Chickenpox or Not?

My second grader got them in 1st grade. She had 2 chicken pox shots. A friend of a friend had them and that was it she caught them. They looked like blisters, but not big like you and I might of had them. They did not itch or bother her, but they did, too, start on her chest and spread to her back (just a few) and a handfull on her legs. Not very many of them though...
She missed a week of school, because it took awhile for them to go away.. because they weren't scabbing up like mine did. and i have 2 younger children who did not get them who only had 1 shot of the immunization..

Whatever.. it wasn't nearly as bad as I remember it, so I am thankful of that.

CB

It very well could be chickenpox and I would definitely be looking for another doctor! When you have an immunization it actually gives you a very mild case of whatever illness you're vaccinating against. like the flu shot will give you a MILD case of the flu so that you build up antibodies to fight off a severe case. He probably has a mild case of chickenpox and I would treat the spots with calamine lotion and give him some benadryl.

I just wanted to mention 2 things based on what advice you have already received. 1 is Reyes Syndrome is caused by Aspirin, Ibprofuen is fine for children (in fact pediatricians prefer it but sometimes it is not as well tolerated as Tylenol). 2 is my son's pediatrician said that it's best to use straight hydrocortisone ointment rather than benadryl ointment because apparently the benadryl ointment can sometimes cause children to have a reaction which can make them not be able to take benadryl later for allergic reactions.

Other than that I know that my son's pediatrician has said that usually chicken pox and similar infections spread. As well, chicken pox will go through a cycle where they are filled with some fluid, then they pop and crust over. Whether it is a mild case or a full out case if its chicken pox it should go through this process.

My daughter (2 years 4 months) got an isolated case of the chickenpox. She is in daycare and nobody else had it. It was only on her arms and legs....she had no fever and acted normal the entire time. I thought they were bug bites, but the daycare Director recognized them and we had her checked by the pediatrician. The daycare Director's son had the exact same thing the previous year (no fever, mild and isolated case). She only had about 16 pox. A few on Monday, a few more Tuesday, the maximum amt. on Wed. and all dried up by Friday. They were not itchy either. Apparently the mild case is quite common after a child has been previously vaccinated.

wow a lot of responses, I didn't read all of them, but I didn't see anyone mention Strep throat... fever, sore throat and rash are three symptoms... just a possibility...

It's probably the vaccination. This is the reason that a lot of adverse reactions to vaccinations never get reported. The doctors rarely admit that unexpected symptoms following vaccinations are caused by the vaccine. The fact that the symptoms are similar to chickpox makes it even more likely. The pediatrician's fungus theory sounds silly, considering the circumstances.

I've had the chicken pox and what you're describing were my exact symptoms.

Hi J.,

This definitely sounds like chicken pox and I would see your regular pediatrician. Remember, if your pediatrician is young, they may not even know what it looks like. I've never heard of a fungus to cause fever or a sore throat so you definitely need to get your child seen again by an EXPERIENCED doctor. So many pediatricians work part-time because they have other commitments and their experience is really lacking. Whatever you do, don't send your child back to preschool until this has been positively diagnosed. Chicken pox is still carried by many people who come from other countries where vaccination is not part of the overall public health plan and it can be transferred by shopping cart, playground, etc. Also, not all vaccinations take. When my husband was in college at Dartmouth there was a chicken pox outbreak and many people were infected despite being immunized.

Ask another pediatrician.

J.
You have gotten alot of advice, your pediatrician can culture the fluid in the 'bites' for varicella and determine the cause. However this can be really expensive and you would treat it the same. Use hydrocortisone cream and cover the area. He is not contageous if the area is covered and it will go away.

A.

Sure sounds like the chickenpox to me. I've had five sons who came down with the ailment (years ago, before the vaccine) and the symptoms you describe are virtually identical to theirs.

Vaccines do not give real immunity to a disease. They can sometimes cause the disease but it may happen differently than if a child caught it naturally. Your son may be having a chicken pox breakout. I would take him to a different pediatrician for a diagnosis. The ped. who administered the vaccine is not going to want to admit that it may not have worked. But the truth is - they don't always work and the actual disease is not that bad. You have life long immunity if you catch it once.

well hunny i dont know if it is or not but comple times my dother had something like that but it came up with fever first she god little like a cold sick and then her tomy and back was covered with tha little spots.. so maybe just maybe its because of fever. but if she dint had fever befor tha spots i dont know then....

good luck i hope you kid gonn feel beter

My daughter had a rash like that with a fever and our pediatrician told us it was Roseola. You might want to check to see if that is what it is.

Hi J.,
My twin daughters recently had a bout of Hand Foot and Mouth disease. Sounds much worse than it is. No one had spots on their tummy. However, they did experience a sore throat and little red, non-itchy, spots on their hands and feet. Each child did have different symptoms. The one thing to look at is the mouth. Look for soars on the gums and on the tongue and near the opening of the throat. We caught this from our preschool and it is very contagious. It's going around the city of Santa Cruz.
Who knows what it could be but thought I'd give insight to our latest experience of the mysterious red spots.
Take Care,
C.

Hi I have a couple of ideas on this, first of all even though you are vaccinated it is possible to get a slight case of chicken pox. However if it is not spreading it is unlikely the the case. Probably what your Dr. is thinking. My son has had the fungle rash and it is slow to spread and although his was smaller than chicken pox, I can see a resemblance. I think he got it from playing in a fountain. Their is a skin condition I think its viral, called molescum, I am not sure how to spell it. It will stay in one spot and when they blister up, looks like pox, & then they will pop and go away. However if scratched they can spread. It is contagious. Many people will say its not. In fact I have had Dr's. disagree on this. It may not be easy to spread but it can, especially when sharing towls and clothing and things. Fever is not a symptom of this, but it is possible to have two seperate things going on at once though. My last idea is West nile. Don't worry it's not as bad as the media Hyped it up to be. My son has it. He got it when he was two. He is fine. We thought, & the nurse, & the Er Dr. all thought it was chicken pox. My ped was unsure. It was totally reacting like chicken pox. It looked just like chicken pox with the fever and all, but when we gave him a cool bath to bring the fever down it calmed the rash. Chickenpox wouldn't do this. On a hunch my husband requested a west nile test and sure enough it came back positive a second test a couple weeks later confirmed it. He was sick for about a week and a half at home. We kept him comfy and treated it the same as you would the flu. It was alot like the flu, clamy, sore throat, cough, fever, chills, lethargic, but with a rash. He did get a shot at my peds I can't recall what it was but I think it was antibiotics to boost his immune system or something. Its been a year and a half and we have not had any other issues with this. It is not what the media made it out to be. In fact it is so much like the flu that I bet tons of us have it and don't know it. I hope I haven't added to your stress these are just ideas. I know how frustrating it can be. Trust in your gut feeling it is usually right. I wish you and your little guy the best.

~L.

A little about me I am a work at home mom, muralist, two amazing kids 3 and 9. I love home decorating and thrift shopping too! It's amazing what a little paint can do.

It's probably chicken pox.

About 1% of people who receive the vaccination will still get it. It will be a very mild case, and likely localized to one spot -- like his tummy. Chicken pox is the weirdo of the childhood diseases -- you can also get it twice (if you have not been vaccinated).

Keep an eye on it, but if he's getting better -- the fever is gone, he's feeling a bit better -- then you're good. Be glad he got it now -- he has sufficient antibodies so as to stave off an outbreak later in life.

Best,

J.

My daughter had the chicken pox vaccine when she was 1 yr. and got the chicken pox. Her ped. said it was a mild case and she might get CP anyway. Then when it was time for the boost at 6 yr., the ped decided not to give it to her because she would most likely get the CP again and school was just starting. I didn't want either of us missing the fire 10 days of school. I spoke with her old Ped (We've moved from the LA area to bay area.) and she said they are not even recommending the CP vaccine. It's better to get CP than grow up and get shingles.
Therefore, there will be no booster in this house.

Same goes for flu shots. Every time I get one, I get the flu with in a wk.

S

It could be chickenpox even having gotten the vaccination. My son was 3 when he came down with a very mild version. He only had about 10-15 pox mosty on his torso with a couple on his arm and legs. The tell tale sign of chicken pox is a water blister on the spot. I think he did have a fever during that time as well. I was actually kind of glad he got it because now he has a natural immunity and will never have to get the booster shot. I would look at the spots closely and if you sign any sign of water blistering then its definitely chicken pox.

my son had spots on his belly and back that i thought may have been some sort of fungus. took him to the doctor and they said it was roseola.

IT'S ROSEOLLA (SP?)!! The fever hits first and can last several hours to a couple days, then the rash is on the belly and thighs and usually doesn't spread more, it doesn't itch or scab or anything and usually is gone in a day or so. My son has had it a few times! If the rash continues or pusses or scabs then it's something more. Good luck!

If he doesn't have any breaking out on his head it's probably not chicken pox. If he's itchy, at least get him a topical solution, or a doctor can prescribe an oral one, or both. Seek a second opinion if not sure.

Dear J.,
My daughter got a very mild case of chicken pox when she was really little. Because it was such a mild case, the pediatrician said there was a good chance she could get it again.
She was 6 and woke up one morning with spots all over her. I knew it was chicken pox, but took her to the doctor to have her checked. She was itching like crazy. He said it was chicken pox and to give her benadryl for the itching, keep her out of school until the blisters were gone, etc.
I took her home, gave her benadryl, made a paste of baking soda and smeared some of that on her and wrapped her in a cool sheet. We knuckled down the for long haul because the poor kid was COVERED.
The next morning she got up and there wasn't a single bump or spot on her. Not one. I was befuddled. I called the doctor and he said that it must have been hives.
She never did get chicken pox again, but she had hives several more times every now and then. Benadryl helped with the itching and then they would just go away.
So, it's hard telling exactly what's going on with your little guy. He could be getting a rash from running a fever. That is not at all uncommon. Try to get his fever down and keep him comfortable.

Best wishes!

Kids can get rashes or areas of raised bumps. One of my daughter's has pretty sensitive skin and this has happened often. Chicken pox will be extremely itchy and the bumps will changed and they are pretty big - 1/4 inch wide, perhaps. I don't think they would occur in a single area only. I had chicken pox and the sores are nothing like a rash. Good-luck.

My daughter a year ago got the chickenpox. She too had the shot and they still came. Not too bad and were mostly on her stomache and back. She has also gotten a fungas infection from our hot tub. The doctor said that sometimes they could get it from the bath as well. Keep us posted on his condition.

My daughter also had a mild outbreak with the CP vaccine at 1 yrs. She screamed through our entire finalization hearing (We thought she was just tired). Then 3 days later she had an isolated pimply rash and spiked a fever for a couple of days. When we mentioned it to her pediatrician, he said it was not uncommon to react to the vaccine with a mild outbreak.

Could be-don't rule it out. My oldest daughter was also vaccinated, but later came down with spots/fever. A call to our pediatric nurse confirmed our suspicion. She said that sometimes a child will still come down with chicken pox, but it will be a much milder case after the vaccine. Best wishes--

My nephew had something similar on his tummy that he later spread to his bottom because he would pick at it. Him and my daughter took baths together and she now has the same spots on her bottom and on her neck. The doctor said it is a bacterial infection that I can not remember the name but it is common in children under 6 and that it could possibly last up to 18 months and that we didn’t need to worry about it unless it got worse or she started complaining a lot. The Dr. also said that it is easily contagious and all he had to do was come in contact with another child that had the fungus either directly or indirectly like share a toy.

Our almost 2yr old has also had the vaccination, and I think she had a mild case of CP, too! Hers started on her face and made their way down her body to her feet - the natural progression for CP. She only had about 50-75 red bumps which seems mild for CP but I credit that to teh vaccination. I assume was The dr said it may have been a reaction to the MMR vaccination, but I would sware it was CP. She also had fever for 24 hours, but didn't seem to have a sore throat. There was another kid in her preschool that had CP but was on the otehr side of the school. Plus, no other kids in her class got them. This is all very strange...

Hi J.,
Boy you sure have gotten a lot of different responses! Here's the bottom line. It really doesn't matter if it's chicken pox, roseolla or whatever. Almost everything children get ends up being viral in nature, in which case antibiotics don't do anything and there's nothing to fix it except let it run its course. You can use Benadryl or hydrocortisone cream or whatever you choose if it itches, Tylenol for any fever of 101 or greater and just watch and wait. By the way, there is no rule anywhere that says if it's chicken pox it only shows up certain places, or has to show up in other places. They show up where they show up. Please don't rush off to the doctor unless your child has a temperature you can't control with Tylenol, stops eating and drinking altogether or shows signs of dehydration like no urine, no tears, sunken eyes etc. Fungal infections do not cause fever/sore throat/headache. You can get a mild case of chicken pox even after the vaccine, and it can show up anywhere on your body. The only treatment is comfort measures, such as keeping the fever down and the headache away with Tylenol, controlling the itch with Benadryl or hydrocortisone cream, lots of fluids and wait. Also, Rye's Syndrome is caused by NSAIDS such as Advil/Motrin/ibuprofen, NOT by Tylenol, so don't get freaked out about that. You may never know what it is exactly, but it just doesn't matter. The treatment remains the same. Take care and good luck.

http://www.generationrescue.org/vaccines.html

http://www.vacinfo.org/default.asp

http://www.novaccine.com/specific-vaccines/vaccine.asp?v_...

Love, G.. :0)
http://stemcellforautism.blogspot.com/

"I know of nobody who is purely Autistic or purely neurotypical. Even God had some Autistic moments, which is why the planets all spin." ~ Jerry Newport

I am sure it's a reaction to the vacine. Try baking soda baths or corn starch baths. I see it all the time in first grade. It doesnt spread like real CP though, if it does get back to doc.

My children had something very similar that they picked up at their preeschool. It is viral and has no great treatment. It is called (and I am probably not spelling this correctly) mulluscum. They get large, pimple like bumps mainly around the trunk or neck area. Before they the go away they become very inflamed and sometimes break open. They are also quite spreadable. My three children have all had them over a period of two years.

It sounds like chicken pox to me...maybe a mild case. I know that they can get them after having the vaccination.
Maybe get a second opinion.

My children were all vaccinated for Whooping cough, but when I contracted it, they all got a slight case of it.

My daughter had an itchy red bumpy rash around her belly (button area) , it turned out she was allergic to the knickel in the snap of her clothes.

It could be poison oak. Everytime my son gets poison oak he gets a fever and a sore throat, usually ends up with tonsilitis due to the poison oak. You can try some cortizone cream if his spots are itchy and childrens motrin for the fever and sore throat. Good Luck!

Could it possibly be the rash Roseola? That is a rash on the tummy, but it usually follows a couple days of high fever first. My daughter had that and it cleared on its own after a few days. My daughter had chicken pox at 9 months, before being given the vaccine. And they were everywhere! I don't know what they would look like on a child that had already had the vaccine.
Good luck.

It is chickenpox-a mild form. In getting the immunization, he received a small amount of the chicken pox strain. this is not uncommon and I am very surprised that your Dr. didn't tell you this.
To make him feel better you could go to your local health food store and get some lysine cream to put on the spots.
As for other hobbies, I love making the fleece tied blankets. It is a fun, very quick thing to do. You get satisfaction quickly. and with 2 children at home, I am sure your time is limited.
I am a Dr. of Natural Health and own a health food store and I often see what is happening with your son.
If you have any other questions, you are welcome to email be back.

I had the exact same thing happen! My 3 year old was immunized when he was around 1 and then my 1 year old had just been recently immunized and about a week later I saw spots on my 3 year old's belly and it definitely looked like chickenpox. When I called the advice nurse she assured me that my 3 year old didn't get chickenpox from the 1 year old who was recently vaccinated and she seemed to think it was unlikely that he had chickenpox himself. I waited 2 days and they didn't get better so went to the dr. He didn't have a fever or feel icky which I think is usually associated with chicken pox. He felt totally fine and the bumps didn't itch. She diagnosed him with folliculitis (and also mentioned that some people get this from hot tubs so I'm thinking your dr was talking about the same thing). My son doesn't go in hot tubs but if you google folliculitis you'll see that it is from a common bacteria and if he goes to preschool he could definitely pick it up there. It is a bacterial infection of the hair follicle and is pretty common. If it isn't bad they don't do anything but my son's was pretty bad so she prescribed antibiotics which cleared it right up. It then came back again about a week later (we weren't super consistent with the antibiotics because we kept forgetting to bring it to preschool because he had to take it 3 times a day). She then prescribed an antibiotic cream which worked overnight. I am not one to jump on the antibiotic bandwagon when it isn't warranted but if it is folliculitis the antibiotics will clear it up quickly. I just reread your post and saw that your son does have a fever so maybe it is different than my son's issue but anyway I thought I'd throw in another possibility for you. My dr was sure it wasn't chicken pox because of the way the bumps looked - they weren't crusting over. Good luck!

It might be a viral rash. This spring my son had cold symptoms with a rash that started on his mid section. The pediatrician explained that it was his immune system's response to the virus he had. The treatment was benadryl/calamine lotion. I'd recommend seeking a second opinion esp if it gets worse.

Hi J., this happened to my daughter in August. It could be Pityraisis Rosea, it has the appearance of Chicken pox and is non contagious and can last up to 6 weeks. It is viral and really there is nothing to get rid of it. If your son still has this for a week, I would suggest taking him to a pediatric dermatologist, that was the only way we got a proper diagnosis as our ped wasnt sure if it was chicken pox or not either. You can look up Pityraisis Rosea on the internet. They post pictures as well as what it looks like. Good luck! I know how frustrating this can be.

I have read that the vaccine is not all that effective and can spread shingles to older people with contact. It certainly seems possible that he could have it. No vaccine is 100% and many of them are found to be more or less ineffective. Pharmaceutical companies often publish skewed results to their testing, so comparing results in medical journals like JAMA NEJM will give you a better idea of what works and what doesn't. Doctors often don't even know the real results because they are briefed by Big Pharma: given literature and samples, and then they rarely read the independent testing. With something like chicken pox it's actually better to just get the virus so as to develop real immunity. It isn't life threatening unless you give Tylenol to a kid, which can produce something called Rye's Syndrome. The vaccine has problems, so chicken pox, on balance, is a safer bet I think. But to answer your question: yes it could be, but it might also be something else.