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Original poster

Possible chicken pox on holiday

122 replies

Hmmmbop · 22/05/2019 10:02

More a WWYD:

On holiday with 3mo and 3yo (and DH). Flight yesterday was cancelled due to strikes so we are already in a bit of a predicament. We have been given flights home tomorrow and are currently trying to entertain 2 kids in a shoe box hotel room in the middle of nowhere.

Yesterday 3yo came out in spots. The local Dr took a look (he happened to be at a local pharmacy) and cannot decide whether it's chicken pox or a reaction to mosquito bites (husband has also been bitten, I haven't). DS is under the weather but could also be over tired- we've had a lot of late nights.

Do we:

A) go back to a Dr for confirmation one way or the other and if it is CP stay in a hotel room for a week (DH would have to fly home alone due to starting a new job), so would be me alone with 2 small kids so would have to take 3yo to supermarket etc.

B) put long sleeve clothes and trousers on 3yo, presume it's mosquito bites and just get on the plane?

C) something else?

We have insurance but they won't cover lost earnings etc and we have to pay out and claim back.

OP posts:
Emmabryant123 · 22/05/2019 15:59

It's airborne and contact with the fluid from the blisters
You only need to be in a room with someone for 15 minutes in the Infected stage to catch cp whether you touch the person or not

Possible chicken pox on holiday
ReganSomerset · 22/05/2019 15:59

Your hands are somewhat tied, OP. What you could do, if you get as far as boarding, is inform the flight attendants that your son has chickenpox, so that they can make an announcement, if they deem it necessary, to check whether anyone on board is immunocompromised or pregnant-but-not-immune.

Emmabryant123 · 22/05/2019 16:01

Also you can't catch shingles but can catch pox from touching shingles

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about this subject:

General health
Original poster
Hmmmbop · 22/05/2019 16:11

stucknoue I did call the airline in the UK. They won't refuse until seeing DS if we have a ftf.

Emmabryant123 I'm aware of the risks and I've tried talking to the insurance company about it but I have to do what they say.

OP posts:
Emmabryant123 · 22/05/2019 16:29

Oh absolutely I was just replying to the person saying cp is only caught from contact
:)

TapasForTwo · 22/05/2019 18:09

What a nightmare. Are you with a tour operator or did you book flights and hotel separately?

fedup21 · 22/05/2019 18:13

You poor thing-what a nightmare!

Original poster
Hmmmbop · 22/05/2019 18:23

TapasForTwo no we booked separately. We were in a villa for the week but got moved in to this hotel when our flight home was cancelled by the airline.

OP posts:
Bunnybigears · 22/05/2019 18:28

Have they given you anything to treat it. My 3 year old got chicken pox in Spain and we were prescribed a powder to put on the spots it was magical stuff and within 2 days the spots were pretty much all cleared up.

bobstersmum · 22/05/2019 18:44

Well if you've got a fit to fly cert then that's that isn't it! Sod anyone on the plane who it could make poorly! My ds is just getting over cp, we are now waiting for the other dc to show signs of it. Their grandad has a condition that means something like cp could make him very ill, even though he's had it already, his consultant has specifically told him to stay away from anyone with cp. So I'm really surprised the doc has given a fit to fly because you just never know what it could do to someone. I do agree though you're in a crappy situation op!

Intothe · 22/05/2019 18:53

The GP is saying the child is fit to fly. That's not a lie, nor anything else. It's merely stating that the child is in no danger by flying.

As the GP explained, other airlines may have policies about CP or other illnesses where they deem a patient not fit to fly with them.

You'll have to do what they've said.

Original poster
Hmmmbop · 22/05/2019 19:28

Bunnybigears no, nothing. We've been giving him calpol.

OP posts:
Original poster
Hmmmbop · 22/05/2019 19:31

bobstersmum I'm not saying sod everyone else. We're in a shit situation but if the insurance will not pay for us to stay put we don't have a choice. I can't get in to £1000s of debt just incase we make some one ill. I wouldn't expect it of anyone either. We have family members we can't be around now too due to their health situations so I do understand the risks.

OP posts:
Emmabryant123 · 22/05/2019 19:37

It's a shit scenario isn't it op
:(
If you have to fly you have to
Hope your little one is ok

PollyShelby · 22/05/2019 19:42

That's crap OP. I hope he's better soon.

TastingTheRainbow · 22/05/2019 19:46

Chicken pox can kill never mind make someone ill. On a plane where the air is recycled the spread is going to be huge and put many people at risk.

I understand you’re in a really difficult predicament but you can’t risk other people’s heath and lives. Go to the airport, tell them he has chicken pox, they will refuse you boarding and then your insurance kicks in from that point.

ReganSomerset · 22/05/2019 19:47

See if you can get a few surgical masks for your son to wear if they do let you board. Google suggests it can limit the spread of airborne viruses.

ChariotsofFish · 22/05/2019 21:43

Which airline is it? Different countries do have different attitudes to chickenpox. Where I live kids go to school once they’re feeling up to it. It’s possible the airline won’t turn you away. Don’t feel guilty about that, you have to follow the local rules.

But if you are turned away, could you consider driving home? It might be better than being stuck there for weeks, if the baby gets it too.

Original poster
Hmmmbop · 22/05/2019 22:13

ChariotsofFish we've already looked at that but the car hire alone is £2000 just to Calais, then there's the ferry and getting home from Dover (driving the car across the channel adds £1700 to the cost). Plus all the people we'd come in to contact with on the ferry, at services etc.

TastingTheRainbow if we have to take DS to the airport, we'll probably infect fewer people by getting on the plane. There's all the people on the train, in the airport, on the train back to the hotel, the supermarket and restaurants etc I'll have to take him to whilst we are stuck here. Both scenarios expose him to loads of people. At least getting on the plane means we won't expose any others in the days after.

OP posts:
Deminism · 23/05/2019 22:40

Did you make it home?

I would have done B to answer your original question and covered it up and got on place. That is a cardinal Mumsnet sin but my kids caught CP on a plane to go on holiday once and the spots didn't come out until after we were home so presumably they were totally contagious without us knowing it on the place home. What I mean is contagious people are on planes unknowingly all the time. In this instance I would think your family's need to get home trumps other concerns.

Original poster
Hmmmbop · 24/05/2019 02:58

We didn't get home. DS is covered head to toe and so we were refused boarding. DH went home as needed and I have had to deal with 2 small children and insurance etc. On the plus side I negotiated with insurance for an accommodation allowance and am now in a mobile home on a holiday park. We've seen 2 other drs and the 4 drs we've seen have all said keep him out the sun and stop him itching (how) but otherwise carry on as normal. It appears that the rest of Europe have varicella vaccine as standard when I ask about risk. The kids club here will even take him Shock obviously I'm not sending my poorly, infectious child to kids club but I think it demonstrates the difference in attitude here.

I am however I'm hell. 14 days in a caravan alone with 2 small children, no TV, very few toys, no one to talk to. Right now I may never go on holiday again!

OP posts:
Intothe · 24/05/2019 03:25

Calamine lotion - I swear by it. Keep it in the fridge and dab on constantly with cotton wool pads.

Have you wifi at least?

I'd get on a plane when his spots are gone.

Intothe · 24/05/2019 03:29

Piriton (chlorphenamine) is an antihistamine so might reduce the itching - but it depends how old he is. You'll need to go to a pharmacy and ask for an antihistamine suitable to his age.

Try to sunbathe, join the local library, take out books, get to know the locals. My Dad always says that you never know what misfortune you've avoided by being stuck there. You've gotta roll with the punches. And sometimes they're fucking shit.

Original poster
Hmmmbop · 24/05/2019 04:18

Intothe pharmacy is very limited here, no calamine lotion. No library. Very little near by that doesn't involve taxis and that's a carseat nightmare.

I'm tempted to jump on the train.14 hours and I'll be in Paris

OP posts:
SunshineSpring · 24/05/2019 05:19

What's the policy on flying? 14 days sounds excessive. Most spots are crusted within a week. Or have you been told 14 days?? By which point you are at risk of your other child having spots...?

Hope you can find a daily rhythm that makes like ok. If the childrens club will take him, would an early trip to the park be ok?