Winner Winner Chicken Pox Dinner
August 18, 2013 10:35 AM Subscribe
I have a 3 year old who has gone through at least round one of the chicken pox vaccine (not recently, so this is not about vaccine reaction). Last week she had a rash on her back. Friday she was peckish (but probably skipped her nap at daycare which has been happening occasionally). Saturday she has a few (no more than 5) moderately (not all the time, I guess more occasional) itchy blister type spots in random places..
No fever, and appetite has been fine more or less.
I will take her to the doctor tomorrow especially since I do not want to take her back to daycare until she is in the clear.
Could she have a super light case of chicken pox? Other than the itchy spots she has no real discernible symptoms.
No fever, and appetite has been fine more or less.
I will take her to the doctor tomorrow especially since I do not want to take her back to daycare until she is in the clear.
Could she have a super light case of chicken pox? Other than the itchy spots she has no real discernible symptoms.
Could she have a super light case of chicken pox?
Yes.
Yes.
...the vaccine almost always prevents severe disease. If a vaccinated person does get chickenpox, it is usually a very mild case lasting only a few days and involving fewer skin blisters (usually less than 50), mild or no fever, and few other symptoms.posted by flabdablet at 10:56 AM on August 18, 2013 [1 favorite]
Best answer: (Note: I am not a doctor; I am a mom.) Yep, kids can in fact get chicken pox despite having had the vaccine. It does not make kids 100% immune; the effectiveness is more like 90%, and that's only if a kid gets two shots. Since the current recommended schedule is one shot as a toddler and one shot at age 4 - 6, it's likely that your kid only had one shot so far.
The GOOD news is that kids who do catch chicken pox after having had the shot tend to have a much, much milder version than they would have had otherwise, because their immune system has already been somewhat trained against it. And younger kids also tend to have milder cases than older kids. So if it is chicken pox, your kid will probably get off with a really mild case. And then she'll be super duper immune from having both been vaccinated against it and caught it.
When I myself caught chicken pox at 8, in the olden days before the vaccine, I was covered in hundreds of blisters head to toe and was utterly miserable for weeks. That's why I went ahead and got my kid vaccinated even though I was aware that it's one of the less effective vaccines.
There are other viruses that can cause rashes and blisters in kids, though. So be sure to ask the doctor about those as a possibility.
posted by BlueJae at 10:57 AM on August 18, 2013 [1 favorite]
The GOOD news is that kids who do catch chicken pox after having had the shot tend to have a much, much milder version than they would have had otherwise, because their immune system has already been somewhat trained against it. And younger kids also tend to have milder cases than older kids. So if it is chicken pox, your kid will probably get off with a really mild case. And then she'll be super duper immune from having both been vaccinated against it and caught it.
When I myself caught chicken pox at 8, in the olden days before the vaccine, I was covered in hundreds of blisters head to toe and was utterly miserable for weeks. That's why I went ahead and got my kid vaccinated even though I was aware that it's one of the less effective vaccines.
There are other viruses that can cause rashes and blisters in kids, though. So be sure to ask the doctor about those as a possibility.
posted by BlueJae at 10:57 AM on August 18, 2013 [1 favorite]
And as a precaution, keep your child away from pregnant women. Arguably most of them have already had it or have been vaccinated but better safe than sorry (I got it as a thirty year old and that was almost the sickest I have ever been. It's much rougher as an adult plus that's not want you want to expose someone else's fetus to if they aren't immune.)
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 10:59 AM on August 18, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 10:59 AM on August 18, 2013 [1 favorite]
Where are the spots located? We thought our youngest had chicken pox at 15 months, because there had been a mini-outbreak in our area. It turned out he had hand, foot and mouth disease. And a terribly un-fun case of it too. It can be very contagious, especially among the preschool/daycare set. The blisters can look remarkably similar - they even fooled my registered nurse mom, who had seen plenty of both over the years.
I'd definitely see the doctor tomorrow to get a good diagnosis. There isn't much you can do for either one, but knowing what it really is will help you plan better for alternate care. I hope she feels better soon!
posted by Lulu's Pink Converse at 11:12 AM on August 18, 2013
I'd definitely see the doctor tomorrow to get a good diagnosis. There isn't much you can do for either one, but knowing what it really is will help you plan better for alternate care. I hope she feels better soon!
posted by Lulu's Pink Converse at 11:12 AM on August 18, 2013
My son caught chickenpox a year after the first dose of his vaccine. He had one flush of about a dozen frightfully itchy pox, and then they faded and he had no other symptoms. When you call your doctor, tell her you suspect chickenpox -- they may have you come in the back door or otherwise take precautions to avoid infecting waiting patients. Although my son definitely clinically had chickenpox, because nothing else looks like chickenpox, his case was so mild and his viral load so low that they were unable to visualize or even culture any virus out of his pock fluid. If this was the _designed_ outcome of the chickenpox vaccine, rather than the failure mode, it would have been worth it.
posted by KathrynT at 11:35 AM on August 18, 2013
posted by KathrynT at 11:35 AM on August 18, 2013
Response by poster: ok, we will be glad for light chicken pox. I will still take her to the doctor for an official diagnosis.
posted by TheLibrarian at 12:35 PM on August 18, 2013
posted by TheLibrarian at 12:35 PM on August 18, 2013
Response by poster: oh and she already had hand foot mouth (also lightly). these spots are more spread out.
posted by TheLibrarian at 12:35 PM on August 18, 2013
posted by TheLibrarian at 12:35 PM on August 18, 2013
We had two of our kids get a mild case of shingles some time after they got the chicken pox vaccine around age 2-3. No other symptoms other than a rash that appeared mostly on the back, and was only on one side of the body.
posted by zsazsa at 3:45 PM on August 18, 2013
posted by zsazsa at 3:45 PM on August 18, 2013
Just a point, a reaction to the vaccine can occur up to 1 month later. Just in case the vaccine was a while, but less than a month a while ago.
posted by katers890 at 6:05 PM on August 18, 2013
posted by katers890 at 6:05 PM on August 18, 2013
This happened to our daughter at the same age. She was eventually diagnosed with foliculitus. Her spots didn't seem to itch, though.
posted by dpx.mfx at 7:53 PM on August 18, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by dpx.mfx at 7:53 PM on August 18, 2013 [1 favorite]
FYI: The vaccine, or even having chickenpox is not 100% effective.
I had chickenpox in fifth grade (pre-vaccine). Missed one month of school, it was so bad.
I had chickenpox in 12th grade (pre-vaccine). Horrible pox. It was so bad the dermatologist took photos of my body and submitted them somewhere (I forget where).
I hope I never get it again...
posted by Leenie at 1:13 AM on August 19, 2013
I had chickenpox in fifth grade (pre-vaccine). Missed one month of school, it was so bad.
I had chickenpox in 12th grade (pre-vaccine). Horrible pox. It was so bad the dermatologist took photos of my body and submitted them somewhere (I forget where).
I hope I never get it again...
posted by Leenie at 1:13 AM on August 19, 2013
Response by poster: And the doctor says:
Molluscus Contagiosum
Viral, starting to run its course.
Part of why she thinks this is my kid had no other symptoms (like fever or nausea, etc in even mild chicken pox) and they itch (not like folliculitis which does not typically itch)
posted by TheLibrarian at 11:09 AM on August 19, 2013 [1 favorite]
Molluscus Contagiosum
Viral, starting to run its course.
Part of why she thinks this is my kid had no other symptoms (like fever or nausea, etc in even mild chicken pox) and they itch (not like folliculitis which does not typically itch)
posted by TheLibrarian at 11:09 AM on August 19, 2013 [1 favorite]
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If she has spots resembling chicken pox, they could certainly be chicken pox.
posted by yohko at 10:44 AM on August 18, 2013