Daddy has chickenpox

As stated earlier this week, the Easter bunny was very kind and brought T lots of chocolate and fun for Easter. For me, however the Easter bunny was rather mean and nasty and instead of bringing all things good, it brought me what I had been dreading for a long time, "chickenpox".
It all started on Good Friday when I woke up feeling slightly feverish. I didn't think anything of it of course and after a quick dose of paracetamol, I was soon back to feeling well again. Saturday was pretty much the same; we had a lot of plans then and other than a slight headache when I woke up, the day passed without much discomfort or issues as we went about our business. Fast forward to Monday and I woke up feeling very sick indeed. My head and joints ached, I felt sapped of energy, and I noticed the lymph nodes beneath both ears at my chin were swollen. We had plans I had been looking forward to on the day however something told me I had to rest and stay indoors so I listened to my head and stayed home. By Monday evening, I noticed that my whole scalp felt inflamed and there was a tiny red bump on my left shoulder blade. That was when it hit me that I may have chickenpox. When I woke up on Tuesday morning, what was one tiny red bump had multiplied and my back, abdomen, chest and entire head was covered in little pus filled bumps. By Tuesday evening, I was feeling very itchy and uncomfortable, and I just wanted to grab a blade and scrape off my entire head of hair because I just kept getting this wave of painful sensation that went around my head in a circle as if someone was hammering hundred of needles down each hair follicle in procession. The Doctor who I had called earlier for advise came over, gave me an examination, confirmed I had chickenpox and put me on a prescription of antibiotics so as to limit any complications arising from my infection. Overnight I realized I could not lay my head down to sleep because regardless which way I tried; the pressure exerted by me pressing my head against my hands or on a pillow was just totally unbearable. Wednesday was the worst. Every inch of my upper body was itchy, I had a massive fever, I was exhausted and I just felt totally horrible and dirty every time I looked in the mirror. At one point I became fixated on the time and sat there looking at the clock as it ticked wishing I had the power to will time by so I did not have to go through the discomfort I was experiencing. By mid afternoon, I had reached a low point so I draped a blanket over my head and started to rock back and forth telling myself I have survived worse and this too shall soon pass. When it was bedtime, I barred myself to the living room sofa knowing sleeping in the bedroom will mean keeping the entire household awake. I was right because I did not sleep a wink that night.
It is Saturday morning now and I am feeling more energized and much better on my way to recovery. All my bumps have scabbed over and some are actually starting to fall off. The itch though as much as I would like it to stop has not stopped completely and I find myself struggling not to submit and itch here and there. Just gross!

Moving on swiftly, as much as I had dreaded being infected with chickenpox, I am also glad that between T and I (my other half is immune and has been looking after T this entire period), I got infected first and it was not the other way. So far T is showing no symptoms and that is very surprising considering he has been around me the whole time and I have an inkling we were both exposed when I became infected. Anyway that is unimportant now and what matters is that when and if he gets infected, I will be ready knowing what it feels like and what remedies to use to help him ease the discomfort. Speaking of remedies, I found Calamine lotion absolutely useless and after two days of using it and being fed up with its ineffectiveness and messiness, I switched to another product called, 'Eurex', which was recommended by T's godmother and found it generally more effective. I also tried soaking myself in a bath of 'Dead Sea Spa Magik salt', as recommended by the many users of Netmums, although I am not exactly sure if it had any real effect or not. I did feel amazing immediately after having the bath but if that is down to some placebo effect or not, I do not know and will not comment further LOL!

Consequently, in the past when people had spoken about chickenpox I have often wondered if it really is as nasty as they have described it. Now that it has happened to me, I believe it is. I have been ill too many times in the past to remember every episode bar a few but I will certainly remember this for sure. The level of discomfort and helplessness I felt was just too great to forget and I am glad it is a once in a lifetime type of infection phew! Now if this dark spots on my face can just all disappear immediately. Boy recovery is still a long way yet.