4 year old with Shingles! :-(

Aw,   my poor 'Lil Monster took ill last year in the second week of  the Easter holidays.  She was absolutely covered, from head to foot and miserable as hell : - (

Fast forward a year - here we are at the heading into the second week of the Easter holidays 2013 and guess what...? Shingles!!!

When the chicken pox struck, we found an anti itch cream called Eurax and a 2.5ml dose of Piriton for kids an absolute godsend!  Seriously, they say the average kid gets about 150-200 spots.  My eldest neice got 5 spots. Her younger brother and sister - the twins - aka the Horrors, had about 10 each...I gave up counting after finding 125 just on 1 side of my 'lil Monster's face!!

Wow, I can't believe she still had a didi just after turning 3!!  I guess the Didi Fairy is a story for another time!!

Unbelievable!

I didn't even think a 4 year old could get shingles!

I noticed a small cluster of bumps just below her left armpit on Thursday morning.  She's had mild eczema since birth and this often presents as a dry, lumpy and bumpy rash so at first I thought she was having a worse break out than normal.  I took a few photos yesterday as it looked a little worse and there were a few more bumps.  By this morning, they had all blistered.

Fortunately, she's not in any pain at the moment, shingles is caused by the same virus as chicken pox  - although the chicken pox heals and goes away, the virus remains, laying dormant in the nervous system for the rest of your life.  Most people have no further problems once the chicken pox has gone, but some will have a flare up of shingles.  Its pretty uncommon in kids, especially such a young 'un but the good news is that at this age, its usually pretty mild which in turn means less chance of complications - all of the literature and people I have spoken to today recommend seeking medical attention.

As you can see, she hasn't really got that many spots so I'm hoping it's going to be super mild and that slight discomfort or itching is the worst it's going to get.  My biggest worry at the moment is that like most kids when they're ill, she wants Mummy rather than Daddy.  Poorly kids always seem to be at their worst at the end of the day as they're getting irritable and over tired, but of course it's the weekend now and I'm going to be at work til at least midnight for the next 2 nights.  I don't know if I'm more worried for my bubs who will have to deal with Daddy instead of Mummy, or for His Lordship who has to deal with a poorly lil bubs who just wants her Mummy!

I've got Eurax cream, Piriton for kids and of course Calpol - so we're armed and dangerous to any virus that wishes to cross us so wish us luck!

Moral dilemma- Most of us know that the older you are when you have these illnesses, the worse it is and the higher the chance of complications - so is it kind or cruel to intentionally expose your child to the virus??  Some parents keep their infected offspring in isolation while others hold Pox Parties and invite every kid they know....I'd really love to hear you're chicken pox and shingles stories and you're opinions on the question posed...