To take my child with chicken pox out?

[emmabrown123]

Totally prepared for being told I'm being unreasonable. It's day 7 of my 2 year olds chicken pox, I also have a 7 month old who is showing no signs of having them yet.

We are going stir crazy!! I would love to take hem both out somewhere for the day - to the zoo, to the park, anywhere really!!

2 year olds pox aren't all scabbed over yet. Would be a massive no no to take him to a public place?

Or does anyone have any suggestions of where we could go and have minimal public contact?!!

Do you have a garden? Or dp? I'd be taking myself (and possibly the baby) out for a coffee and fresh air.

We also had some family who were happy to come round/ us go round to theirs as all their dc had had chicken pox or they were adults.

Ok guys - I've said I'm not going to take him out!!! If I wasn't concerned I wouldn't have asked. I guess in my sleep befuddled state I was only considering other kids and not thinking about others it might be dangerous for. Lesson learnt!!

Any ideas on what I can do to amuse him?

How about painting some boiled eggs and making a ramp to roll them down if you can't go out to a hill?
Build a den
Obstacle course round the garden
Easter bonnets??
Do you have any friends whose kids have had chicken pox that you could see?
Get him to 'make dinner'

I know it feels like hell but they're people out there with reduced immunity, chicken pox could be very serious for them, so you just have to suck it up.

I recall years ago when DS was a toddler, a friend and I went to a cafe. Mum, Nan, Great Nan and baby enter, owner knows them, they're all chatting about how baby on got discharged the day before with D&V. I was furious because it's so much more serious for me, I did go mental saying what are you doing taking a child out who hasn't fully recovered, still with explosive nappies, not only around people who could get really ill, but to a food establishment too.

People with autoimmune issues are also treated with chemotherapy type drugs, so people you wouldn't suspect at first glance, could become very ill indeed.

You wasn't to know, but you do now. I'm sorry it's so boring, once it's over and done with you'll be fine.

DeathMetalMum - should I also not take the baby out though? Could he be incubating it? And therefore in the most contagious phase? My friend had invited me to bring Baby out with her little one but I'm now thinking it's a bad idea.

This really annoys me. I just posted in chat last night. I'm pregnant and not immune. People like you could kill me. It's not a joke... if I get chickenpox at this stage, there is a chance I could die or give birth to a disabled baby with a range of long term medical issues. I'm talking blindness, limb development issues, brain development issues.

It's very dangerous after 36 weeks pregnant too. A newborn with chickenpox can also die.

If you are still contagious don't do it!

While I sympathise with the cabin fever - I had 3 weeks of it last year when the DC got it one after another, you can't risk taking them out til all the spots are scabbed over. They will still be contagious otherwise (as stated on NHS website).

I got our small tent out in the living room so the DC could camp in it - DS2 wound up having all his meals in it he liked it so much! I did take them for a drive but didn't get them out of the car at all. Just gave them something else to look at, and it usually sent them to sleep for a bit.

Do you live in a city/town?

I love rurally and it would be very easy to find a footpath with no people on it.

There must be somewhere you can drive and be alone!

Glad you asked before you did it. Took 10mo DC to a playground this week an saw a kid who plainly had chicken pox! The Dad saw I'd noticed as well. I didn't say anything but I was pretty irritated - a small child you can reason with, with it is one thing, a baby on the other hand...

The tent idea sounds like a good one!

Lime19 - I have said I'm not going to take him out now. Like I said I hadn't fully thought it through but at least I was conscientious enough to ask and take advice given. Surely that's better than just going ahead and doing it?!

Anyone any thoughts on baby? I'm guessing I need to be careful taking him anywhere too just in case? He's breastfed - does that reduce the risk of him getting it or am I making that up?!

We have a local small airport - I could drive them up there and watch planes taking off from the car maybe (clutching at straws)!

I'd take the baby out they might not have it. I know they also might but we still had to things like school runs with dd2 even when dd1 had the pox, she would have had three weeks of school otherwise and I don't think school would have been happy about that when she was perfectly well!

Sorry, x-post!

Ipswichwitch - love the tent idea!! Might even put our big one up in the back garden for him to play in!! Genius!!

If you live rurally, a wood or beach either early in the morning or early evening would probably be very quiet.

Have the spots scanned over? If yes you can take them out, if no, then you can't.

I'd go for a walk for fresh air

Yes take the baby out. I still had to do the school run when my youngest had chicken pox. I couldn't have kept my eldest off school for three weeks just in case he got it.

The first trip out after DS had chickenpox we drove to a very quiet country park type place where I know you can avoid other people easily so he got fresh air and a run around. (I didn't go out until I thought he was well scabbed up but was playing it safe).

I did have to take DS to the GP when he had chickenpox - I was very clear when I made the appointment he had CP (I suspected some of the spots were infected), got DH to wait in the car with him until we were called then we bundled him in and out as fast as possible. But the GP surgery were fine with us being there, which surprised me.

Any where you can go where you are unlikely to encounter other people? Woods? Forest?

Anyone nearby who has a big garden.

Mine had the pox last summer and we spent the whole time in MIL's big garden.

My friend posted recently that her DD has chicken pox, then 2 days later posted a picture of them all in the cinema. Very irresponsible.

Someone I am acquainted with recently took their newly (as in day 2 "but that won't stop us having fun!!") covered-in-spots child to the zoo at the beginning of half term with apparently not a care about anyone else. When I had chicken pox as a child in the summer I spent lots of time in a already immune child friends padding pool. Can you poll any friends for safe different back gardens/houses?

I am very firm on this subject and will always say NOOOOOOOOOOOO and am likely to give you graphic reasons why.
But even I wouldn't tell you to keep your baby in 'just in case'.

I don't know if you have a garden but if you do you can take everything outdoors.
Even eating lunch is more exciting in the garden.

YY to dens and tents.
Long bath takes up a fair bit of time

Why not do yourself a schedule.
10-11 bath time
11-12 den in the living room
12-1 lunch in the garden

etc etc.

Hope he is better soon and baby doesn't come down with CP

How long do they take to scab? Some of the little ones look like they're never going to scab over!!

Depends where you live. I took all of my children out when they had chicken pox, but we live on the edge of a city and so it was easy to get out into the countryside and well away from other people. Lovely walk one time through a huge forest park think with trees to climb on and things to explore and I don't think we passed another soul the whole time we were there.

Sometimes it's not practical to stay in all of the time, other children have to be taken places, you have to go out for milk, life goes on. Yes you take steps to minimise risks of other children getting the pox like leaving child 2 in the car while you dash into school with child 1, but it's not always possible to quarantune yourself totally. And besides, chicken pox is infectious before the spots appear.

There is always one.
Usually more.