Chicken Pox......

[Beach Mama]

My ongoing spotty saga with my lil' girly continues!

I went back to the doctor today and he said that the little spots that have come up over the last day or two are probably not related to her school sore (which is healing nicely now - thank god) but is MAYBE chicken pox!!!

He isn't sure ( are there any GP's out there that KNOW what they are doing??) so I have to go back on Wednesday - but I'm wondering if there is some kind of test they can do to check? He didn't do anything but look today so I'm feeling a bit unsettled about it all. Am wondering if I should find a new GP or even a paed?

Talk about being in the wars, the poor thing. Luckily she has no fever and is happy as Larry all the time and is almost crawling!! Cheeky girl!

Any advice or hugs appreciated!

[AnyDream]

Tan, they can take a swab of any of the sores that are open & test them for both bacterial and viral germs (two separate swabs needed). Chicken pox will show up this way but a viral result takes longer to culture so you may need to wait a while for answers.

[christy]

Tan did she have high temps leading up to the rash? And then the temp went down at the time of the rash coming up?? google roseola... Its going around atm up here & every other kid at kindy has a younger sibling who has had it in the last month.

[Beach Mama]

Marydean - thanks for that I will ask him to do that on Wed if there is no improvement.

Christy - no fever or anything else to indicate she is sick. She is so happy just like always so its hard to say what it is!

Caro - thanks for the hugs! I definately need them! I get so frustrated by the medical profession at times I just want them to say -this is what it is, do this and off you go! Not it MIGHT be this or that or I dunno! Arrgh!

[StrawberryMumma]

Oh poor Izzy! Has she been in contact with anyone with chicken Pox?! That's the last thing you want this time of year isn't it!

And YES, there are some doctors out there that know EXACTLY what they are doing so please don't be put off!!

Often if the bub is happy then they are a bit reluctant to do more tests unless there are other concerns that it may cause bigger problems down the track..make sense?

Get better miss Izzy!
(by the way- wow on the crawling!! how clever!)

[Schmickers]

No, Roseola is a more fine rash, it doesn't usually start like sores.

Tan, rashes in children are notoriously hard to diagnose. you could do blood tests to determine whether it is chicken pox, but these are not usually done for two reasons:

1) They are traumatic to the child;
2) As there is no treatment for chicken pox, and the rash, once it develops further, is unmistakable, there is no benefit in checking the blood test. Usually, by the time the result comes back, it is already quite obvious what it is.

Seeing as you say she is so happy, I think you can put your mind at ease. Unwell children usually act unwell. As long as she is happy, she is probably OK. And chicken pox is usually pretty mild in younger children and toddlers. Its the older children (and adults) that it tends to be more difficult in.

[Beach Mama]

Thanks Michael - the thing keeping me going and not worrying so much is the fact that she is feeding and sleeping as usual and when awake is her normal happy content self. I figure if she was super unwell I would be able to tell. Can you or anyone tell me though - with chicken pox do the little sores kind of look like they have a little blister on them that when it pops the skin around it kind of peels?? Thats what is happening to the ones she has, and I had CP when I was 12 - waaaaaay to long ago for me to remember!
Thanks again!

[MrsFabuloso]

Yep Tan, that's what happens with chicken pox. If it is chicken pox, and just to let you know, if she has been in contact with any pg women recently (within the past week or two), let them know she has chicken pox and tell them to call the dr, as it can be dangerous for pg women and the feotus (sp?). I remember when I was pg and working, we had an outbreak at the centre I was in and I had to have a blood test to make sure I didn't have it. She's no longer contageous when the blisters pop and scab over. That's if it is chicken pox!

[krysalyss]

From my understanding until the chicken pox blisters develop, the rash is hard to diagnose. Once that happens they are unmistakable. Plus sometimes I think we are a little hard on doctors. After all, they don't have magic wands and can only work with the information and tools that they have. Poor vets get the same criticism.

[Beach Mama]

Caro - thanks for that hun. The spots sound like that but she hasn't had a fever and doesn't seem to be scratching at all, I hope she is one of those kids that only gets a few spots

Kellie - I have told my pg girlfriend who is due in 3 weeks to call her ob - we saw her about a week ago too before the spots when she was probably when she was contagious - uggghhh that's all IF she has CP- I don't what on earth it could be if it's not.

When I asked what it could be if it wasn't CP he said folliculitis - which when I googled - I doubt but he still seemed pretty unconcerned about it all.

[krysalyss]

I dont think anyone was being too hard at all.. Tan had been to TWO doctors

Yep but the symptoms have changed since the beginning. I think it is a valid point that you make about appointment times. I just think sometimes we overestimate how much one single person can know and how much the medical profession is capable of achieving.

[Schmickers]

Yes, it sounds like chicken pox.

And Caro - I understand what you are saying. The one thing I will say, in response, is that the flipside of doctors pushing people through quickly is that a lot of them are trying to make room for emergency appointments during their hectic day - appointments that are usually used so that parents with children can get their children seen the same day.