To hunt down these bastards who exposed my son to chicken pox

[littleredbumblebee]

User name changed as outing

went on a caravan holiday last week for 5 nights and my son who is 11 played with some kids from other families and had a great time- all good

On the last night one of the smaller boys was running around with no shirt on and he has spots, one of the other families asked and his mum said oh he has chicken pox but we though getting away would do him good.

I told her my son had never had chicken pox and said I bloody hoped my son was not going to come down with them. One of the other parents also said they should not have brought the kid. Basically it ended up with them going inside the caravan in a huff. The next day we all left

So today the day before my son is use to start at high school he woke up covered in spots and now has chicken pox and won’t be in for his first week at high school. Tonight he is now crying saying he won’t name any friends now and he won’t know his way around and no amount of comforting will calm him down. Very few kids for his school are going to this high school and he is so upset he will have missed out on making friends.

We have been in touch with his form tutor who has been great and has said they will support him and catch him up but I could bloody scream. How can some people be so bloody selfish.

That's so upsetting, really sorry. As for vaccinating, I had no idea there was a vaccine and in my experience the uk culture is generally to assume that the NHS will provide what we need- I've never paid for a vaccine I don't think. Maybe those days are going. Hope he recovers fast, op.

This.

That's true - some people just don't develop anti bodies - I know there is one vaccine I had pre IVF because they found I had no antibodies even though I'd already been vaccinated - and when they re-tested I still didn't have antibodies. That's why a high level of community vaccination is good - herd immunity!

Ironically I spent hours searching for somewhere that did the chicken pox vaccination near me yesterday - not a sausage. Closest boots/Superdrug appointments require a train trip to London - twice. I'd very much like to have my son vaccinated but it's not like you can pop down to the GP and have it done for free, is it.

Such a selfish thing for those parents to do.
Anyone who has had a loved one with childhood cancer knows how important it is to avoid other children with chickenpox, and that sort of arsehole behaviour is ignorant and dangerous.

I had no idea either! It is definitely unusual to get the vaccine though. I have not heard of anyone getting it, certainly not for small children

They absolutely haven't. They are selfish twats.

Cp can kill or people be left with life altering disabilities.

The people who have been deliberately exposed have not consented to this risk.

Because it can lead to serious problems, such as pneumonia and septic shock. Can also infect pregnant women and kids with compromised immune systems, who (incidentally) can’t always be vaccinated.

With any infectious disease, the best way to prevent spread is for people with suspected symptoms to keep well away from others, which is why you’d have to be a selfish idiot to take an infected kid to a caravan park. I’m not surprised you’re angry OP! They could’ve made someone seriously ill.

And right before the start of a school term too. As kids can be infectious for a day or two before the spots appear, if OP’s DS’s spots had appeared slightly later, he could have inadvertently spread it to half his school, including teachers. The other kids in the caravan park (including any siblings of the spotty boy) may well have done so at their schools.

After COVID, I thought people would have a basic grasp of infectious diseases. Clearly not. Yes, most people have only mild symptoms, but there are vulnerable people in our society, some of whom can’t be vaccinated, who shouldn’t have no life because selfish idiots can’t take basic precautions. Even vaccinated people can spread infections.

OP, I expect your son’s feeling extra emotional because he’s ill. He’ll soon make friends. In fact, sometimes people who come a little later stand out from the crowd and make more friends. I’m sure he’ll be telling this story when he’s older!

Years ago .when there was no vaccine .My DD was about 3 ,my friend asked quite seriously if she would like to attend a "chicken pox party"! Errr NO. Oh she said then she can get it out of the way. Hope your DS soon feels better .Logic of some people!

This if he hasn't caught it by going to high school he was inevitably going to get it at some stage. Also children are infectious before any pox appear.

mum said oh he has chicken pox but we though getting away would do him good.

Why are we like this?

Having seen what my child went through with chicken pox, I would have hated myself if I’d deliberately set out to get them infected. They were so poorly.

When I got my younger child vaccinated, virtually no one I mentioned this to had any idea there was a CP vaccine. It really isn’t known about in the way many posters are suggesting. I had to go to a private clinic. No Boots.

The best thing remains for people with active chicken pox to isolate. Although the infectious period before the spots appear remains a big issue, minimising the spread of infection once you know what’s happening is the only socially responsible thing to do.

Not good timing, but entering the teenage years it gets worse so best get it now

Absolutely. That’s a huge amount of money to lots of people.

Such a lack of empathy to come on a thread by a mum whose child is distressed and tell her what she ‘should’ have done.

I am doctorate level educated, a very involved and dedicated parent and could afford the vaccine, however I had never heard of it, and wouldn’t have done it anyway. If it was necessary it would be on the routine vaccines. It’s not an obvious thing to do. The OP has not missed a trick here and there is no way of turning back time. The only reason these people post is to feel smug and ‘better than’. So cold.

So many comments here have made my eyes roll out of my head but that the vaccine “hardly costs anything” really takes the biscuit.

I also didn’t know there was even a vaccine available. And what’s the point of telling OP about it now anyway.

@littleredbumblebee i hope your lad is feeling better. What rotten timing.

That sucks for your son OP, awful timing for him. It will be ok but he didn’t need it on top of starting a new school.

I think people saying OP should’ve vaccinated her children are missing the point somewhat. I’m not sure she’s suggesting he should never be exposed to or contract chickenpox and if he’d been playing with the kid before he became ill (when he would’ve still been infectious) and got it then it would just be bad luck. But a family knowingly allowing a contagious child to play with other children isn’t ok for lots of reasons. Chickenpox vaccine is live so immunocompromised people who are at high risk if they get infected can’t actually have it. It’s really inconsiderate to allow a child you know to be unwell to play with other children without first mentioning it to their parents so they can make a choice about whether to expose them (and thus potentially expose other family members).

Chicken pox is very common illness. Your son would definitely have caught it at some point anyway and the earlier they get it the better. You also could have had him vaccinated.

Hunting down people for this reason sounds incredibly ridiculous.

Ignorance. I don’t want to derail this thread. But I strongly believe the school curriculum needs to weave in basic life skills: on health, nutrition (including basic cooking), finances, legal rights, understanding statistics etc. It’s needed to challenge online misinformation these days.

I went to a comprehensive school in 70s and as well as having a fantastic academic education (kids went on to Oxford and Cambridge), brilliant sport, art and music facilities/teachers (kids became professional footballers, musicians and theatre designers), we were also taught how to cook balanced meals from scratch, grow vegetables, iron a shirt, how bank accounts worked etc etc. Every time I iron a shirt or make a white (roux) sauce, I think of my ‘domestic science’ teacher.

Tell that to my brother and SIL who had their 3 year old rushed to hospital with chicken pox, they were around her eyes in her throat, were impacting her breathing. Chickenpox is not a rite of passage

I didn't want to take that risk with DS so I had him vaccinated. It did the rounds in reception he didn't get it, some of his classmates had it mildly some were really unwell and some from both groups have scarring. The vaccination meant DS didn't go through any of that, didn't miss two weeks of schooling and we weren't running around trying to take time off of work.

I am so surprised by the lack of knowledge of the chicken pox vaccine. Vast majority of people I know get it for their kids. The £150 is much cheaper than 5 days off nursery and the associated 5 days of leave you have to take.

It's given in most parts of the world and as I understand it is imminently to be rolled out as part of the uk vaccination programme.

I am surprised OP''s son got chicken pox within such a short time of being in contact with this evil child with such evil parents - it usually takes a fair few days. Sounds like as mum wasn't going to vaccinate it is better that he gets it now rather than as an adult when it is really nasty (I caught as adult and was fortunately mild despite spots everywhere) and was taken to chicken pox and other infectious disease parties as a child.
Fortunately there are treatments available now for the vulnerable and can test for previous infection

They could’ve potentially saved his life. I know someone who got them as an adult and they ended up in a bad way.

I looked into vaccination with my ds (it was rare to get it then) and I was told that we don't because it only lasts about 10 years (and having looked it up that looks about right).
Tbh, better for you son to get it now than later - I had it at 15 and it was pretty terrible.

I got chicken pox at 14 when I did work experience in a nursery because my mother had 'saved me' from catching it as a child. It was highly unpleasant, incredible itchy and I now have the scars and sunken craters on my face from it. My youngest had it at 5 after somehow avoiding it at nursery, was miserable for a week and had to cancel our holiday abroad. Our youngest is being vaccinated now he's old enough...

That isn't true that it's only just come into the schedule, I had DS vaccinated five years ago, and there were plenty of threads on here at the time with others who had already had their children vaccinated some years prior