Still, in a "Murphy's Law" kind of way, we do seem to encounter special problems right as we are getting ready for teams, or while they are visiting. We have a team coming in this weekend.
So this morning, Boo came to show me her "itchy bumps." We often get these bumps after spending a day out on our property. They can be like poison ivy, and sometimes they seem to be bug bite related. I was unconcerned, until Rachel said, "Look how many she has! It's like she has the chicken pox or something!"
Then it hit me. Two weeks ago, Kirstin and Bethany spent a day working at a local orphanage. A few days later, that orphanage was hit with an outbreak of chicken pox.
Boo had the vaccine when she was a baby, but the dates (chicken pox has a two week incubation period), and the ever-increasing number of itchy spots all over Boo have convinced me. This is a case of in-spite-of-the-shot chicken pox.
A friend in Virginia (the state, not the city of Virginia Lempira) just informed me that there has been quite an outbreak in her area of chicken pox which hits in spite of the child's having been vaccinated. Her son's entire cub scout pack got them.
I've called our incoming team, and warned them of our contagious condition. Since all of the team members are adults, we are hoping to hear that they have all already had the chicken pox, and this will not affect their trip, and also that Boo and David will be able to visit with them during their stay.
Since David was 14 months old when he came to us, we don't know if he has had the chicken pox or not - but we are assuming at this point that he will break out in "itchy bumps" two weeks from now.
6 comments:
I got chicken pox while in high school, they were definitely itchy. Unfortunately, I did not leave them alone and have a few spots as evidence. :)
Hi Trish, "Dr. Bob" here from the dec 2007 team. It's chicken pox if she also had a fever or other viral symptoms as a start. also look for little white dots on top of the spots. that is a more classical picture... hope all is well otherwise - God Bless
Are you still contagious once the rash shows up? I thought you weren't but I'm not a Dr nor have I ever had them. Apparently my sister and I are immune (without the vaccine we never got them..or at least the rash). Our ped. told us our kids could still get them just a less severe reaction than they would if they didn't have the vaccine. Best wishes for a great time with your team with as few stresses as possible!
Hi Food and Field, and welcome to my blog! I am hoping to convince Boo to at least leave the ones on her face alone. So far, she has been doing a good job of not scratching, but she is definitely complaining about the itchiness!
Hey Bob, thanks for the info. She didn't have a fever that I know of, but the spots look right. All else is well here, at least so far . . .
Rachel, I also am under the impression that the contagious period is before the rash appears. That means that Boo wouldn't be contagious, but we don't know about David. Anyway, this team is visiting schools every day, and I really don't want to do anything that would potentially spread chicken pox throughout the schools.
Hey Trish-
If they are chicken pox, they should be a bit milder than if she did not get the vaccine, but she will be contagious until the last spot has broken out and scabbed over. There are some rahes that are no longer contagious after you break out, but Chicken pox is not one of them.
Poor Boo, do you have some benadryl for her?
Jane McSweeney
New Grace--Orange Park
My nephew got the pox at 7 after being immunized for them. When I brought the kids in for the checkups before we moved to Honduras the doctors recommended another booster pox shot because they were now finding that pox immunizations aren't lasting.
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