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.

Stupid question because I've never been on the chunnel but do you have to have windows open?

Blayden according what I've seen on the info, yes you do have to have the windows atleast down half way.

Agree with your friends that YABU.
As others have said you could be stopped and prevented from boarding by eurotunnel staff.
You could also be turned away by the cottage owners. You could minimise risk of cross infection by taking own bedding and towels but hope you've thought about this already.
If there are complication am not sure if the EHIC card would cover you for existing conditions without a doctors note saying you are fit to travel so you could end up with a large bill.
We didn't get much sleep when dcs had CP so would have found a long car journey difficult (and possibly dangerous).

Buttercup - complications may be rare...(www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2066097/ this gives an interesting overview of a variety of complications, and effects on immuno compromised people)....however, as I have found out in the past, if you are one of the 5%, then statistics are moot.
My ds is in a special needs unit within a ms school, and attended a ms preschool - they are very strict on chicken pox quarantine. In his class of 10 2 children were hospitalised with chicken pox in a recent outbreak (ds has been vaccinated as his lungs are at risk if he contracts chicken pox, although he did still get it mildly). At the preschool, as well as mothers who are pregnant and another parent who is going through cancer treatment, there are also 3 children who could be vulnerable if they contract chicken pox.

I feel your pain. Our long planned family holiday to Corfu won't be happening tomorrow as DD has just got chicken pox. My parents will be off on their own and my DH and I will be sharing child care/going back to work.

Doubt I'll find a replacement holiday in the school hols without leaving my office understaffed. Pi$$ed off!!

The trouble I've gone to buying holiday clothes which just won't be suitable for a crap UK summer. Tut!!

Some people aren't ill from cp, some are really ill. It isnt fAir to put the risk on others.
I'm not exactly sure what else i can do, i already take tons of medication a day as it is.
Any little illness that goes around i get, however it makes my illnesses really flair up. From a little cold that a normal person would get over in few days iv been really ill for nearly 2 weeks.
Clearly i should just stay in my house and never leave.
Forget me ever trying to get a job again.

Have you got in touch with the Port Authority or your GP op?

It may be better to get an expert opinion as non-expert ones on the internet seem to vary wildly.

I'd still go if they say it's OK, that way it won't invalidate any insurance or risk you being refused travel, and as long as your dc's feel well enough.

I am on immunosuppressants, and if I was exposed to cp I would stand a good chance of contracting shingles, as it would reactivate the virus. I may not survive this as my immune system is weak, or it could cause me to be permanently disabled.

I've been really appalled by the attitudes on this thread, not the op, or anyone else advocating caution. I can understand the op doesn't want to lose her family holiday and is trying to keep it while not putting other travellers at risk, but I can't understand those people who think it is OK to take the chance of travelling when ill and killing someone else because they can't stand a bit of inconvenience. It is the moral equivalent of pushing someone off a crowded train platform to their death because you wanted more room, a thoughtless act which could have unimaginably serious consequences.

Cowthrow....
you cannot contract shingles via cp - despite most people thinking you can....
you can however catch cp from someone with shingles. check out the link for more info which may help. www.nhs.uk/conditions/chickenpox/Pages/Introduction.aspx

if you are immunosuppressed it might be a good idea to have the all the facts. you may catch cp for a second time if exposed.

My 3 DC had it in the South of France and all was absolutely fine.

Clearly pox ridden on the way back and nobody at the port batted an eyelid.

Think twin 1 broke out just as we got into France.Screamed all the way to the first hotel.Getting him ready for bed we saw the spots.

They spent the hole holiday running round naked in the garden and pool of the gite.GP friend said it was the best thing for them as the fewer clothes they had on the least they were likely to scar. Very little contact with anyone.

Enjoy your holiday.

Whole

OP, going back to your question - I think YABU.

You can't say that no one is at risk as a result of your children travelling, so that's not right. I'd be interested to know what the authorities think of it too.

but also, you are staying in someone's private home? Is there going to be a visit to check all is well? Will there be a cleaner?

I think that you need to take all reasonable steps to ensure your children don't infect others and you are not. I am quite sure travel insurance will pay out. Just go another time.

I have to say, I'm also thinking it's highly unpredictable how they will feel by the time the journey is due - a 10 hour journey is enough time for anyone to start out feeling fine and then suddenly feel dire.

Op calpol,open window in car,mister spray and I'm sure he'd be fine.

If he was at home being brutally honest people don't quarantine themselves off from the world,they simply do their best to avoid contact.

A gite holiday frankly would put him in less contact than being at home.

If he was at home being brutally honest people don't quarantine themselves off from the world,they simply do their best to avoid contact.

some people may not do much to quarantine themselves, but I know that I and most of the people I know in rl stayed away from others, even sharing the school run to avoid contact.

Just read the whole thread now, and didn't realise before my first post about the open windows and recycled air on the tunnel, so I need to change my opinion and say yabu.

Oh and fwiw, when my ds contracted septic shock and pneumonia as a result of chicken pox, it was on day 4 or 5 of having spots, we actually saw an improvement in him and thought he was over the worst when he suddenly went downhill and ended up really really ill. In fact, had something not made me wake up at 01:00 and go into his room to check on him, realise there was something very wrong, then eventually discover the petechial rash, then we could have been faced with a much worse situation by the morning according to the paediatricians.

I realise that this situation is fairly uncommon but certainly not unheard of.

Anyway, basically I think it would probably be pretty selfish to continue with your holiday regardless, but something tells me you will.

Oh and crusts, you are a goady fucker and a fucking idiot to boot. I await deletion, but it had to be said.

Could you delay by a few days op? When the spots have crusted over they're no longer infectious.

I realise it hasn't made national news in a while, but the disruption in Calais is still going on, and the knock on effects are still happening this side of the Tunnel. Operation stack is on the M20 now - I suggest you look at Kent Police's Facebook page to see how often it has been implemented in the last few weeks, and yesterday there were delays of hours at the terminal.

It's all chaos, the tunnel doesn't have the capacity to take the extra that Calais can't/won't handle.

So, for that reason yabu. The likelihood is you will be in contact with others before you even get to the tunnel, as well as the air system etc.

I've changed my mind, reading about the Channel Tunnel train. Had forgotten you need to have windows open and didn't realise there is still disruption on both sides of the tunnel. I don't think you should go for the moment, OP, I think you should contact the providers of the ticket and explain the situation and ask if you can change the ticket, for a fee. But I've a feeling you'll be going anyway. I mentioned my having had chickenpox on holiday in France many years ago, before - I remember I was quite ill and very unimpressed with my parents' cavalier attitude.
It is only from reading this thread that I realised that chickenpox can cause miscarriage in the first trimester of pregnancy. I lost a baby at 10 weeks, after my daughter had had quite a mild case of chickenpox, though I didn't get it again myself and I am still wondering if the cp could have been a cause of that miscarriage?

Ok-if it's an airborne virus does it transmit through breathing? If so can't you get some of those sars type face masks for kids to wear whilst in the tunnel?

wearing a face mask when covered in chicken pox spots would be really horrible - uncomfortable, chafing on spots, and having to breathe in your own breath (which if you are unlucky enough to have chicken pox in your mouth is going to be pretty rank)- bleugh.

I used to wear a face mask for work, even well, and for a short time I used to find it uncomfortable.

Tbh I think if you have got to the point where this seems a good idea, then it is probably best to stay home!

Can I ask what you would do if in your carriage as you boarded onto Eurostar you saw a family with babies, a pregnant lady, or someone who looked like they might be ill? Would you feel like you had to warn them your kids had CP?

when My oldest had CP because I hadn't had it I wasn't allowed to go into work as I sat next to someone who was pregnant who had never had it.

My DS (18 months) came out with chicken pox spots a few days before we were due to fly to the USA for a two week holiday. Our insurance paid us back the flights we had to cancel, though we did have £100 excess.

I was glad that we cancelled as he turned into bubble wrap and was miserable. We then went two weeks later, though it did cost us more as the flights were more expensive with the short notice. I think CP cost us about £300.

My initial thoughts were that you were fine to travel as long as the kids were ok and not too unwell. Though whilst I do think a lot of pp have exagerated about the risks of being out in public and on the train, it has made me think twice. The thought of that horrid recycled air with all those people's germs floating about has made me never want to go on a train or plane again.

I have no immunity to chicken pox despite having had it before and NHS here don't innoculate until you've come into contact with the virus. in this case how would I know? I'd be v upset if my holiday was ruined through getting chicken pox from someone who shouldn't be traveling in the first place and could end up seriously ill.

I took the tunnel a few years ago while still fairly immunocompromised (and a friend did too as an alternative to flying for her "make a wish") as I hoped it was the least likely way to come into contact with such things.

I think you're being unreasonable - if you have insurance you should claim as you shouldn't be traveling. you also run the risk of getting to your destination and not being allowed to travel back if anyone still has visible spots.