etc? They're passing through my kids school like a friggin tidal wave at the moment. I'm not really sure how to prepare for the inevitable.
chicken pox were not a big problem here when my kids got them. they didn't get any fever or head ache. they were just itchy so we did the calamine lotion and the oatmeal baths. they were fine. my husband got it at the same time and he was as sick as a dog, poor guy. it's nice to get them over with while they are young. remember how people used to throw chicken pox parties before the vax became so popular? kathy
None of my three kids have gotten chicken pox yet, but a lot of that probably has to do with the fact that they aren't exposed to a lot of situations that would enable them to catch it. However, if I do end up sending my 5 year old to public school next fall and not home-schooling, I'll bet he'll be bringing home a lot of unwanted gifts of illness. Chicken pox, for one. I didn't have any of my kids vaccinated against it. My pediatrician was completely supportive, and in fact, pretty much discouraged me from thinking about getting them. Especially for my daughter, since it would be better for her to be exposed to them before her child-bearing years. When I got chicken pox as a child, my mother said that I had a horrible case. I had them between my fingers, toes, eyelids, and of course, all over the rest of my body. I spiked a high temp and was miserable from what she recalls. I can only faintly remember it though.
just stock up on calamine lotion! i never had them but my little brother got them and my mom gave him an oat meal bath because your skin gets dry from the itching, you might want to have oven mitts too if they get them real bad, so they wont be able to itch.
Calamine lotion , tylonol and oatmeal bath stuff...... sounds like a killer week off of school , lol.
when i had chicken pox, it was christmas vacation. i was so mad about not getting that week off of school. so unfair! but i had an aunt who was glad to have us over at christmas so she could expose her kids. kathy
My oldest son had the vaccine. It seemed to backfire and everytime he has been exposed (3 x so far) he gets a light case of them. Never bad but annoying and it kept him out of the things he loves like football practice, music lessons and once a much looked foward to homeschool group fieldtrip. It is now required in Ohio so I have yet to find an infected child to even expose my younger 2 to it. I don't know if his reaction is typical, but it does worry me what will happen as he gets older.
Keep them well hydrated, treat the itching with calamine and oatmeal baths, keep the fever down with Tylenol, (never, NEVER give them aspirin! Aspirin and chicken pox is deadly) keep them in a cool, dark room. Sometimes you have to put socks or gloves over their hands to keep them from scratching, scratching leaves ugly scars (I have quite a few scars from chicken pox, as do my kids).
I am so surprised that they are a mandatory vaccination as my doctor here actively discouraged me from getting my girl immunised against it as she said if they have the immunisation it only lasts a certain amount of time and then they get it when they are older and that the older you are the worse it is...so the younger the better....the inconvenience of a sick bub right at exam time or such would be so annoying but I figure the inconvenience to me for something like that would be nothng compared to the inconvenience of her having an unneccesarily bad dose! It's amazing how much the laws on immunisation vary isn't it...and how the medical opinions vary too.
Techincally no vaccines are ever "mandatory" not in OH at least. But as our officials are not well aware of the laws, and most parents aren't well aware of the laws it has in effect become so. I didn't know the laws myself until this happened with my son and I decided I wanted to look into it more. And I worked for Head Start for years, never knowing that parents didn't have to have childen fully immunized.
My neighbors got it when I was in kindergarten, which meant that I got it soon after and managed to spread it to my brother and my entire kindergarten class. My mom still jokes that I was the immunization shot before that came into effect. Honestly I think it's stupid to get a shot for that. Personally I would rather take a week of mild, nonthreatening illness rather than a shot. Plus that prevents you most of the chance of getting it when you're older. From what I remember, my mom kept me in an oatmeal bath with a popsicle almost every day to keep my mild fever down. Do make sure you watch the scratching though. I have a big "Leo DiCaprio" scar right above my eyebrows (Leo's is in the same place as mine... I notice these things). Calamine lotion and benedryl (I think that's what it's called) helped me as well.
