Can DH come home this weekend?

[Blondbombsite]

My DH is working away Sun-Fri for the next 4 weeks. Whilst he’s been gone our DS1 has really been missing him and has been under the weather with cold-like symptoms.

Today he’s woken up with spots which the nurse says may be chickenpox and to keep an eye on it. The problem is that DH has never had it despite his mum repeatedly trying to expose him to it as a child (it was the 80s!). I’m not 100% at the moment but if it does turn out to be CP can DH come home tomorrow (they definitely won’t have scabbed over by then).

I think DS will really struggle not seeing him for another week and selfishly so will I. Sleep has been non-existent and I’m 10weeks pregnant so could do with the help. But DH really can’t afford to be ill 😭

Once you have chicken pox the virus stays in your body. Occasionally it reactivates (often when people's immune system is suppressed) causing shingles. Re-exposure to CP as an adult can lessen the chances of shingles. Getting CP for the first time as an adult can be nasty so your DH should stay away unless he knows he is immune or is vaccinated. Sorry I know it's rubbish

I never had chickenpox as a child but must have some immunity as I didn’t catch it when both my children had it nor when I looked after two of my grandchildren when they had it.
By the way you can catch chickenpox from someone with shingles but not the other way round. A popular misconception.

I wouldn't risk it. 9 or 10 year old me, many years ago, gave it to my 30-something year old cousin. He had also been to chicken pox parties as a child, mixed freely with a childhood friend that had it yet never caught. It was miserable for him and laid him off work for a couple of weeks, I believe.

He really shouldn't. Shingles is awful and he's at risk

So much incorrect information about shingles / chickenpox on this thread.

If you're not sure whether your husband has had it then he should stay away as adult chickenpox can be pretty brutal.

Please read the NHS guidelines about chickenpox and please do not take everything ok this page as gospel.

Just as a helpful aside (not for the op, but for others)

you can get vaccinated against chicken pox. One jab about £70 but a booster recommended.

We had both our daughters vaccinated aged 1 because we’d had some hospital spells and didn’t want to add chicken pox on top. Seems daft the NHS don’t vaccinate for it, but we’re told they have a battle enough with the other super important jabs like MMR, so chicken pox not a priority.

lots of branches of Superdrug/boots do it

You only get shingles from previous only having had chicken pox yourself. It is the virus in your body reactivating. Being exposed to chicken pox again after you’ve had it means you’re less likely to get shingles. Which is why the UK don’t vaccinate for chicken pox in the UK like other countries. They are relying on older people being exposed to chicken pox again from kids. Stupid really.

But you can catch chicken pox from shingles.

@Blondbombsite chicken pox as an adult is grim. You can get your husband vaccinated privately or check if he’s immune. I’d give it a miss this weekend

His mum doesn’t live far so I suppose he could always come round in the evening for a bit when DS is in bed so we can at least have dinner together. Still really crap. I was looking forward to a lie in 😂

When my DC had chicken pox they appeared as blisters there was no mistaking it was chicken pox. They rapidly spread over her body every hour I checked her. If it's chicken pox I expect you'd know by now. Chicken pox are blisters so usually quite easy to spot.

Personally, no, I wouldn't risk it, if it is CP. Chicken pox as an adult can be very serious (it's one of the potential disadvantages of being vaccinated, because when the vaccine wears off, and they do, it puts you at greater risk of adult CP - I say this as someone who is very pro-vax and works in public health). It could potentially mean several weeks of missed work as he could be too ill or need to self-isolate in case anyone he works with is vulnerable or non-immune.

I wouldn't risk him coming home. There's no guarantee he's immune so he could well catch it. It's not very nice in adults. Has he thought about being vaccinated for CP?

You can apparently get CP again if you've already had it. Not very common but can happen, especially if you only had it mildly before. So I'm not sure there is such a thing as "immunity" - just a lot less chance of getting it again.

My exh had CP when he was about 18 and was really poorly with it.

I wouldn't risk it, I was 17 when I got cp and was I'll for weeks. It's much worse getting it as an adult.

They will still be contagious until all the spots have scabbed.