Help, I have Chicken Pox! Update Post #25

[#1MMFan]

If you get some calamine lotion, be sparing with it. Try not to get it right on the open sores, because it works its way into your blood, and that's not a great thing.

Stay cool. Keep the temperature down. That's supposed to help you get less of 'em.

Don't scratch. Try pushing on the itchy area instead...easier said than done, I know. If you can stand it, wear mittens or socks on your hands while you sleep, so that you won't scratch in your sleep. A lttle benadryl might help with the itching.

Wash your sheets every day and change your clothes at least daily.

You are contagious from the day before they show up to 6 days after the first bunch shows up...crusts should be forming by then.

People who are immunocomprimised are at higher risk for reactivation of the varicella-zoster virus. Varicella is chicken pox, herpes zoster is shingles.

You should be all better before your trip, but chicken pox can get ugly sometimes with grown ups. Women have had them in their ******s, in their throats, etc. If your throat starts itching, call the doc and tell them right away.

Hope you feel all better soon...and have a great trip!

I think the more important point (not mentioned) is if you develop a cough/wheeze/chestiness/ etc you should get checked because Varicella Pneumonitis is often fatal.

 

[dmslush]

How are you feeling this morning?

 

[brandip22]

Also wondering how you are feeling. My DS just developed some spots on his face this AM and is running fever, cough, runny nose, etc. I am praying it is not CP as I am pregnant and we are suppose to go to WDW on Saturday!! I have been researching and I think you have plenty of time to be OK before your trip. Good luck and keep us posted!

 

[trip]

Hope that you are feeling better today. I've got my fingers crossed that your 2 1/2 yr old daughter doesn't get them. I think the incubation period runs 10-20 days.

 

[Jessd]

Thanks for everyone asking how I am. I am absolutely miserable. My face is so swollen it is throbbing. I would rather have a baby with no drugs than this.

I just got back from the doc. It is a very advanced case of the Chicken Pox/Shingles I guess based on my age, I am 33. I never had them when I was little and was never immunized. He gave me two different kinds of antibiotics. If there is any change at all, he said to go to the hospital immediately. My eyes are swollen and one of them was so swollen I could only open it 1/2 way last night. He is worried about Encephalitis if my eye swelling does not go down.

It is downright agony to walk, I have them on my hands, the bottom of my feet, everywhere you can think of.

My older son got them about 1 1/2 weeks ago, so since my other two were exposed to them already, hopefully they won't get them since they don't show any signs.

I looked at myself in the mirror in the car and started crying. I look like a monster. Then when my little girl saw me she ran.

 

[Virgo10]

Oh I am so sorry. Just a gentle Please take it as easy as you can.

Hope you're feeling MUCH better soon.

 

[Maleficent13]

Oh... to you. I am so sorry.

 

[mickeyboat]

My goodness. I hope you are feeling better soon.

Denae

 

[phorsenuf]

I had them when I was 20 and I have never been so sick in my life! One suggestion to you that helped was I put corn starch on my sheets. That was more soothing that have jammies rubbing up against me.
Good luck, I hope you feel better soon!

 

[luvwinnie]

Oh, you poor thing!! Hoping you feel better soon. Hope your mom is fine. I know how hard dialysis is.

 

[alliecats]

You actually have to have the Zoster virus in you (i.e. previous exposure) to develop shingles. In layman's terms, you have to have had chicken pox at some time (you may not recall if you were very young, I suppose) to develop shingles later in life.

Yup. She had the pox as a little girl. My point was, being around someone else's chicken pox woke the virus up in her -- or whatever you want to say --it triggered her shingles. Her doctor told her that was not possible, but it makes perfect sense to me (and apparently a bunch of other people have had that experience as well!)

ETA: OP, I am SO sorry you are so miserable. That sounds like agony. I hope it passes swiftly. Mental hugs (those don't hurt!)!!

 

[luvwinnie]

How are you feeling today?

 

[Jessd]

I am feeling better today, went to the ER last night. I was dehydrated, they had a hard time putting in an iv and drawing blood. They gave me something for the pain and sent me home. I slept last night for the first time since Friday.

Some of them are starting to crust over, hopefully in a couple of days I won't be contagious anymore. I still have a fever, but feel a little better.

 

[luvwinnie]

Glad you went and got treatment. Hope you continue to improve!

 

[aprilgail2]

How are you doing now???
Here is some shingles info I found...
Shingles
Shingles is a disease caused by the same virus that causes chickenpox. After you have had chickenpox, the chickenpox virus remains inactive in your body in certain nerves. If the virus does become active again, usually later in life, it causes shingles.
Key Facts About Shingles
Shingles, also called herpes zoster (HZ), can be a painful disease that can affect anyone who has had chickenpox.
It can start at any time, without warning.
The first signs of shingles are often felt and may not be seen. These can include: itching, tingling and burning. A few days later a rash of fluid-filled blisters appears, usually on one side of the body or face.


Sometimes the pain before the rash appears can be confused with other conditions and this can make shingles difficult to diagnose early on.

 

[luvwinnie]

How are you feeling today?

 

[Maleficent13]

Also wondering about the OP. Hope you're feeling better today.

 

[#1MMFan]

Thanks for everyone asking how I am. I am absolutely miserable. My face is so swollen it is throbbing. I would rather have a baby with no drugs than this.

I just got back from the doc. It is a very advanced case of the Chicken Pox/Shingles I guess based on my age, I am 33. I never had them when I was little and was never immunized. He gave me two different kinds of antibiotics. If there is any change at all, he said to go to the hospital immediately. My eyes are swollen and one of them was so swollen I could only open it 1/2 way last night. He is worried about Encephalitis if my eye swelling does not go down.

It is downright agony to walk, I have them on my hands, the bottom of my feet, everywhere you can think of.

My older son got them about 1 1/2 weeks ago, so since my other two were exposed to them already, hopefully they won't get them since they don't show any signs.

I looked at myself in the mirror in the car and started crying. I look like a monster. Then when my little girl saw me she ran.

That's a shame. I feel for you.

Your doc will have given you anti-virals, not antibiotics. Also it must be chickenpox, not shingles, as shingles only follows one or two nerve areas, so they won't be all over the body. Primarily, shingles almost never affect both sides of the body because of this fact. Yes, it is however the same virus.

I guess the other poster's experience of chickenpox in someone else "waking up" the zoster virus in another is anecdotal and of course would be very difficult to study. However, what exact mechanism are they suggesting "wakes the virus up"? If anything, I would have thought exposure to the antigen (the chickenpox virus) in another, would stimulate the immune system ultra-quickly to prevent re-infection or re-activation. That would be my medical thoughts on it, but I'm just hypothesising.

 

[Jessd]

Hi!

I am feeling better now. Thankfully, nobody else has gotten the Chicken Pox at home. It has been a miserable week, but they are starting to go away. I need some good cover up makeup, I don't usually wear makeup so I need to find something that will really work. I can't go back to work until Wednesday because I had to start FMLA and the doctor can't see me until Tuesday afternoon.

We leave for WDW in 17 days! I have been out of commission for a week already, I need to start getting my packing list together. So much to do, so little time.

 

[luvwinnie]

Glad you are doing better!