to go on holiday with my chicken pox ridden DC?

[NighteyesLovesGingerbread]

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.

must be great having a transplant, new lease of life n all that, then having to spend the rest of your life in your house according to may, whose comments make him/her sound like a twat

op - ask the eurotunnel people if it is ok to travel.

ODFO May

Sorry, but kind of agree with May - flying is a big risk, and you can't just say people are being selfish, for a few days before DC1 came up with chicken pox spots, he was a bit grumpy and sleepy, but not obviously ill, it wouldn't occur to me not to take a child who was a bit unsettled but not obviously ill on a plane, and that's when they are more infectious.

The OP will not use public toilets for her DCs but a portable potty, she's not going to let them get out of the car in the train for the channel tunnel, I would assume someone who had a compromised immune system would also stay in their car if they happened to be in the same carriage. The risk to anyone else is minimal. (and with another 2 days, they might have scabbed over.)

And on the journey back, all DCs would be scabbed over and safe to be around.

The bigger issues are if the DCs can sit for that long if they are uncomfortable from the spots, and if there will be easy access to medical attention if they have any complications.

OP, ask your GP, also check if your travel insurance will cover medical costs from an illness you had before travelling, it might be that they wouldn't be covered if something did go wrong there. Worth a call.

we are driving to the holiday destination and staying in a stand alone private house with private pool

Why would you nbot go in that situation?

Of course take them and have fun and hope they recuperate quicker in different surroundings with a pool to help take their minds off feeling crap. Its not like you're going to be on a plane or anything.

If the OP is going to France, she'll be covered under the E111 scheme.

You are being completely unreasonable and totally selfish.

Some people will be immunosuppressed for their entire lives, should they never fly? There is a world of difference between knowingly taking a child with a very infectious disease on a plane and taking an ill child with no clear signs of a recognisable illness like chicken pox. I would have thought that was obvious!

YABU unless you can guarantee you won't come into contact with anyone else. If you are 100% sure you can make the journey without exposing other people (so no trips to toilets at service stations, no stopping to walk about around other people etc), then you should be fine. However, I doubt you can absolutely guarantee that, so imo you shouldn't travel.

George - good point!

Whois - you have a good point too - my DCs both wanted to live in the bath when they had chicken pox, a nice cool pool might be great for them. And I'd avoid the beach, not just at avoiding bumping into other people who they might infect, but because sand on scabs might irriate them - even after they have scabbed over, i'd be careful round sand until the scabs have gone...

YANBU OP. It sounds like you're taking lots of sensible precautions.

I had my kids vaccinated against chicken pox so don't worry about it unduly.

I agree that any small risk would be a worry for those with immune suppressed children, but it sounds like you've thought this through too.

DinosaursRoar
all of life is a risk, it is just about managing it as best you can and thinking of others

example: your (a general you) child is a bit fractious but no sign of chicken pox, fair enough, take them on the plane. those of us with immunosuppressed kids understand. we take that risk whenever we take our kids out. if they catch cpx off your kid, thats just a shame but you didnt do anthing deliberately

example: you deliberately take a child with cpx on a plane. this is not actually permissable btw so you must have 'hidden' their illness. you are a dickhead of the highest order. i hate you. you are a selfish twat. why would you (a general you) deliberately do that? a child could die! selfish selfish selfish self centred horrible nasty person (whoever would do this)

E111 was replaced years ago by EHIC, George.

Ah, you know what I mean, Namechange!

2 concerns - 40 minutes in a train carriage with car windows down will be a risk to the other cars in that carriage; whether the private house is going to have anyone else staying in it immediately after you leave it (the virus can be present on surfaces for several hours).

If you can guarantee no other cars bar yours / your friends and know that the house will be empty for a day after you've left (& obviously no petrol station / supermarket / etc visits while spots not crusted) then go and enjoy. If you can't guarantee those things, I'd wait until spots crust.

Thank you for everyone's thoughts with the exception of may who is quite clearly mad.

As I said, I have immune-supressed family members, I really am well aware of how dangerous it is for them and people like them. I would not willingly infect people! I have had to cancel meeting up with good friends and the DC grandparents this weekend - both of whom we only see a couple of times a year so a big deal - as I will not take the DC to public places.

I can guarantee as far as is reasonably practical that the DC wont come in to contact with people on the trip unless they come and get in our car! France has lots of picnic/pull off stops which rarely have anyone in or stretching legs etc.

the only point of consideration is the tunnel but from what I have read the chance of being in a tunnel compartment with an immunosuppressed person AND them getting infected if both them and the DC stay in their own cars is very small. (I don't think immunosuppressed people are likely to work in a role that involves facing hundreds of people each day - I certainly wouldn't if I was in that situation, so I don't think the tunnel workers are likely to be an issue).

to clarify I, the OP, would absolutely never consider taking them on a plane/to the park/on a normal train - basically any other public setting. they will be under house arrest outside of this one journey.

I do object to people claiming its a typical AIBU? yes you are. No I'm not. I have read all responses and considered them but there is a good proportion who agree with me and nothing new has been presented from this that changes my thinking. I maintain that the risk for that 30 minutes is extremely extremely small.

to add, the suggestion to chat to a GP is a good one and I will do that tomorrow and see what they say. thank you.

If you could only catch it by licking infected blisters on day 3 or touching infected door handles, there'd be far fewer cases and it wouldn't spread like wildfire through communities and families!

Of course it would, on account of the person being infectious before you even know they are ill.

hic by the time we leave the house the DC will all be scabbed over as it will be 2 weeks since the spots came out. there are enough adults going that the DC do not need to go to shopping trips/petrol stations etc and can stay at the house.

Apart from the risk of spreading it, which, even if small, would be enough to stop me. I wouldn't want to do that kind of a journey with chicken pox - it can be so uncomfortable, and there are risks of serious complications. I would hate to have to travel when ill, so wouldn't want to put the dcs through it.

I wouldn't put the kids through it.
i'd imagine they'll be hot, itchy and uncomfortable on the journey there.
and they're going to spread it to everyone else.

will your insurance be valid for kids who are already travelling sick?

do what you want. this is how disease spreads. history has shown us that. people breaking the unwritten rules and putting their own needs above everyone else.

Sounds like you have thought it through and the only reason I can see to cancel is if your dcs might be too ill to enjoy it.

When you speak to the gp, might be worth asking about sun creams, you don't want to irritate the spots/scabs and be careful with sand rubbing on spots.

Channel tunnel uses recycled air selfish and mean to put your holiday above everyone elses

The NHS says to stay at home until the last blister has crusted over, which is usually 5 or 6 days.

Aside from thinking you're selfish for taking 2 kids with chicken pox on to a train, there is no way on this earth that I would put my childre through a 10 hour journey with chicken pox because I sure as hell wouldn't want to do it.