Chicken Pox Dots

Well, unfortunately, it appears that Miss Makela has come down with a case of chicken pox. A very mild case, but it seems to fit all the symptoms nonetheless.

The nurse I talked to on Sunday said that the most telling sign of it being chicken pox would be the appearance of new spots for the next 4-5 days. The spots would all look different, b/c they would be in varying stages. Sure enough, yesterday I found one new spot almost on top the very first one, plus several on her left ear and hairline under that ear. AND yes, they looked different than the older spots, which are starting to look kind of crusty. Makela has also complained of a sore throat and bad itching yesterday, so she was on Motrin and Benadryl. No fever at least.

Today is now Tuesday, and no pain today, but she is itching again. Only one new spot so far today, under her right ear near the hairline. The two overlapping ones on her face are bright red and now resemble a music note, oddly enough (an eighth note, to be precise). Fitting, given Makela's penchant for all things musical.

All I can say is thank goodness for the vaccine. If she hadn't had that, the chicken pox might be REALLY nasty. And yes, the nurse confirmed that kids can still get chicken pox after having the vaccine -- it just tends to be a mild case like this one. I've seen some horrible pictures on WebMD and other med sites, wanting to find more info yesterday before the nurse called back.
Apparently it's going around San Diego right now, and it's highly contagious. Makela probably picked it up from touching something at story time or the park or the grocery store -- could have been ANYwhere!

There was one funny thing that Makela said in the context of having chicken pox. Last night, as we were getting ready for bed, she wanted more anti-itch cream on her "dots." She was naming all the places I needed to apply it, and then she said, "And my lines." Huh? I wasn't sure what THAT meant. Turns out she meant her HAIRline(s), where several pox had appeared yesterday.