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?!!

This gets asked EVERY WEEK! A simple search will tell you that the answer is ALWAYS no.

Sorry I did search and found conflicting advice - from previous threads in various forums. Surely it's better to ask and get advice than just go ahead and do it.

Health protection agency advice does only specify an exclusion policy of 5 days after first spot appears. Apparently transmission after that period is unlikely. I will try to find a link

When mine had it, I drove to an empty bit of woodland on a cold winter's day and let them run around for half an hour or so. They tired quickly but it definitely broke up the cabin fever.

Your only option is somewhere where there won't be other people, which might be harder on an Easter Sunday.

patient.info/health/school-exclusion-times

It's funny how you can pull up a link from patient info but when I click on the link for further advice (I checked the Scottish one as it first with my location) it reiterates until all spits have crusted over, then says (usually five days)

Five days is not the guideline given by NHS, 5 days is usually the length of time it takes from first spot appearing to last spot crusting over. But it is not exact, which is why the advice is "until spots have all crusted over"

They have changed it then as it used to just say 5 days from onset of rash

I have a poster here from the health protection agency that says 5 days

Stay home.

I was in the supermarket the other day with my newborn and there was a massive cuntweasel woman in there with 3 poxed children - not scabbed - moaning loudly on her phone about how boring it was staying in for the 2 days she'd bothered with and she didn't care who caught it. One of the little darlings came charging up and tried to shove their poxed hand in my pram.

People are idiots and there are consequences, which is why you've got a bit flamed here. But at least you asked!

Can you do some Easter craft activities out in the garden? Egg hunt maybe?

Have you any friends who've already had chicken pox?

When DS2 had chicken pox recently, we were able to have a few days "out" visiting relatives - in homes where everyone present except my DS3 had already had chicken pox so no worries about DS2 infecting people.

When ds1 got chickenpox he had one spot which crusted over within four days. I thought great, he's good to go tomorrow, woke up the next day to find him covered from head to foot.
The five day rule wouldn't have been anywhere near accurate for him. Wait until they are scabbed over.

Make a paper hat for Easter and get the dc to decorate it, boil some eggs in food colouring and get the dc to paint faces on it.
Make Easter cards for friends and family.

Make playdough, cheap and keeps them amused for ages. Mix baking powder with water, it's liquid until you handle it when it becomes solid, put it back in the bowl and it's liquid again.