Urgent advice needed -AIBU to go ahead with Birthday party today ?

[Curtains77]

Middle DS is 7 today , party booked for 1130 , cake made etc etc. youngest DS (3) has developed chicken pox yesterday morning and obviously is in quarantine. So it is highly likely birthday boy is incubating it. AIBU to go ahead with his party in a soft play area knowing this is the case ? On one hand, children need to have it ideally , on the other by keeping schtum I am taking away the choice from the other childrens' families ....what if and are immunocompromised? Elderly? Pregnant ? Advice please - I don't want to disappoint DS but ...!

I'm late to this, but I think that you did the right thing and I hope that you had a great party,

No way would I cancel.

I'd send a text letting everyone know sibling only just has it as of last night and won't be attending. Explain birthday child is not poorly and has no symptoms so no cause for concern at the moment but understand if anyone pulls out.

I would do exactly what you're doing, OP.

As a side note, I can't believe a GP would admit to not being able to distinguish CP from a viral infection! I'm no doctor but it looked completely different from any virus my DCs ever had.

Yes, my mistake sorry. Of course shingles can only occur in people with dormant CP virus.
My views on vaccines are somewhat controversial especially when it comes to the CP vaccine. Did not want to get into that conversation as is a whole new ball game.

Thank you to those who wished DS a great birthday - he had a lovely sweaty time and turns out all of his friends had had a chicken pox so none of the parents were bothered bar one and that was completely for a reason. I saved their party bag and will take it to school tomorrow but all in all it went really well. Thank you all for taking the time to post It really helped this morning ! Off to go build lots of lego

So glad it went ahead and your ds was happy.

Enjoy your afternoon

To the PP The early stages of CP can look like other viral infections, so yes, it can make it hard on times for a doctor to diagnose.

Oops - cake and wine in wrong place

Is 🍰 and 🍷ever in the wrong place 🤣🤣

Glad the party went well & almost all the kids made it 😃. Lovely idea to send in a party bag for the child that missed out

Fingers crossed for a healthy household again soon!

Haha - fair point twocockers

So glad he had a good day, OP.

Thank u ! He is in bed now , and I have a big glass of x and perhaps some in a bit - good idea twocockers! !! X

Someone who is immunosuppressant would not visit a soft play area surely?
If chicken pox was that dangerous to kids surely there would be a vaccine???
A pregnant woman who had not had chicken pox would surely not visit places like soft play ever if it was dangerous ??

People are not immunosuppressant.
Yes people with compromised immune systems need to go out and have a life.
There is a CP vaccine.
Do I really need to answer your last question?

I'm glad he had a great party, OP.

The reality is, children who may or may not be incubating chicken pox are everywhere. Why? Because nobody knows or can be definitive if they're indeed incubating it!

This includes school. Can you imagine how Heads would go bonkers if parents kept their children home because they 'might' be incubating chicken pox?!? And parents would go bonkers if schools actually required this as well. Sick days don't cover 'what ifs'; employers would laugh at you for asking. It just doesn't work that way.

l never had chicken pox as a child but l caught it when l was 17 from the kids l babysat for. They were just spotty, l felt really ill for a good couple of weeks as well. Particularly before the spots came out. l'd be concerned as some of the others have said, in case anyone had compromised immune systems etc.

We went around an entire dinosaur theme park and only realised at the end of the day when DS got tetchy and I found the first spots that he had it. No doubt he could have infected loads of kids, but then again there were probably more of the unknowing infected too. It's one of those things you can only guard against it so much. Glad your DS had a good party.

It is essential you let all the mothers know the situation. Chicken pox can be extremely serious for some children and adults. Why were your children not vaccinated?

Reading some of these posts how do some parents cope with nurseries when they have to work which the children who attend incubate gawd knows what on a daily basis.

Esspee - because it is not part of childhood illness NHS vaccination protocol in the UK , as others have said . I go with NHS protocols generally. All was fine in the end x

Go ahead with the party its chicken pox not ebola!

Wait wait wait. Just to clarify, is your son having 1,130 people come to his birthday party ?!!

Glad you went ahead - you can't worry about what could happen. They could be sat next to someone now who is contagious for something. Can't keep our children in a sealed bubble for their whole life.

He may not be incubating anything. My ds had it, I have never had it and didn't catch it and neither did my dd who hadn't had it. She did have it about nine months later and again I didn't catch it despite cuddling her on my lap all day the day before the spots came out as she was poorly. If you are sending him to school what is the difference?

I'd go ahead but you must tell the parents- not just for them but for anyone they might visit in the following days. My DS1 had it mildly 2 weeks ago and it was very stressful keeping him from hugging DS2 who was 3 weeks old and having him home from nursery not what I needed when I wanted to nap and he's too old to nap! I have no idea who he got it from but I'd have been furious if someone had knowingly exposed him.