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.

The family was very inconsiderate exposing others to chickenpox.

That sucks OP.

Off topic but if anyone is interested, many pharmacies charge £120, i can suggest somewhere in S london if needed :)

Absolutely this. There's never a convenient time for it to happen and it's so much better for him to get it in childhood. I think it can cause infertility if he got it as an adult. So now he has immunity.
I'd be thanking them.
It's why people used to (possibly still do) have chicken pox parties for kids

This is bad luck but I’m reiterating what others have said why didn’t he have the vaccination?

Me and DB had this in the 70s as young kids so there was probably no vaccination around then. I recall a measles, mumps rubella vaccine but I got measles anyway either before or after it. The one thing my DM either wanted or didn’t want DB to get was mumps.

I think you are being a bit UR OP.
its very unusual to get to 11 and not had chicken pox surely? Just bad luck/good luck that he’d not caught it before. And either way, much better than getting it as an adult. He will be fine to go to school once the spots have scabbed over.

Vaccinate? Ffs. Get a grip people.

£150 and 2 vaccines for those banging on about getting it done. Also there is a vaccination schedule in everyone’s GP notes so if you get a vaccine outwith the NHS schedule it’s best to let GP know and it will be added to your notes. It’s easy for them to print it out if you need a copy for jobs, holidays etc

You know some people can't afford to run a car or go on holiday, right?

Chicken pox can kill and leave children permanently disabled. Yes that’s obviously extremely rare but not worth the risk when there is a vaccine.

I had no idea there was a chickenpox vaccine either. Mine are both adults now and both had it when they were young, but money aside, it's shit exposing others to illness on purpose. I hate thoughtlessness like this, but just reading through this thread, so many people really don't give a shit what happens outside their own doorstep.

Chicken pox is more dangerous for adults than kids. Although I sympathise that the timing was bad and the people were selfish to expose everyone especially whilst people were on holiday. Overall, if I were you, I'd count myself lucky, that your child finally caught it (most children get it a lot younger than that).

As a side note: I don't blame you for not vaccinating. It's not advertised on the NHS (in my opinion it should be - my son had it at three years old and has lots of scars from it).

1. yes you can

2. UK didn’t support it for costs reasons, but it will soon be part of vaccination schedule

Well that clearly doesn’t apply to the OP, no?

So many people will not vaccinate for the really nasties - polio, tetanus etc where the death and injury rate is much higher.
Older people will not have their flu or COVID vaccines.
People who believe in some dickhead on Facebook rather than facts

Well, better to get it in childhood than as an adult, he would get it at some point.

I do remember Chixken pox parties of the 80s..

My youngest is 5 and it wasn’t included then, it’s only come onto the vaccine schedule since Nov 23. I’m assuming you mean privately?

Well yes, but that costs right now.

CP worse as an adult so if you aren’t vaccinating then better to get it as a child

Throwing around comments like not expensive isn't helpful. £150, which is what I paid last year for my DS, is actually quite a bit of money.

Victim blaming!

Chicken pox is extremely harmful to pregnant women and those who are immuno compromised.

OP I hope your son feels better soon.

@Fupoffyagrasshole The vaccine does not stop them getting it!! It just stops them being too badly affected

@Rocksaltrita "hardly costs anything"? by whose measure? The vaccinations cost hundreds, and you need to give 2 doses.

I am still wrong - apparently it’s not even included everywhere yet; they are still thinking about it!!! Ffs.

From NHS website:

“Where to get the chickenpox vaccine
Contact your GP surgery if you think you or other members of your family need the chickenpox vaccine to protect you or someone you live with.
But be aware that not all GP surgeries provide chickenpox vaccines, so you may need to pay for it privately.
Speak to your employer about getting the chickenpox vaccine if you need it because of your job.”

@Ivehearditbothways The vaccine does not stop them getting it!!

Jesus. You’re hardly a victim if you catch chicken pox. It’s something which you can prevent or ease by getting a vaccine which is readily available and is only the price of a few take aways.

If you don’t want to get it or suffer badly from it then get the vaccine. If you choose not to get the vaccine then you’re hardly a victim.

Some people can’t get vaccines due to adverse reactions or allergies but those are outliers and we can protect them if people able to actually make the effort.

Also, try actually getting an appt!!!!