My just turned 2 year old was diagnosed with Chicken Pox yesterday. She has a high fever, the itchy pox, and is generally miserable. She can't sleep very well, and doesn't seem to like the taste of anything she eats. She is staying hydrated, and is drinking fruit and veggie juices. Any advice on helping her sleep and not scratch??
Thank you everyone. I had the oats at home, and put them in the cuisinart to make them as much of a powder as I could. I let her soak in oatmeal baths, and then slathered her in vanicream lotion. I was having to work with what I had at home, since I didn't want to take her into a store. So far she has done well with a good dose of tylenol and motrin (alternating) to keep the fever at bay, Zyrtec (to control the itching - she gets hyper on Benadryl - bummer), and lots of long soaks in the bath. It's been fairly mild so far, so I hope she doesn't have to go through it again.
Dear L. B
A baking soada bath will help some.
I hope this will help.
C. J.
Calamine Lotion on her spots helps. Warm baths in Aveeno Oatmeal Bath Treatments helps. Barbasol Shaving Cream is the oldest remedy, and it really does work. You can only find it now at the Dollar Store. My Mom used it on me. I used it on all 4 of my kids and I've used on my grand-kids. Good luck.
My mom put Calomine lotion all over my spots when I had them as a kid and had me wear my mittens (more comfortable and fit well) while sleeping so I didn't scratch to the point of bleeding or infection. It is important she lets them heal to dry up or they can scar.
Ask your Dr too if Benadryl will help with the itching.
Also note you can get the shingles so be careful, if you had chicken pox as a child.
I had a 9 month old daughter that came down with chicken pox. She mainly nursed during that time. Keeping her hydrated is important. The other thing you can try is an oatmeal bath. Aveeno makes one and that seemed to help with the itching. You can also apply calamine lotion to help after the baths. I know this is very difficult but try and hang in there and see if either of those help with the discomfort. Good luck.
M.
Let her play in a luke warm bath. The water soothes the chicken pox and makes it so they don't itch as bad. Then get calamine lotion (it comes in a pink bottle) and rub that on the pox. That also makes it not itchy. If she keeps scratching put sox on her hands. Another thing is having her suck on Popsicles, if she has pox in her mouth that will help keep them at bay and not hurt. I wouldn't worry about food as long as she is drinking.
Ditto to the comments prior.
Also in the bath, Baking Soda, helps. You can make a paste to put on as well. This isn't perfect, but it's one more little thing to take a swing at the big itch.
You may also try Epsom Salt baths.
I've given my children ice cubes to rub on areas that itch like bug bites or poisen ivy so they don't scratch.
Bathe her with powdered oatmeal (use Aveeno or make you own wiht quick oats that you have put through your blender) and baking soda in the bath. Then when she is dried off, put calamine lotion all over where she is itchy. Give her Children's Motrin for her fever, studies have shown it is better at reducing fever than Tylonal. NEVER giver her asprin, it can cause Reye's syndrome which is very serious. Popcycles made with real fruit juice would be nice for her as well, a sore throat usually accompanies chicken pox. And watch her carefully for any signs of complications, skin infections caused by scratching are common. If she becomes confused, has a severe headache, seems too sleepy, has blurred vision, or sensitivity to light, take her to a doctor right away. I hope that your little girl feels better soon!
L.,
When my kids had chicken pox (almost 20 yrs ago) I found that keeping them in loose, light weight clothing (preferably cotton) helped, as well as numerous Aveno baths (available at any store). The Aveno seemed to 'calm down' the pox, and just the nice warm bath helped them to nap at least, if not sleep. Keeping their mind on other things helped too, maybe a favorite movie to watch?
Good luck!
S.
Hi L.,
So sorry to hear your little one has Chicken pox. I totally sympathize!! (I had them several years ago along with my son...NOT FUN!!) Calamine lotion is probably the best to deal with the itching, also a bath with baking soda in the water. (I used TONS of baking soda in my bath water...I think it helped to a point, but nothing is really going to take all the itch away!). As for the scratching part, have her wear gloves. At least then if she scratches the pox, she shouldn't do any damage. (Remember they scar if you scratch the scabs off!!) Good luck, hope she is feeling better really soon!!
Hi L.!
Calomine Lotion and Benadryl should help. You could also try AVEENO products. The oatmeal bath is soothing and healing and they also make a cream.
Hope this helps.
L.
HI, we went through the same thing. Our DR. gave us a prescription for Hydroxyzne HCL. It is an Antihistamine and it made all the difference. I would think over the count ones would work also. Good luck.
Try making a fairly thick solution of baking soda and water and squeeze a little from a wash cloth onto the bad pox. For ones she keeps scratching, make the same ingredients into a sort of paste and dab it on and leave it there. I had three kids with chicken pox one after the other...they were young teens...so the pox were the size of large grapes or small lemons...very painful when they are older, and still dangerous for them to scratch. You might have to resort to gloves at night, but the soda "bath" or "paste" seemed very soothing. M. B
Hi L.,
I can sympathise with you, and may be going throu this in a week or so with my 9 month old. (just found out his cousin has them) What I did with my other kids was to get an old nylon and make a mixture of oatmeal and a few tablespoons of baking soda with a couple of drops of lavender oil in it. tie the nylon up into a ball and just give it to the kids to play with in the tub. It will have a very creamy squishy goo that smells nice come out of it. Rub it all over her little body and let it stay gooey on her skin untill you rinse her off to get out. My kids stayed in tub for hours, I usually had to drain the water and refill the tub once or twice. I also had them just run around in there undies because clothes would itch them.
Good luck and I hope I don't have to join the party to soon.
Some Infant Benadryl will help ALOT. Also, if you have baking soda or some instant (quick, 1 minute) oats/oatmeal in the house you can run her a lukewarm bath to soak in. Put the baking soda or oatmeal in the run some warm water in the tub (hot for a minute on the oats) and let her crawl in.
The benadryl should work fairly well to keep the itching down and if your daughter is like me, the benadryl will knock her right out. She'll be able to sleep right through some if the itching. Not much else to be done, except to keep her from scratching the scabs.
It sounds like she may have a sever case, if her throat hursts and she doesn't want to eat. Thats sort of a good thing, she should now be immune. I know a family whose child got chicken pox 4 years in a row, before finally developing a severe case & becoming immune.
Good Luck, and it always seems that our kids handle these things better than we do, so hang in there
I love the Aveeno bath for calming down itchy chicken pox.
Warmly,
S. Mesh
Development Director
Cultural Care Au Pair - www.culturalcare.com
____@____.com
Hello L.,
Oatmeal baths usually help and you could do some more things like lavender in the bath but you have to make sure you are safe with it so call me I am a naturopath H. ###-###-####
You've already received good advice - the only thing I'd add is be careful using baking soda. Too much will irritate the skin of some people, and I know because I'm one of those people. It works great for others. Simply do a patch test (put some baking soda solution on her skin, wait 10 minutes to see if there's a reaction) before immersing your girl in a baking soda bath.
Oatmeal baths are also very soothing.
Calendula cream can also help with the itchies and with healing. Benadryl would also help with sleep.
