Chicken pox

[OneForTheRoadThen]

Nursery have sent my daughter home with suspected chicken pox - just trying to see if a doctor can confirm it. I wondered do I also need to keep my 5 year old off school too?

I can't find much guidance online. Does she need to isolate completely until the scabs form? I'm a single parent and still need to do the school run. Could anyone give any advice? Thanks

Has your 5 year old already had it? I would ask the school tbh.

I think the incubation time is quite long though for chicken pox, so he could end up missing a lot of school if he was off for the incubation time and the actual chicken pox time.

Thanks. No he hasn't had it.

I think the incubation period is 2 weeks so I'd send your older child into school unless they're showing symptoms. First symptoms for my dc were sore throats, high temps and feeling grumpy.

I would send your 5 year old to school until they develop symptoms (it usually takes 2-3 weeks after exposure). Yes, keep youngest home until all spots are scabbed over. Usually takes about 7 days unfortunately. You can do the school run but I’d leave younger one in the car in sight or in pushchair with the hood down so people don’t get too close.

I'd send your older child to school. The spots multiply really fast so by the time you get a gp appt you'll probably already know! I always put 'poxy' child in the buggy if no one could sit with them for school runs. Oats in a bath (put them in a pair of tights & tie over the tap) can help relieve the itching along with poxcillin(sp?) &/or aveeno cream. Calpol for any fever. My older 3 dc had it in 2016 followed by the younger 2 in 2019.

Thanks everyone! I don't have a car so I'll do buggy with rain cover over for the school run and keep a good distance away from everyone

@OneForTheRoadThen

Thanks everyone! I don't have a car so I'll do buggy with rain cover over for the school run and keep a good distance away from everyone

Dc4 (at the time just 4) took to shouting "I is Chickeny Spotty" at the top of his lungs so people stood well back in the playground