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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to go on holiday with my chicken pox ridden DC?

289 replies

NighteyesLovesGingerbread · 17/07/2015 11:05

Basically my DC all have chicken pox. we are due to go on holiday in 2 days.

my friend has just said ' I hope you have insurance now you wont be going away' and then proceeded to tell me how unreasonable I was being when I said we were still going and how dangerous it is for others. I am well aware of this, I have several extended family members who are immune-compromised so understand the risks to them.

we are driving to the holiday destination and staying in a stand alone private house with private pool. obviously I will not take DC into the service stations or supermarkets etc but as far as I can see there is no reason for us not to go as they wont be in contact with anyone other than us.

so, AIBU to still go on holiday in this situation.

OP posts:
reni1 · 20/07/2015 11:36

YANBU at all. Most American and European children are immunised, as pps mentioned. The WHO lists the vaccine as essential, we in the UK think it is a good idea to use children suffering from chicken pox as boosters for adults to prevent shingles, which I believe does not even work very well.

MsAspreyDiamonds · 20/07/2015 11:38

What if there is a pregnant woman in your carriage? Wouldn't that be a premature birth or further complication risk?

Ketchuphidestheburntbits · 20/07/2015 12:09

It was obvious that you were always going to go on the holiday but that doesn't stop most of us thinking that you are being extremely selfish to anyone travelling near you or using the rented property after you.

However, I wish your children a speedy recovery as chickenpox isn't nice to have.

ProudAS · 20/07/2015 13:26

The OP does have immune suppressed relatives and says she has sought medical advice might not have told Dr about tunnel but lets give her the benefit of the doubt.

Also, she is going to be in the holiday home for two weeks and the DC are not going to be infectious for that long so I wouldn't be too worried about who ever is in afterwards. I'm more concerned about her DC being itchy and cooped up in the car.

LilyTucker · 20/07/2015 13:31

Enjoy your holiday op,medical advice always trumps MNers. You are being very careful and to be frank an awful lot more careful than the thousands who take their DC on holiday knowing full well CP is going round and their DC could well be carrying it at it's most infectious stage which is before the spots come out.

I wouldn't worry re your DC,ours were tiny and running around naked and in the pool was far better for them than being cooped up in England.

BoyFromTheBigBadCity · 20/07/2015 13:38

Op, your 'calculated risk' is to other people - why do you have the right to put them at that risk? Aside from the tunnel I see that you'be worked to avoid contact but the tunnel will be packed and warm, I just can't help but think knowingly putting people at risk is ok. I also think your gp was quite irresponsible.

Northernlurker · 20/07/2015 13:53

There is absolutely no point lambasting the op for a choice which in all honesty, with family and money pressures in mind, most of us would probably also make. It's very easy to be selfless when it's not your holiday at risk. I would like to think I'd be different but I wouldn't want to bet my house on it. Please can we not now do 250 outraged messages - she won't even read them.

LilyTucker · 20/07/2015 14:00

There are very few cars in each container( which are large and bigger than your average room) on the tunnel.Surely being in 2 separate closed cars is the same as not in the same room. It is 15 minutes in the same room.There is info re planes and zero for the tunnel I suspect for the above reason.The risk is negligible.

Op has taken medical advice and her DC are a lot less contagious and she is being more scrupulous than those who are walking around with it prior to the spots.

If you want to lambast the op lambast all parents going on holiday with children in classes that had chicken pox this term.

Time to move on.

Lurkedforever1 · 20/07/2015 14:13

I took dd to the supermarket with chicken pox, although I did choose very quiet times and late on when it was less likely I'd get near anyone. Selfish but the definite risk of not eating to us in my mind trumped possible risk to others.
Not sure I'd go on holiday, but they spend more time infectious before you realise they are spreading it round than after so realistically most dc with chicken pox have put people at risk

hazeyjane · 20/07/2015 14:16

I took dd to the supermarket with chicken pox, although I did choose very quiet times and late on when it was less likely I'd get near anyone. Selfish but the definite risk of not eating to us in my mind trumped possible risk to others.

hahahahahahaha......oh fuck, you're not joking are you?!!

Lurkedforever1 · 20/07/2015 14:23

I was young, isolated and skint and no fucker else was going. 1am at a supermarket poses less chance of infecting anyone than going in the corner shop. If there was a viable alternative do you think I'd have done it just for a laugh?

NeedsAsockamnesty · 20/07/2015 14:29

Does 'official advice' roughly translate as "the advice we are ordered to give my the relivant gov body"?

nigelslaterfan · 20/07/2015 14:43

if that's all the case then YANBU

FunkyPeacock · 20/07/2015 18:25

Enjoy your holiday OP and ignore the hysteria on MN Flowers

I suspect some of those commenting do not appreciate that on the eurotunnel you remain in your car and can easily avoid contact with other passengers for the 30 mins or so it takes to get to France

Icimoi · 20/07/2015 18:30

I feel sorry for the unsuspecting family staying in the holiday home after you and swimming in the pool your infected kids have been in. Nice.

Why, ffs, nemo81? She will be there for two weeks, there is no chance on God's earth that chicken pox germs will survive that long, especially in a chlorine filled swimming pool. I assume that the pool gets cleaned out anyway given that, as extensively discussed on MN, in any swimming pool people will shed all manner of nasties even if they're in the best of health.

Kayden · 20/07/2015 19:50

Funny I can only assume you've had zero experience of someone who is immune-suppressed getting chicken pox. If they come into contact with chicken pox (open windows in confined space counts as 'contact'), they will need to go to hospital for medical treatment. If you think that's "hysteria", then you are deluded. Hmm

OnAPedalStool · 20/07/2015 20:45

YANBU. The NHS guidelines say that it requires close contact to spread chickenpox. I don't think sitting in your own car in a carriage on a train would count as close contact with the people in the other cars in the carriage.

WoonerismSpit · 20/07/2015 20:48

Not quite pedalstool

If you’re not immune to chickenpox, you can easily catch it through close contact with someone who has it, such as:
face-to-face contact, for example, having a conversation with someone who has chickenpox, or
being in the same room as someone who has chickenpox for at least 15 minutes
This is because the virus can spread through the air, in tiny droplets from an infected person.

LilyTucker · 20/07/2015 20:54

It's not easy.

I have no immunity and was told by my consultant that it wasn't that easy to catch. Having sat and unwittingly taught shed loads of kids with it and nursed my own DC with it in very close quarters I can see that he was right.

Being in a car and separated from people also in cars in a large area is not a big risk which is probably why there aren't guidelines like there are in planes ie you are not allowed to fly.

OnAPedalStool · 20/07/2015 20:56

Yes, it says close contact. Just like I said above. They say being in the same room for 15 minutes. Being in your own car in a train carriage is probably more like being in the same house but in different rooms. I don't think that counts and I think the risk is minimal. She has taken medical advice on it as well.

elephantfan · 20/07/2015 20:57

pedalstool - the car windows have to be open and the air is recirculated. Perfect conditions for virus transmission.

But the op is going anyway, so not much point in debating the point any further.

I have just cut short my holiday and paid a vastly inflated return fare due to a family emergency that won't be covered by insurance. It is a pain, but these things happen.

Bubblesinthesummer · 20/07/2015 21:00

OP your Dr told you the advice was not to travel, yet you still did.

IMO 'you won't be returning to the thread' because you know you should have postponed.

LilyTucker · 20/07/2015 21:06

No her doctor said she should go.

scottgirl · 20/07/2015 21:42

The GP she spoke to told her 'basically that the official guideline is to not travel'

LilyTucker · 20/07/2015 21:44

He said it would be unnecessary to cancel the holiday in their cir?umstances.