AIBU To be annoyed of at people who take kids with chickenpox into nursery?!

[dingdongmrs]

Took my eldest to nursery this morning and one of the mums had her boy in a pushchair and pushed him into the nursery, only for a few minutes while she spoke to the teachers, i wondered why he wasnt staying at nursery today until she bought him back out and he was smothered in chickenpox, not scabbed over, but still oozing and weeping and looking very sore.

Im guessing she went in to tell them he wouldnt be in nursery today but could she not have phoned?! and i know they were contagious because i was walking behind her on the way home and a friend of hers went upto her and she said asked if he was contagious and she said yes! so why take him in a nursery building where other kids are??!

If my two girls get chickenpox now i know who is to blame, i know kids will get chickenpox at some point and my eldest if nearly 4yrs old so she would be ok with it, ie would let me treat her and cover her in lotion but my youngest is only 18 months and i really didnt want her to get it yet!

Sorry for ranting, im just annoyed.

If he attends nursery normally then chances are he will have infected others with CP already, as the virus is infectious before the spots break out.

YANBU - Some people have no cop . My dd came down with chicken pox ON THE DAY OF MY DS's CONFIRMATION thanks to a a mother of a child in her class sending her dd into school covered in spots . I have been stuck indoors for the last 17 days as just as dd was getting over her dose my ds has come down with it .
Rant away - i might even join you ?

YANBU at all.

They have had two weeks off over easter so im guessing he got it while they were on the easter break, today was the first day back!

Its just highly annoying and i cant help but think these people must be stupid! i dont want my children getting it especially not my youngest, not yet and i dont think my husband has had chickenpox either so that means he is likely to get it, or shingles which wont be good.

Feel free to join me ikilledbosco, it makes me mad! hope your little ones get better soon.

YABU, actually, because you think 18 mo will have a harder time than the 4 yo with chicken pox. It is the exact opposite. Babies are easier and children are much harder.

Your DC will have it at some point so why not now?

YANBU about taking the child to nursery but in all fairness, you really can not say that is where your children will get it from, they will get it from the nursery in general, after all, he had to have got it from some where too and that was probably the nursery!

Incubation period is 10 to 21 days so possibly contracted it before the holiday and it has just come out.

Best thing is to get your DCs vaccinated against chickenpox.

No i dont mean my 18 month will have a harder time with chickenpox i mjust mean trying to keep ointment on her and getting her to take meds will not be easy but my nearly four year old can understand and will follow instructions, like dont lick off ointment and please take this medication ect ect.

i know theyre going to get it at some point, im just annoyed that people dont keep their children at home when they are contagious. theres no excuse to take your child to nursery when they have chickenpox!

But you are usually contagious for a few days before the spots come out, so how are parents meant to know in the days before the spots come out? Dd hadn't been in contact with chickenpox when she got it but was horrendously grumpy the days before the spots finally appeared. Ds was fine the first time but the second time he was a nightmare mon/tue/wed that even my MIL commented on how out of sorts he was and it wasn't til Thursday Lunchtime that he got the spots.

My DS came down with chickenpox, followed by DD a day later. We kept them off nursery immediately, but the head of nursery took great delight in informing me every day when they went back 'there's another 3 off today'! I felt very guilty, but couldn't have known to do anything about it.

i was told that once you have spots you are no longer contagious. the contagious stage is ten days before any symtoms show. if your children have been at nursery with this child in the run up days they will have been at risk anyway.

i dont really understand why people get so het up about chicken pox, everyone has to get them. better as a child than an adult and once you have it you have majority immunity anyway. i agree that mum could have used the phone instead though

Oh, I have had my own rants about people out shopping with children covered in spots, especially right now as I am nearly 38 weeks pregnant, so could do without mine getting it right now, as I am booked for a c section next Thurs so not sure what would happen about bubs coming home if they got it. Mind you, so far my 5 and 2 year old seem to have an amazing ability not to catch it, even when they have been with children the day before they have come out with it!

YANBU. Naturally you aren't to blame if you take a child in before the spots have broken out. But once they have broken out, there is no excuse really and you have no means of knowing if you won't be bringing your child in contact with vulnerable people. One reason people get het up is that there are vulnerable people who won't just get a mild dose, but will be seriously put at risk.

Knittedbreast, the blisters on the spots contain the virus so they ae contagious until they have scabbed over, with the most contagious time being 3 to 5 days before and up to 5 days after the spots have appeared, although different websites give slight variances on this.

"Babies are easier"

Not necessary my DD was 15 months and had it a lot worse than my 3 year old. CP tends to get worse as it is passed on in the family.
Also the younger they have it the more likely to have it again or develop shingles as a child.

My friend whose daughter goes to nursery with mine is 10 weeks pregnant and she hasnt had chickenpox and neither has her daughter so obviously she is now really worried about it. i agree with cory, some people are more at risk of complications, like pregnant women, people with weak immune systems....

i just feel that it inconsiderate. i know before the spots have appeared you cant help it, you dont know. but once the spots are there there is no excuse.

i didnt know that lazy. I have been told different but that was a couple of years ago now.

knittedbreast I'm sorry but you are so wrong. Firstly, you can get chickenpox more than once - my DCs have had it twice so far, both times really badly, both times confirmed by a doctor. Secondly, chickenpox can be FATAL if you are immunosuppressed (e.g. have a disease that affects your immune system, or if you have cancer / chemotherapy). So be a bit less thoughtless please. A relative of mine died when they caught chickenpox whilst they were having chemo and it can also cause deformities in foetuses if the mother hasn't had it and is exposed during the first 16 (I think) weeks or last 4 weeks of her pregnancy.

Please get your facts straight next time. Yes, chickenpox in children mainly only causes an itchy rash and distress for 1-2 weeks, but in some people it really is much more serious, and your "it's harmless" attitude could actually do a lot of harm.

dingdongmrs I was in a similar situation when pregnant with DC2 and my GP said I could be vaccinated - this might be an option for your friend??

MrsMoppet Oh thank you, i will tell her this afternoon then, i didnt realise you could be vaccinated against it when pregnant, thank you.

You only get childhood illnesses twice if the first time you were too young to have formed immunity against them. I had measles twice because the first time I was only 9 months old.

Given that chicken pox is a common children's illness that is highly contagious before symptoms appear, we cannot possibly prevent the danger for the vulnerable groups like pregnant women. It is the said pregnant woman's responsibility to be informed of her immunity or lack thereof, and get vaccinated accordingly.

You cannot possibly expect everyone to keep their children indoors all their lives in case they catch chicken pox and pass it on to someone on chemotherapy before their spots even appear.