[mgbridges]

AND a pyogenic granuloma which needs removing but thats another story!

Anyone had any experience of treating a young child with Shingles? At the moment he seems fine with it but I've noticed his hand going to the rash area more and more often so I'm sure it won't be long before he starts scratching! The doctor has put him on Aciclovir (1.5, 400mg tablets 4 times a day) and Foban cream to be rubbed on sparingly 3 times a day. So far the most annoying thing has been ringing loads of Mums from school to warn them because he wasn't diagnosed until 3.30pm this afternoon (well the first sign of it only appeared on Wed eve)!

The poor wee thing is just gutted that we probably won't be doing the Shore to Shore on Sunday as I don't want to risk him infecting anyone.

Sigh... the joys of parenthood!

Anneliese

[shakyle2906]

Anneliese

Sorry to hear the news!

Not heard of children getting shingles, but mum in law had it few years ago and she complained of the rash being slightly painful especially in the cold ?

I never knew young children could get it, isnt it after being in contact with someone with chicken pox ?

Have you tried buying good old fashioned calomine lotion just incase he has the will to start scratching ?

Poor thing, how old is he ??

Hope he feels better soon, i hate seeing our little one unwell!

Sharon
xx

[mgbridges]

Thanks Sharon,

The doctor did say it was quite rare for one so young to get it (he's 6yrs old) but if you only have chicken pox mildly you are susceptible. Joe had the pox when he was tiny (only just a yr old) and very, very mildly. However he needs to have been in contact with somebody who has chicken pox to have now come out in Shingles and I can't think who that 'someone' is!

Calamine lotion is in the medicine cupboard already, just hoping he'll sleep well and not get too cranky with it. I've been reading up on the Net and the Aciclovir thats been prescribed is an anti-viral that works best if the course is started within 72hrs of the rash appearing which he has. Hopefully it will stop the attack getting too bad.

We sure do suffer when our wee ones get sick :roll

Anneliese

[shakyle2906]

I do hope he is feeling more himself soon!

Kyle, our son has never had chicken pox and i was waiting for him to get it as his little maori friend just came back to school. He didnt seem to have been off school very long and the poor thing was covered in cuts where he had obviously been scratching!

I remember having it 4 times!!!!!! couldnt believe you could ever have it that much.

Take care all of you anyway and let me know how he goes!

HUGS!!!!!!!!!!

Sharon
xx

[TrentBridge]

Hi Anneliese

Really sorry to hear about your son. I didn't know one so young could get it either.

When my boys had chickenpox we put a bit of vaseline on their spots and it relieved the itching. The only thing is that you can get greasy marks on clothes and bedding, but probably worth it I think!

Not sure if it will be the same for shingles, but maybe worth a go if he gets itchy?

Hope he's better soon.

S

[Milliemoo]

oooooohhhh the poor wee sod.

Just did a quick google, and apparently (as you said) it's rare for children to have shingles but of the few that do, it will be most likely in those which have had a mild dose of the pox (so to speak) under the age of one.

Give him a wee hug from me.

Milliemoo

[marcia]

Poor kid and poor you - its horrid when the kids are ill you feel so sorry for them.

Hope he gets better soon!

[peebles16]

Poor wee soul he must be feeling rotten. Our youngest has had chicken pox twice once about 9 months old and then again about 3. Me old Mum told me to put bicarbonate of soda on the bath and weirdly that seemed to sort out night time itching... Might be worth a try and hope he feels better soon :)

Karenx

[JandM]

So sorry to hear this. My mother has had shingles three times as an adult, and it was really painful, not just itchy. But the last time, her doctor got her on Aciclovir in time, and it was much less trouble. He said that the chickenpox virus is one that we all have on us and in us all the time - most of the time it doesn't do anything, but then suddenly we'll get ill. So it sounds from that as if your boy needn't necessarily have met anybody that was openly showing symptoms to be set off. However, each time Mum has started up with shingles, it's been immediately after she had a big physical shock of some kind - e.g. the first time, she was standing on a chair putting some things away in a high cupboard, one of the legs gave way, and she had to jump down. She landed perfectly all right, but it was a huge surprise, and a couple of days afterwards, the illness came out. And her then doctor said that that is something they hear about in a lot of shingles cases.

[Red Devil]

Anneliese... sorry to hear about your little boy, hope he gets better very soon :)

Certainly is awful when your children are ill :(

[jubjub]

Get some pinetarsol from the pharmacy, it stinks and is a weird colour, but it stops the itching! you can pop it in his bathwater, you can also get a soap.

If you cant get any of that, pop some baking soda in his bath.

I had DS and DH with chicken pox last year, so go pretty good at stopping itching!

Poor thing... (and poor you!)

[mgbridges]

Thanks for the support everyone! So far so good, he woke at 3.45am saying he'd had a bad dream and that was sorted with a cuddle and me tucking him back in and singing a lullaby. He then slept until 8.45am!!!! Unheard of for him unless he is under the weather so he must be feeling wiped out. The doctor did say that the virus has probably come out because he is run down.

Fortunately it seems that if kids get Shingles they don't seem to the get the pain that can accompany it as much as adults do. I also think that getting him started on the anti-viral medicine early has helped as the rash hasn't spread any more, fortunately he isn't having any probs taking it.

With any luck its going to be a mild attack that clears up quickly but I'll have to keep an eye out for it on an ongoing basis now as its true that its a virus that you carry all the time.

Thanks again everyone!
Anneliese

[Kerry and David]

Poor little chap, hope he feels better soon.
K x

[Scotty69]

Hi Annelies sorry to hear about your wee man (son), I know by experience how painfull and itchy shingles are and like JandM said everyone that has chickenpox will have the virus it just takes somthing to trigger the virus to come out. Also if youv got shingles you shouldnt be around people who have not had chickenpox as they can catch the chickenpox from shingles i only remember this because i was sent home from work as someone had never had the chickenpox. Just hope your son gets well soon take car Natasha

[Familyofmonkeys]

Anneliese....sorry to hear he's not well. Hope he feels much better soon :)

On the subject...years ago OH family was told they were 'carriers' of chicken pox virus (his brother has has in 6 or 7 times but never very bad) and the rest of siblings seemed to have some sort of immunity (:confused: )....never made much sense to me until you mentioned about virus staying dormant in your body.

Funny thing is none of my kids have shown any signs of chicken pox despite being exposed many many times. In UK their entire music group got chicken pox (apart from mine) and over half of the children at the 2 of the playgroups they went to got chicken pox all at the same time early last year. Several children at my daughters UK pre-school had chicken pox and some now have it at her Kindy here too. Despite this...no chicken pox. I am actually hoping thety would get it as I worry that it would be worse for them if they did get in when older, than being ill while they are small.

[Mildred]

My daughter had shingles this time last year when she was 10 years old. I initially thought she had an allergic reaction to something as it looked like whip marks on her side. On the doctor's advise I gave her anti-histamines(sp?). It was only the next evening, actually, in the middle of the night when she was crying out in pain that her back really hurt her that I realised it was something more serious, as she has a very high pain threshold. I took her to the doctor, and yes this was classic symptoms of shingles. It affects the nerve endings in the spine and sorry to say, once your've had shingles it stays dorment in your body waiting to reappear again. The doctor did comment that my daughter must have been under severe stress to have got shingles. As some people on this thread are aware, we were having terrible times with neighbours from hell, and my poor daughter couldn't leave the house without running the gauntlet.

Well a year on, she has had no further incidents. We used lavender oil and broke bits off the aloa vera plant to put on the sore bits which really helped prevent scarring. Also had to paint a solution on the sores which the doctor said had to be done within 24 hours to prevent permanent damage.

Shingles is really nasty, but in my daughter's case the pain didn't last long and she is now very fit and healthy again. Incidentally just like chicken pox, someone with shingles should not go near any one who is pregnant.

Hope this helps!!!

[extinctkiwi]

Hi

though i have no idea on how to treat shingles. For anyone reading this with little ones that have not had chicken pox when they move to NZ then you can pay for an extra chicken pox vaccine in NZ. We have been told it will cost $85 which is about £35 so not at all bad and will save money in the long run as wont be paying for childcare that is not being used and creams etc.

I am told it will also give you protection against shingles and even into later life (I think shingles is usually an adult thing?). Depending on their age they may need 1 or 2 jabs. My baby is 9 months and only needs the 1. It has a 90% protection rate so there is a small change you could be one of the unlucky ones whos child still gets it but well worth it as it is horrible to have chicken pox/shingles and may leave scars.

Good luck MGBridges - hope it improves soon :(

Jess

[Familyofmonkeys]

For anyone reading this with little ones that have not had chicken pox when they move to NZ then you can pay for an extra chicken pox vaccine in NZ. We have been told it will cost $85 which is about £35 so not at all bad and will save money in the long run as wont be paying for childcare that is not being used and creams etc.

I am told it will also give you protection against shingles and even into later life (I think shingles is usually an adult thing?). Depending on their age they may need 1 or 2 jabs. My baby is 9 months and only needs the 1. It has a 90% protection rate so there is a small change you could be one of the unlucky ones whos child still gets it but well worth it as it is horrible to have chicken pox/shingles and may leave scars.



This is very interesting...what Dr surgery are you with....ours haven't mentioned that and it is definitely something we would consider as we can claim most of cost back via OH insurance?

[Jo Jo]

I've been considering the chicken pox vaccine as well as I've never had chicken pox. There is some good info about it here (http://www.immune.org.nz/?t=850).

Anneliese, I hope your son gets better soon, poor thing.

[Asli&Mark]

Hi Anneliese

Really sorry to hear about Joe.
Hope he gets better soon
Asli&Mark

[extinctkiwi]

Hi

Our docs is browns bay family doctors above the national bank in browns bay. This is a common vaccine that can be provided by any GP i think. I asked about the vaccine and they produced a leaflet. It was not on display so i think a lot of people don't know about it. I don't know if you can claim the money back from OH insurance?

I would just ask the practice nurse at the doctors as they know the most about vaccines and meet with the reps more often than the doctors.

Jess

[extinctkiwi]

Just a thought for Jo Jo, it may be worth getting the vaccine. As an adult you may need two instead of one but the nurse told us it does give you some protection against shingles when you are an adult which is a much worse form of chicken pox and that is the type an adult usually ends up with. For some reason chicken pox is worse for adults. if you are around kids with it and have not had it already then i would def consider the vaccine.

[JandM]

If you get ordinary chicken pox when older, for some unknown reason it is often more severe than for a small child. I'd been in contact with it loads of times and never had it, so my mother assumed I must be immune, but then I did get it at twelve, and had spots EVERYWHERE - in my hair, and inside mouth, nose, and other important places you wouldn't want 'em. It was hell. But later, I knew a girl who got it 15, and it was hell x 10, because she had spots inside her intestines as well as on the outside of her body - imagine not being able to do anything to soothe the itching.