Zikia/ Mexico

[king1717]

Right ladies, i am going on honeymoon in a week for two weeks and me and the hubby want to start trying for a baby as soon as we are home, I have said we will wait a week and if no symptoms show we will start TTC. What do you all think about this, has anyone been through the same thing before, if so what did you do?

[MouseLove]

I would wait 6 months as advised by health professionals. Why take the risk?

[2014newme]

6 months

[king1717]

it isnt 6 months! they say if you have been affected in women wait 6 weeks in men wait 6 months

[Pibbee]

I presume you are going on honeymoon with your husband? In which case, it’s recommended to wait 6 months.

[CaptainsCat]

Men have to wait six months to TTC. So you both have to wait six months.

[confusedwife84]

I was meant to be going to Mexico and wanted to conceive ASAP, spoke with doc and suggested to change destination, which we did. Good job as I got pregnant on honeymoon!!

[CaptainsCat]

From the NHS

[king1717]

What if while we are out there we both dont get bitten?

[ScarlettOH]

Yep, you’ll need to wait 6 months. This has ruled out a lot of holiday destinations for my husband and myself as a lot of places we would like to go have zika but as we are TTC it’s not worth the risk

[2014newme]

You don't always know if you've bitten. You can be bitten and not notice. Not everyone reacts to bites.

[2014newme]

Op ultimately you seem determined so crack on and ignore the medical advice.

[CaptainsCat]

I don't think it's worth it OP. You won't always know if you've been bitten. You could look into paying for zika tests when you get home, but I don't know much about that. If you get pregnant within the six months, you will receive extra monitoring of growth etc. It is taken seriously - why risk your baby's health when you can wait?

[king1717]

we have waited 4 years to get married and then to start trying for a baby! I have PCOS so i am worried that if i dont start asap then it will be harder for us to conceive!

[JoJoSM2]

You could just get tested a month after your return (can’t test any sooner). If you don’t have Zika, you can start ttc then.

[king1717]

i didnt know you could pay to be tested!

[NerrSnerr]

How long ago did you book the honeymoon? The 6 month advice has been around for a while. It is really not worth the risk.

[king1717]

booked it ages ago and when we checked it was two weeks once returned home and no symptoms you can ttc!

[Anatidae]

You won’t know if you’ve been bitten or not. The mozzie that carries this is a daytime one and you don’t always get a reaction to bites.

The advice from the CDC is that you need to wait 6m.

There is absolutely no way in hell I would go to anywhere with a risk of Zika when ttc. I am currently ttc and work are trying to make me go to somewhere that keeps going on and off the list of possible zones. There is no way.

I’m a scientist. Wait 6 mo or change your honeymoon venue.

[Anatidae]

You can get zika and have no or minimal symptoms - you may not realise you’ve been bitten and you may not realise you’ve been infected.

Virus remains in semen for at least 6m in men who have been exposed whether or not they were symptomatic.

Not a risk I would take.

[CaptainsCat]

A quick google on zika testing tells me that for asymptomatic testers, a blood test is required. If this is negative in the first instance, a further antibody test must be done at a later date. This testing method is not fully accurate. So it looks like you'd be waiting regardless.

[Lousalot]

We had the same issue! When we booked honeymoon it was 8 weeks but then went up to 6 months (I’ve never ever seen it say 2 weeks and have been monitoring it for a long time). I know you’ve been waiting ages and I totally understand the frustration but 6 months will fly and I found it really nice to just relax and enjoy not having to plan a wedding and just being married! It’s really not worth the risk, can you imagine how you would feel if it did happen!

As someone mentioned there is a test you can take but think you need to wait a certain number of weeks after getting back before you can have it (and think it’s around the £200 mark)

[king1717]

We have been waiting 2 years already!!! i want a baby so bad but now knowing i have to wait another 6 months just kills me! uggghhhh why have these horrid things and not come up with a jab to prevent it!!

[king1717]

Guess we will have to wait till june then! :'(

[piglet81]

Could you change your travel plans? If you booked a package tour or through a travel agent you might find it's possible to switch to another destination. I wouldn't take the risk, personally.

[Anatidae]

why have these horrid things and not come up with a jab to prevent it!!

Because diseases mutate, spread and sometimes present with radically new and different etiology/geographical distribution.

There is a worldwide research effort ongoing to create a vaccine. I work in medical research- it’s a tiny bit more complicated than just whipping up a cheeky vaccine on Monday morning in the lab though.

Can you cancel? Check your insurance. I get that it sucks, but at least you have a choice as to whether to go or not, unlike all the other poor sods who live in affected areas.