Chickenpox in children and pregnant women

How to spot chickenpox
Chickenpox has an incubation period of about 20 days so a child may have the disease long before the tell-tale spots appear.
Firstly the child may have a temperature or a headache or simply seem a bit groggy. Then the spots begin to appear, usually on a child's torso (the trunk of their body) before spreading to arms and legs, face, scalp and pretty much everywhere else, even inside the mouth or bottom in some cases.
The spots are like little blisters which weep pus containing the virus. The spots eventually scab over.

When your child has chickenpox
Apart from feeling hot or just a bit droopy, a child will hatch more spots each day for about three or four days.
These look like little blisters and will scab over quite quickly. However, they will be very itchy.
Try to keep your child comfortable with loose clothing. Pyjamas and a rest on the sofa or with a few untaxing books in bed will probably help.
Although chickenpox are very itchy, they can leave scars if they are scratched off so try to ease the irritation with calamine lotion. This does not cost very much and you can buy it at any chemist without prescription. If your child hates being touched because of the discomfort, buy a spray (like the empty bottles you can buy from places like The Body Shop) and put your lotion into that, then spray your child regularly.
Make sure your child does not have dirty hands or fingernails in case scratching infects the spots.
You don't have to see your GP because they can do little to bring the illness to a swifter conclusion. Some people like to just call their doctor to let them know their child has the illness but it is up to the surgery whether or not they feel they need to see the patient.
In the case of any person who has an existing condition which might make any illness a concern, then let the GP know straight away.
If there is redness and/or a continued or recurrent high temperature, the spots could be infected and there can be potential serious complications. In this instance do call the doctor urgently.

When a baby has chickenpox
Again your baby may just feel out of sorts and sometimes you find a baby is less inclined to scratch. When your child is less than one year old, it is worth calling the doctor to let them know your baby has or is suspected to have chickenpox.
Make sure you use calamine lotion without getting any near the babies eyes or mouth, as they will not be able to instinctively shield themselves as a child would.
Some people believe that the younger child is, the less severe the bout of chickenpox they will suffer. However this is not necessarily true, one child of any age might get a more severe crop of spots than another child.
Whenever your baby is ill, do keep an eye on their temperature as they can suffer from overheating. Keep them cool and comfortable and use baby medicines like Calpol or Nurofen For Children if you feel you need to. Do ask your pharmacist for guidance if you have questions. Most drugs like this are unsuitable below three months.

When is chickenpox infectious?
The period when your child is infectious runs from two days before the spots appear to the time when the spots have dried up and scabbed over.
The time your child picks up the infection to the time the symptoms appear (called the 'incubation period') can be between two and three weeks. Obviously you will not know for some time that your child is carrying the illness, but once it appears, do let other parents and friends know as they may have children they would prefer not to be exposed to the illness.
Children who attend nursery, playgroups or school should not be allowed to return until the spots have fully scabbed over and dried up as they are infectious before then. At most this period between the appearance of the spots and them drying up is likely to be about five days.
It is good practice to let your other friends and work colleagues know, in case they have been exposed to the child or someone else who might now be carrying the illness. You might not realise that someone you know is in the early stages of pregnancy so it is worth tactfully mentioing it to everyone. Other adults, grandparents for example, who have not had chickenpox, can catch the disease from your child and in older people it can be more severe than it usually is in infants.
Once a child has had chickenpox, the virus is dormant, although it can cause shingles later in life.

Chickenpox and pregnancy
Because chickenpox is such a common childhood illness, most women will already have experienced the illness long before their pregnancy years, and are not likely to catch it from a child when they are expecting.
If you have not had chickenpox before and are pregnant, and believe you might have been exposed to the disease, contact your GP immediately, as it can have serious implications for your own health (in very extreme cases it can kill because it can lead to pneumonia). Plus it can affect your unborn baby.
If you have had chickenpox before you are unlikely to suffer at all. However, in adults, the dormant virus can then trigger shingles. These are uncomfortable but are not considered to be a risk to pregnancy.
If you get chickenpox in the first half of your pregnancy (before 20 weeks), your child may suffer long-term physical complications such as brain damage or eye problems but this is thought to occur in only about 2 per cent of cases.
If the pregnancy is more advanced it might mean the baby has chickenpox in the womb and this can cause shingles in the first months of life but is not likely to cause long-term damage.
It is not advisable to have a chickenpox vaccination once you are pregnant, but you should contact your doctor as soon as possible if you are worried, because a simple blood test can determine if you already have antibodies to chickenpox (as the vast majority of women do).
A GP can also provide other anti-viral drugs during pregnancy to control the condition. Swift action makes a big difference.