Feeling upset (and guilty) over chicken pox scars

[cupcaker]

My son (2 years) caught chicken pox at nursery, sadly having them full throttle for his second birthday. It was short lived and he went pretty unscathed with a couple of tiny scars in his hair line which can't be seen.

My daughter was about 6 months at the time, and caught them from him. She had a nastier bout of them and the "mother spot" was on her eyebrow. Despite caring for the spots this one in particular has left a big pit scar, plus several other little pit marks between her eyebrows and the bridge of her nose.I guess where she could touch them and knock the scabs off more. They are still pink at the momenttoo (several weeks on). There are also several scars in her hair line, which are very visible at the moment (she is bright blonde and has barely any hair yet) which of course will cover eventually. But her face? She kind of constantly looks like she's had a little accident of some sort.


I was ignoring it all until my dad passed comment that it was "a shame". He won't have meant to make me feel bad but I then got thinking, yes, she was absolutely perfect before...it is a bloody shame actually.

And of course I feel like scum for being bothered by it when so many other children and parents have FAR more than a chicken pox scar to worry about. So for this I am guilty and realise I am being stupid.

Did your child suffer with them? Did they fade, or stretch worse? We don't get offered the vaccine here in the UK for chicken pox and to be honest it IS usually a mild illness for children here. I just didn't think too much about scarring until it happened.

 

[lisaalove]

I had a few on my face from when I had them as a kid. Now you can't even see that I had them

 

[jodilee6]

DS had a few large pitted scars on his gave as these were obviously the ones he could scratch

All but 1 have now faded and the 1 that's left you really have to look hard for.

However since the chicken pox he's now got a massive scratch down one cheek and a chunk out of an eyebrow! They will fade and just become part of your LOs face, before long you won't even notice they are there

 

[HoneyBee144]

I can understand why you'd be upset but definitely don't feel guilty, you did nothing wrong! I had chicken pox really bad as a child, in my nose, mouth, ears, everywhere! I do have a few scars on my face and body but you wouldn't notice them, they are just white marks and they definitely don't bother me. There's nothing you could have done to stop them scarring unfortunately it's just one of those things and it's more than likely they'll fade as your little girl gets older.

 

[MindUtopia]

I had chicken pox 4 times as a kid. Supposedly this is pretty much nearly impossible, but I don't have the greatest immune system and the first 3 times were mild, with the last time being really bad. I don't remember how long the scars lasted, but I have none as an adult. I also had it much later than your LO (the last time), probably about 8? They will look bad for a bit, but they'll fade, so I wouldn't worry.

 

[staralfur]

No experience with chicken pox but my LO has a scar under her eye from our dog scratching her, and I freaked out after it didn't look any better after a couple of months. After some extensive googling it seems that it can take a long time for children's scars to fade/heal (like a year or more).

My dog scratched her back in December and I'd say it's just been within the last month that her scar has started to really fade.

Try not to worry too much, I'm sure that eventually you'll hardly be able to notice it, and stuff happens. It's not your fault.

 

[bdb84]

My older brother had a very severe case and his scars are still visible (he's 33), but when you think about it.. we ALL have some sort of scar, right? I have one on the side of my eyebrow from when I was 4 and required stitches. I'm not ashamed of it, nor do I feel it has marred me in any way, shape, or form. It's just part of childhood.

 

[shinona]

Chances are they will fade. My son had one big one on his eyebrow and it kept getting knocked off as he sleeps on his tummy. You can barely see it now, 3 years on. He also had one on his back, which was right where the waistband of his pants and trousers sat. It was less deep and isn't visible really now.

 

[Zephram]

You don't have a lot to fear, given her age. She's only 6 months, their skin is so fresh and new it will heal eventually in a way that an adult's skin wouldn't. The scars will fade until they're unnoticeable if not completely gone. I had surgery when I was four - not on my face, but the principle is the same - and as an adult the scar is basically not even there. Don't stress.