((( Chicken Pox..18 Month Old ))))

I would recommend you take her to the doctor and have him/her confirm it's chicken pox particularly if there is a fever. And especially since you don't know where she could have caught the pox. there are other diseases and medical problems that can come on suddenly with bumps.

It is probably not Chicken Pox, and, if it is, there is no way to tell yet. From the speed with which they appeared i would suspect hives, but, it is hard to tell without more information.

This web page has good information concerning childhood rashes, including when you need to be concerned and when you can ignore them. If, after reading it, you think the problem is hives, the recommended response is an antihistamine - also covered in this page.

http://www.askdrsears.com/html/8/T082900.asp

AS suggested below oatmeal bathes are great. If I remember right Aveeno sells oatmeal bath packets. Calamine lotion works well for itching too. Try to keep her out of itchy fabrics and snug fitting as the heat will cause her to itch. Best thing is let her run around in big sisters cotton tshirts and keep her diaper loose.
It probably is a good idea to notify her dr. I have never heard of meds to keep them from getting to bad, but if its out there its worth a try! Also they are 10 times worse in adults than children. So if any adult family members have not had it, they should get vaccinated immediately!!

Cool oatmeal baths...Aveeno makes some stuff that is good for the itching...also benedryl helps. At night try to get her to wear socks or mittens on her hands so she doesnt scratch.

Hopefully your 3 year old will catch them too, then you'll be immune and not have to worry about it. I'd love it if my son caught chicken pox. We don't vaccinate, most people do, so it's getting harder to catch them..

I'm pretty sure you can use anti-itch lotions on an 18 month old, but you might check with your pediatrician.

If you're positive that it's chicken pox you might consider having a chicken-pox party. There are a lot of people that would want to expose their children. Me included.

I shouldn't use benadryl on your 18 month old without asking your ped.
Your ped. should be notified and she should be seen
L

Call your pediatrician fast!!!! If this just happened, within 24 hrs, she maybe able to take a prescription that will limit the number of pox she gets. From the sounds of things, she's going to be covered from head to toe, and you don't want them to internalize, like up her nose, down her throught, or in her private parts as these are terribly uncomfortable. In the meantime, give her oatmeal baths, Aveeno or soda baths. Benadryl is usually for a histamine reaction and that's not what this is, so it may or may not help, you can try. Aloe might bring some relief.

As to where she got them, daycare, grocery store, etc. Your older daughter will probably come down with them as a result of her close contact with her little sister. Again, contact your pediatrician so when she does begin to break out you can give her the prescription to limit the number of pox. The ones on the face can scar and my daughter had them so bad, I swear she had pox on top of pox. All 3 of my kids and Dad ended up with them within the same 2 wk time period. I got Dad the prescription, because husbands can be bigger kids than kids. To complicate matters at that time, my Dad had lung cancer and this limited his ability to interact with the kids, so there were lots of phone calls and pictures being drawn between Poppa and the rugrats. Lucky me I had them when I was 5. However, I did get them again about 2 yrs after this round following a trip to Cincinnati. Aveeno, soda baths.... don't let her scratch them. Call the doctor. Best wishes for a speedy recovery!!

Hi,

Aveno makes this great oatmeal stuff that you put in a bath, works great. As for the benadryl, please keep in mind that calamine lotion is a topical benadryl, so don't give the oral with it. I used the calamine and the oatmeal baths. No scares as the kids didn't really itch much.

Congratulations! Let's hope the 3 year old catches them too. The innoculations are just pushing this infection out to adulthood, which is much worse than catching it as a youngster. As for who she caught them from? Could be someone at the park, they are contagious way before the outbreak of spots. Doesn't really matter. Try not to focus on how.

Calamine lotion, alovera, baking soda (make a paste using soda and just a bit of water until looks liquid, put on pimple), run around with a few clothes as possible. It will pass, I promise you.

Well, I guess that's one less shot she will need ;)
Chickenpox is almost always benign in children, you can give tylenol for fever. I would be hesitant on the benadryl. Its not approved for infants any longer and they do not print dosing instruction for children that young on the package any more. Call your ped for recommendations and dosing instructions before you try this.
Oatmeal baths may help with the itching too and keep on breastfeeding... your body will produce antibodies in response to coming in contact with the virus (especially if you've had chickenpox as a child or were vaccinated) and those will be passed through your breastmilk. You can even dab some breastmilk on her itchy spots for some relief.
BTW, chickenpox have an incubation period (the period between exposure and outbreak of the illness) of 10-20 days, so she could have picked it up pretty much anywhere in the last 3 weeks...
Good luck!

I feel your pain!!!! My children have not had the chicken pox but my little sis did when whe was 18 months. My mom was a single parent so I stayed home from school with her so my mom could work her jobs. She was so miserable and it was hard to watch. so sad!! Calamine lotion is great. Get a bottle of the and a ton of cotton balls. You can us it as needed and it will help dry the blisters. Baking soda baths will also help soothe the skin and dry the blisters. Also socks or mittins or gloves on the hands!! I know it may sound crazy but the little ones don't understand that they can't dig at the itchy spots so the socks or whatever still allow them to rub the spots but not rip at them opening them allowing them to ooze and spread and scar!! covering the little hands will also dercrease the chance of infections getting into the blisters. I however would call your childs doc office and let them know what you suspect is going on and take your little one in asap. They may have some great ointment for on the itchy. Calling them ahead of time will help them prepare for your arrival. If your clinic doesn't have weekend or after hours service or call center I would just call the local urgency care center and ask them what they recommend you do. The doc on call may want to see her to verify illness. I hope this helps and good luck!!

I am not a "all natural" freak, but there are some things that I think just aren't that bad and if we let nature take its course we would be just fine. Chicken Pox is one of them. I know it is completely a different story when you get Cp when you are older, but for children it’s a hassle, because they are so itchy but that is really it. They never have to worry about it again for the rest of their lives. Can they say the same thing for the vaccine? They just don't know if after twenty years they will be able to get Cp when at that age it's much more serious.
Anyways, I ended up having my first two children vaccinated for Cp because the school required it for them to attend. Had I had the opportunity I would have preferred them to get it naturally. So to make a long story short, I might be interested in getting together like they did in the old days and have a Chicken Pox party for my 22 month old twin boys. I will discuss it with my husband but we've talked about it before and would like to expose them to it, I want to make sure that his views have not changed. I also need to make sure that our Nanny has been exposed.

Where are you located, we are in Beaverton.

The advise my friend was given by her ped was if shes really scratchy put socks on her hands, even use a bit of tape to keep them there(obviously not to tight) so she doesnt scratch and leave permanet scars. Use calamine lotion and oatmeal baths. I believe at that age they can take zytrec for itching. But a call to ped or pharmacist could give you the best advise on the best anti itch medicine for your children.

Best of luck to you!!

My younger son caught it from his older brother and it didn't show up for about 2 weeks. Your 18 year old could have been exposed anywhere and you might not ever find out.

A homeopathic remedy that often works is "Rhus Tox", which is poison Ivy.It helped my children with the itching. Oatmeal baths are soothing too. You can buy oatmeal bath packets at a natural store often.

My older son had a milder case, while his younger brother had it more sever and in his diaper area too. Just holding him helped.

Calamine lotion should help too.

She could have gotten it from anywhere. It is most contagious before any signs of the illness appear, so it could have been anywhere you guy went about 10 days ago.

If she has been vaccinated for it, then the illness shouldn't be all that bad.
If she has not been vaccinated, then it will be very uncomfortable, but totally manageable. The easiest age to have chicken pox is between one year and 4 years old. The upside is that a child that gets the disease has way better immunity that will last a lifetime!

She will continue to get new spots over the next 10 days or so. Neither of your kids should leave the house until the last spot has scabbed over (about 2-3 weeks). You can give Benadryl, and dab spots with Calamine lotion. The best treatment is distraction! Sweating will make them itch more, so only dress her in 100% cotton (to absorb moisture) and keep her from direct sun and any outdoor activities that will make her sweat.

Sorry to hear she isn't feeling well. I've been through it with two children. Our pediatrician recommended Aveeno anti-itch lotion. A cool bath also was soothing, when you towel be sure to pat rather than rub her sensitive skin.

I'm no doc so I'm not sure this is a fact, but I've heard from other moms the younger they catch chicken pox the less severe it is, generally speaking. I hope it's true for her sake. Take good care.

gloves on her hands will prevent scarring from scratching and baking soda baths relieve the itching. the bath must be lukewarm not to raise body temperature.

BEnadryl, Calamine lotion, bath with baking soda
Distract her from itching.
When we got chicken pox as children it seemed you always knew one or two people you got it from.
I think my son had chicken pox earlier this summer at 6 mo and we have no idea where he got it from. My daughter never got sick, but she got vacinated at 1 yr.

Just a thought ... are you SURE they are chicken pox? Does she have a fever? Is she feeling overly ill in general? Do the bumps look like blisters? Are you sure she just didn't have some sort of allergic reaction to something where she developed hives or a rash? There are many rashes that can mimic chicken pox. My son had Fifth disease where he had a rash all over his torso, next and face.

Unless she has been in contact with someone who was either in the contagious stage of having varicella (chicken pox), it is not likely she contracted it. I would definitely go see your pediatrician as soon as possible either way.

Good luck to you!