to take DD on the bus when she has been exposed to chicken pox?

[Servalan]

I just wanted to find out what the "done thing" is here.

DD was at a small toddler group a few days ago. My friend was also there with her DD.

The next day, my friend rang me to say that her DD had come out in spots and the doctor had diagnosed it as chicken pox. Also, the doctor said that her DD would have been contagious on the day that my DD was at the toddler group with her, because chicken pox is contagious for a day or so before the spots come out. The hall where the group is is quite small, and some of the time DD was playing with my friend's DD.

I gather that if you have caught chicken pox it can take up to 21 days to incubate? So for the next 3 weeks I won't be sure if DD has caught it. Also, if she has caught it, I won't know when she becomes contagious because it happens before the spots come out.

Anyway - I really need to go into town to get the rest of my Christmas shopping. I don't drive so would need to get the bus. I don't have anyone who can watch DD before Christmas so that I can do this, so what I really want to do is get on the bus with her and do the shopping. However, I'm not sure if this is being irresponsible? What do other people do? Thanks.

[dingdongmerrilyonpie]

Just go by what you know for sure. Today your dd has not got chicken pox so you can go on the bus. You can't run your life on the principle of what "might" happen.

[singyswife]

Yep totally agree with dingdong. I would get on the us if it was my child. For all you know the people on the bus may have also been exposed to it and as your dd doesnt have chicken pox today I would go finish your shopping.

[kslatts]

I agree, carry on as normal.

[believer07]

chicken pox has a 14 day incubation period I think, so unless you are going to stay in I would not worry. People are way over hyped about childhood things, you are not evil if you child gives someone else chicken pox. It can't be helped unless your child is exhibiting symptoms, then to take it out would be bad for the child and potentially for others.

[crokky]

If you take her on the bus, stay away from heavily pregnant women as I think the baby could be born with it and have some problems (?) don't really know, but avoid those ladies.

[aidansyummymummy]

Agree catch the bus and finish your shopping. You'll be kicking yourself if you dont and she does come down with it as then you will be stuck in!

[forkhandles]

yep, carry on as normal until you see the spots.

[JodieO]

Avoid women in early pregnancy too as it can cause miscarrige, but then you won't usually be able to tell if people are in early pregnancy. Personally I wouldn't.

[onepieceofbrusselssprout]

We were in this situation about half a dozen times with dd1 - i.e. exposed to it but never "came out" with it. On one occasion we stayed with close friends, she had a bath with their dd and they snuggled down in a ready bed together for an hour or two - the friend came out with spots one day later, but not dd.

Eventually she caught it at nursery aged 4...my point being that if I had stayed in for 3 weeks every time she was likely to have caught it, then we would never have gone out!

[believer07]

Most people in this country are immune to chicken pox, how on earth can you avoid women in early pregnacy.

Of couse you should be careful IF YOUR CHILD HAS SYMPTOMS, but just get on with your life you only have one.

I got c pox at 15 I must have been exposed hundreds of times, its not that if the germ is in the air your going to get it, its about the condition of the body at the time of exposure.

[joyfuleyes]

YNBU

My daughter was exposed (proper close contact) four times in 18 months before she finally caught chicken pox - if I quarantined her every time (21 days each time) that would have meant 12 weeks of staying in for no reason. I'm sure school wouldn't have been happy to have her absent 'just in case'.

When she eventually caught it (& I have no idea where from because I don't know anyone else who had it at a similar time) I didn't take her out until all the spots scabbed over, but tbh I'm not sure how much good it does because they are most infectious for the two days before the rash starts. I contacted everyone she'd had close contact with in those two days, but there isn't much more you can do.

[cory]

My dd was exposed to chickenpox a dozen times during childhool- finally came down with it aged 10.

[MoominMymbleandMy]

It cost the NHS around one thousand pounds to inject me with immunoglobulin because I had been exposed to a child about to go down with chicken pox while I was in the early stages of pregnancy.

It can cause similar birth defects to Rubella: blindness, deafness, brain damage etc.

And, it is most damaging in early pregnancy, when you can't tell and steer your child away.

Yes, being stuck indoors is a pain but think it through.

At least with my nephew, my in-laws knew I was pregnant and could alert me immediately his symptoms developed. The GP took it seriously enough to run blood tests and get immunoglobulin couriered from our local hospital straightaway.

But how do you alert a stranger?

[wrapstar]

I'm sorry you had to have treatment Moomin, but seriously, if all children who had met another child with chickenpox had to stay in for three weeks, then half the kids in britain would spend months and months of their lives (maybe years!) in quarantine, and adults would have to take months off work - all just in case they happened to be near a newly pregnant woman in the two days they might be invisibly infected. It makes no sense.