Okay so there has been an outbreak of chicken pox at my son's daycare so I've been OVERLY paranoid about him getting it as he hasn't gotten the vaccine yet (he'll get it next month). I have had chicken pox when I was very young (like 3-4).
He hasn't had a fever which is what I would expect before getting it. However, the other day I noticed small skin color (not red) bumps up and down his arms. They were dry and scaly. So I examined closely but decided since he wasn't messing with them and had no other signs of an infection that he was okay. They were all gone by the next day except for two little tiny bumps that look like welts, but they are still skin colored, not red at all, and are slightly indented in the middle. Yesterday, I notice this very small, maybe quarter sized patch of slightly pink bumps on the inside of his thighs. That's the ONLY place they were. Again he wasn't scratching them and he had no other signs of illness. Also, they did not appear until after I took him out of the bath tub. So then I wondered if maybe it was a dry patch of skin and decided to check again in the morning. Well I woke up this morning and the pink patch is gone. There are two super small skin colored bumps there, but you can't even see them, you can only feel them.
BUT, this morning I wake up with bumps on my fingers! First it started with two on my middle finger and one on my pinky. I touched a pan that was too hot yesterday, so I just assumed it was from the burn. However, as the day has progressed, those have started to diminish and new ones have appeared on my other hand and both of my hands have this slight tingling to them. Only a couple of the bumps actually itch but for the most part they are just sore and tingly to the touch.
Does anyone know what is happening to my son and I? I plan to call the doctor, but it's the weekend so I'm questioning on if I should call the nurses line or wait till Monday. I just thought I would get some feedback from you all first.
Jo - no recent changes in soaps, lotions, or anything new that I can think of
Thank you everyone for your responses. I didn't really think it was chicken pox as he had no real symptoms seeming like chicken pox. Plus, it wasn't really bugging him. I was more freaked by my own bumps because they were itchy and tingly. They are not nearly as itchy today but my hands are still slightly tingly so we'll see what happens when I wake up tomorrow. .
When you mentioned the bumps had an indentation, I immediately thought about "Molluscum contagiosum".....
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001829/
Maybe you can find your answer here. I love having a visual comparison!
http://www.babycenter.com/101_visual-guide-to-childrens-r....
Sounds like there may be 2 different things going on. I would wait until Monday unless either of you experiences severe discomfort.
What your son has sounds like eczema, my daughters both had it as toddlers and into elementary years, but seem to have outgrown it. It would show up on the back of their legs and sometimes the insides of the thighs or even inside upper arms after a bath only, the heat seems to make it come out. Sort of reddish rash like skin, more red than rash, and for them it was not always itchy. It would sort of go away, you could still see a faint pink area. On non-bath days you would sometimes not see it all all. Heat of a bath or fever or just sweating seems to bring it back out. Keeping cool and applying GoldBond cream seemed to help my daughters since their skin also seemed very dry.
http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/eczema/...
Sound like you may have some contact dermatitis which is just your skin reacting to something it did not like. I have super sensitive skin and get bumpy areas like what you describe on my wrists and forearms mostly, or on inner thighs, sort of like a rash but just very light pink, more just skin colored tiny bumps (perhaps like a heat rash). Not every week or month, but over the years I have had it, and pinpointing what caused it is not worth a visit to the doctor anymore. I just use 1% hydrocortisone cream (on adults only) and after a day or 2 it goes away. Even sometimes after exercising.
http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/underst...
I believe since you have had chicken pox you cannot get it again. And that rash is nothing like little bumps, they are big oozing blisters. The webmd site has a slideshow on common childhood skin problems with pictures that may help:
http://children.webmd.com/ss/slideshow-common-childhood-s...
Did you change hand soap or something like that because they sounds like a contact allergy.
check with the dr, but chicken pox look like flea bites or white-headed pimples. They are raised, & then develop a bubble of pus on top. They itch!
My 15yo son has had 2 full-blown rounds of chicken pox, at age 4 & again at 13. Both times diagnosed by the dr. Both developed into secondary infections. Total time at home...almost 2 weeks for each round. We also believe that he's had a couple other rounds not as severe. Crazy, crazy!
It doesn't sound like chicken pox, though I have never had them, so I honestly have little knowledge about what they look or feel like.
But, my son and I both have skin colored bumps all over our legs and arms, and our family doctor has told us that it is just a build up of keratin in our system, called Keratosis Pilaris and that it is not harmful or anything, and that while there is a treatment, it is painful and not necessary as they will eventually go away on their own. He told us not to pick at them or try to pop them and to just let them be and they would go away.
This may be what is going on, but if they are not bothering you or him really, I do not think waiting until tomorrow to get a hold of your family doctor would be harmful, but if you are really worried about it go ahead and call the nurses line, that is why they are there. :) I know that having to wait for the weekend to be over when you think that there is something wrong can seem like an eternity, maybe the nurse can ease your mind a little.
Chicken pox start proximal and go distal. other wise from belly to the extremities. It sounds like you have hand foot mouth disease, check the inside of his mouth for little bumps too. There is nothing to do for it it just has to run its course, but if they are painful the Dr. can prescribe an ointment.
If it were chicken pox, you'd know it. The pox are red, itchy, and oozing.
It could be Molluscum contagiosum. My daughter had that at a young age. They are pesky in that they take forever to go away, but otherwise are usually harmless. We did not treat them at all, and they didn't spread and eventually just went away.
Skin things are hard to diagnose, so if they don't go away, I'd see a doctor to be sure what you're dealing with.
Look into fifths and sixths diseases..they are simply treated, skin disorders and very contagious. Scabies or the one someone else mentioned (Molloscum contagi....) is possible too. Or impetigo and hand, foot, and mouth disease. But I'd like you to really do research on the varicella vaccine before getting it done. It's so new and causes some issues with shingles at an early age, many of my friends who do vaccinate their kids on schedule have decided to skip that one.
