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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think Nursery should have tried to contain chickenpox better?!

160 replies

Pengyquin · 10/02/2015 14:17

No notice up in nursery that it was even doing the rounds. Found out on social media.

One member of staffs little girl was affected badly, and said member of staff came back to work 3 days later into a different room (my son's) Children from initial 'outbreak' room were taken to a new room (my son's) to save on staffing costs (I presume) at the end of one of the days.

Nursery have pretty much shrugged and seemingly are of the attitude, it's just chickenpox.

Well, it isn't 'just' chickenpox if you're pregnant and not immune or if you (or someone in your family) has a compromised immune system. Plus, a family friend of ours, her little girl died (aged 4) of chickenpox, so it's a matter close to the heart.

Just been informed that it is now in my son's room.

Or should I just accept it's one of those things and highly likely that we will get it.

I just think they should have tried to contain it in the one room. Not mix kids from room to room. The worker is probably irrelevent - I don't think you can pass on cp just because you've been caring for someone who has it?

I'm probably just really annoyed because we have a holiday booked next week that I can see being cancelled now!

OP posts:
clam · 10/02/2015 19:43

I don't think it's the nursery's job to contain chicken pox. After all, it's pretty much everywhere at any given time. However, it wouldn't have taken much to put up a sign in the nursery window saying there have been a couple of cases reported.

londonrach · 10/02/2015 19:45

Yabvu its better your ds to get it young rather than older...

Mumoftwoyoungkids · 10/02/2015 19:45

Agree there should have been a sign. Our nursery always has signs for chicken pox, slapped cheek and hand, foot and mouth.

Not that it was much use though - both of mine came out very soon after the sign so already infected but at least I knew what the spots were.

Not sure it's worth segregating the rooms though - there's usually enough siblings at a nursery to make sure it goes round all rooms.

Original poster
Pengyquin · 10/02/2015 19:48

I think the point is, it gives parents/carers the choice

A sign means they are informed.

A sign is respectful of the fact that they are paying large sums of money to sent their children there whilst they go to work.

A sign is professional. A sign shows that they are taking it seriously and understand it can be a nasty illness.

Lots of reasons why I think a business should inform its customers. Hmm

OP posts:
hazeyjane · 10/02/2015 19:50

Hidden, I would have with ds before he had his vaccination, because he is at high risk of complications. I would imagine you might if your were just about to go on holiday as well.

Even if you didn't keep them off, it means that a pregnant or immunocompromised person can take more precautions, and that if your child is bit under the weather you can keep an eye out for spots.

hiddenhome · 10/02/2015 19:53

I paid a fortune for my son's nursery and he ended up with threadworms........twice.

Kids are always infected with something. You should avoid nursery altogether if you can't handle this. It's a fact of life. Infection is necessary to develop the immune system.

hazeyjane · 10/02/2015 19:58

Hidden, what about children who have compromised immune systems for any reason? Also there is a reason why there are guidelines issued by the NHS regarding chickenpox.

Threadworms are a bit different to chickenpox!

hiddenhome · 10/02/2015 20:00

If they have problems with their immune systems then it would be better if they weren't at nursery.

helensburgh · 10/02/2015 20:07

As a parent with an immune suppressed child hidden, I've got to agree.

It just isn't worth it, particularly for nursery age, we live v frugally as my FH gave up work for this very reason.

It gets tricky though when they start school but my sons school are fab at telling us what's going around that they are aware of, it's getting the balance right between protecting and exposing to real life

hazeyjane · 10/02/2015 20:15

Blimey!

I can think of several children at the preschool I volunteer at, who would be a higher risk of complications of chicken pox. When ds was at sn preschool, over half of the children would have been at higher risk. In ds's class now (of 10 children) 3 are at higher risk, and then there is 1 teacher who is pregnant, and 1 parent (that I know of) who is on medication that suppresses her immunity.

People on long term medication, on chemo etc, and children and adults at higher risk still go about day to day life, measures like quarantine, following guidelines and alerting people all help to minimise risk for these people.

loveandsmiles · 10/02/2015 20:23

YANBU to expect the nursery to let you know there is an outbreak, just so parents can be on the lookout for signs of illness but YABU to expect them to contain it.

When DD1 was at nursery she caught chicken pox and unfortunately passed it to me. I was pregnant with DS1 at this time. DD1 had about 5 spots and was neither up nor down whereas I was covered in spots from head to toeGrin. It was a worrying time but my baby was fine - I was off work for about 6 weeks and was really ill but it's just bad luck and nothing could have prevented me catching it.

PurpleCrazyHorse · 10/02/2015 20:25

YANBU to expect a letter home or a notice up at the nursery. When a child our CM looked after had CP, she sent a text to all the parents straight away to let them know. DD didn't get it the first time, but did about a year later. At least we knew to keep a look out for symptoms and also kept her away from anyone we knew who might be at risk (just in case), or at least let them know that she might be harbouring it and they could make their own decision.

YABU to expect it not to spread like wildfire around any childcare setting. Kids don't tend to practice good hygiene, with excellent hand washing, mostly they cough, sneeze and wipe snot over things and the younger ones often chew toys. It only gets worse when they start school. I feel for parents with immunosuppressed children though, it must be very difficult.

Purplehonesty · 10/02/2015 20:35

I think they should inform parents if there is a proper outbreak of something like this. True you can't protect them from everything but you can minimise risks.

Ds went to nursery as a baby (for a very short time) and got the most horrendous gastro bug. When I called to say he wasn't coming in they said oh yeah half the staff have it and most of the children. I think at this point they should have been informing people so they could choose whether or not to send their kids in. Everyone got it and some kids ended up in hospital (ds included)

PtolemysNeedle · 10/02/2015 20:57

I agree the nursery should I have notified all parents, but it think that's where their duty ends.

I wouldn't have agreed to my child having a CP vaccine.

DustyCropHopper · 10/02/2015 21:02

DD's nursery put a note up informing us of 2 confirmed cases of cp in the nursery. The nursery should probably have done the same, but with regard to mixing the children, there is a possibility that a sibling of the already infected children could be in the other room, so difficult to contain really.
Ds1 had been in contact with cp many times (accidentally) that I knew about, friends coming down with it the day after we had been with them, nursery and school friends that he sat next to coming down with it, never caught it. At the end of February last year, aged 8.5 years, he came out with cp! I have no idea where he picked it up. Quite possibly from another child in a shop or something!

Italiangreyhound · 10/02/2015 21:03

Your son can be immunised against chicken pox if you wish your son to be.

minionmadess · 10/02/2015 21:12

When my dts's were in nursery we were informed there was a case of CP and around 2 weeks later dts1 got CP, then exactly 3 weeks later dts2 got it.

If I recall most of the d there ended up with CP.

I do think they have a duty to inform parents that there has been a case but beyond that I don't think they can do much more TBH

FightOrFlight · 10/02/2015 21:20

I'm pretty ancient - back in my childhood days we were actively encouraged to play with the pox-ridden kids so we could catch it and get it over and done with before adulthood.

For the poster who said chicken pox is a notifiable disease - not in England and Wales.

www.gov.uk/government/collections/chickenpox-public-health-management-and-guidance

tiggytape · 10/02/2015 21:41

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Janethegirl · 10/02/2015 21:46

Chicken pox is inevitable these days. However I'd never had it as a child and got it at the same time as my dd. it was not a pretty experience and then Ds got it 2 weeks later Sad

Sidge · 10/02/2015 22:21

tiggytape I beg your pardon, I read too quickly.

Immunoglobulins are in short supply and rarely given IME. They'd be more likely to give antivirals.

But it's true the nursery should be more proactive in notifying parents of chickenpox outbreaks, so the non immune and vulnerable can be cautious and seek medical help if needed.

MigGril · 10/02/2015 22:24

I agree with others you can't avoid chicken pox and at must the nursery could have informed you out was going round but they can't . stop it spreading.

The uk have chosen not to vaccinate against chicken pox as its not yet know what the implications are to the elderly and singles. which is often worse. Instead they have implemented a singles vaccine schedule, my aunt had hers last year. it's very sad you know someone who died from chickenpox but if you where really that worried about it I'm sure you could vaccinate.

Italiangreyhound · 10/02/2015 23:19

MigGril can I ask what you mean by The uk have chosen not to vaccinate against chicken pox as its not yet know what the implications are to the elderly and singles. which is often worse?

It was because of hearing of a child who died of chicken pox that I chose to have my son vaccinated. I know it is very rare. I am not sure why they do not vaccinate against it in this country. I don't personally think it is because of safety, as I was able to buy the vaccination easily enough. I think it is because it is quite rare for children to develop complications with it so statistically it is not considered high risk.

When my dd was born I read about Pneumococcal and I chose to pay to have her vaccinated against that. Now it is standard. I chose to pay to have dd vaccinated against flu each winter (until the vaccine could not be sourced for all those wanting it), at a time when it was not routinely given to children, and now it is.

My guess is one day the not vaccinating for chicken pox will change.

DisappointedOne · 10/02/2015 23:55

They don't vaccinate children against chickenpox because it wouldn't eradicate the virus. The virus not infecting children would instead cause shingles in elderly and infirm people. Shingles is far far dangerous than the vast majority of chickenpox cases in otherwise perfectly healthy children.

www.nhs.uk/chq/pages/1032.aspx?categoryid=62&subcategoryid=63

DisappointedOne · 10/02/2015 23:59

"The introduction of a mass chickenpox vaccination programme in the UK and several other European countries has been delayed due to concerns that an increase in herpes zoster incidence would occur. Some studies suggest that these concerns may be more theoretical than real.[16] However, the phenomenon has been seen in the USA since the introduction of mass vaccination,and the increase in herpes zoster has reduced the cost-effectiveness of the programme.[17] "

www.patient.co.uk/doctor/chickenpox-pro