Now that we’re at the end of pox
I thought I’d write up how it went for the curious. Frankly when all is said and done, it was not as bad as I thought it would be. I think we got lucky cases of it though. Both kids had a couple of bad days, Madison’s being worse than Noah’s. Noah had a mild fever for two evenings and one day if discomfort but all in all it went pretty easy with him. He only had a week of being broken out and Madison looks to be following his example since she started showing up with them on Saturday and I think by the end of this weekend she’ll be free to mingle with the rest of the world.
Madison did have it worse, which I hear is typical (the first kid to get it usually has a mild case, my mom says, with subsequent children getting it worse). She had one night with a high fever although I’m not sure how high. We rarely take temperatures around here but she was very hot. Her breathing stayed even and she was sleeping fine so we didn’t do any treatment around it. That brings me to another concern with chicken pox and it was something I didn’t find until I dug around. You are NOT supposed to treat chicken pox with any kind of fever-reducers like ibuprofen or Tylenol. Madison is nagging at me so I don’t have time to look up the references but if you are choosing to catch wild chicken pox, I would talk to your doctor about this.
So anyway, one night of high fever and then a low-grade temp the next day. This was right when she was first breaking out.
She had one night of wicked itchiness, which kept her up. We bought Benadryl the next day but she never complained much again so we didn’t end up giving it to her.
Had I to do it over again I would still likely catch them in the wild but in the midst of it when their perfect little faces were breaking out, I would have told you differently. So do what you will with the best information you have.
Fever reducers can be iffy. A fever is the body’s natural defense mechanism for warding off bugs and the temp rise indicates that white-blood cells are increasing to help fight off an infection. Lowering the body temp prematurely with a fever reducer can lengthen an illness, even if it doesn’t necessarily make it worse. I usually don’t give anything for a low-grade fever as long as my son is sleeping and breathing well, just as you said; and I make sure to keep him very well hydrated (fevers will dehydrate a little body very quickly).
I’m glad everyone’s rounding the corner on the pox. Hopefully, you have some good pixs to keep in their baby books.
I thought it was only aspirin that was off-limits during chicken pox? Apart from DD’s more global point about the functionality of a fever, I mean.
Like MomVee, I only thought you couldn’t take aspirin.
I am looking for a chicken pox party this spring - I only have one kid left to catch them in the wild.
Thanks Dawn,
We’re definitely planning on wild, at least if he gets it pre-puberty, so it’s good to know about the fever reduces. Until late last year it wasn’t even on the standard vaccination schedule here, and at (I’m told) $500 a pop - most of the kids we know haven’t had it (I’m guessing their younger siblings will have it, since it’s now free at 18 months).
On the other hand I’m not sure about the party - on the one hand I see the point (especially if it’s at a convenient time) and on the other hand if they ended up with a really bad case… yeah, we’ll see. So far we’ve known two people who’ve had it since Liam was born, and didn’t even think of it, but as he gets older I guess we’ll know more.
Glad you all came through it. I don’t use ibuprofen anymore - period. To many iffy’s about it, even per our stupid FDA. I am forced to use a prescribed version - but won’t even keep advil in the house any longer.
Whew - glad I am not the only home that rarely takes *temps*