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.

I don’t know where you live but surely you had an expectation that your unvaccinated child will definitely catch chicken pox at some point? If you were that concerned about the timing you should have sorted it out at primary so that you had more control over the timing

This wasn't an incidental or accidental exposure, they actively made the decision to go on holidays with a poxy child and didn't warn others to stay away until the spots were noticed.

OP's DS had the first dose of the vaccine and it put him in hospital. Now he's missed his first week of secondary school. Yes, I would say he's a victim of that family's reluctance to cancel their holiday.

To be frank, you are over reacting. There are far worse things than CP.

It unlikely that he got it from that child. The incubation period for chickenpox is between 10 and 21 days.

Fewer than 10% of kids are vaccinated against this in the UK. Most of the ones who are it's because of concerns about immunosuppression either for them or close family members, so OP is actually quite unusual as her son has had one dose. I can't quite understand why this thread is full of people berating her for not doing something that most people don't do.

Oh dear, do you think chicken pox parties were/are a good idea? To make this comment now, when there’s been so much information given here, is just bizarre.

People are dicks. We were on holiday last week, got onto a crowded bus and one family on that bus had a little kid that was coughing incessantly and clearly ill. It was absolutely rammed so we were stuck next to them, being coughed all over. They got off and took the coughing kid to the beach! Now me and my daughter both have sore throats and coughs. Sigh.

Some people are selfish bastards who don't about anyone but themselves.

The chickenpox vaccine has been around for a long time - my DD had it in 2013. She also had the Bexsero vaccine when it was first licensed in the UK in 2013.

My DD is not immunocompromised - I just didn't see the point in her having an illness that could be vaccinated for.

Oh my goodness, another person who doesn’t bother to read the original post! Who takes any opportunity to berate.

Unfortunately you can't change the behaviour of other people as we all found during lockdown when people wouldn't stop socialising (yes you Boris etc)

Quite @Whyhaveibeencutoutofmamsnot
It just baffles me how some people can be so bloody selfish

You don't 'catch' shingles at all. Shingles is caused by reactivation of virus that has been sitting dormant in your nerves since you had chickenpox. Usually when you are run down. But you are right, you can't get shingles if you haven't already had chickenpox. I 'think' (but it's a long time since I did virology at Uni) that you can catch chickenpox from someone with shingles - happy to be corrected on that one though.

You are unreasonable because chicken pox is most contagious in the days BEFORE spots or symptoms emerge.

There no way to know you even have it in the contagious phase and once erupted and scabbed the risk is almost entirely gone.

I got mine vaccinated but I wouldn't say "it hardly costed anything" 😑

One thing is true when your kids get chicken pox, it'll never be the right time (usually when boarding a flight!) - always best to get it over and done with - I hope your son settles in quickly.

Your son was bound to get chicken pox at some point, if I had a child who hadn't caught it before the age of eight, I'd have gone to a pharmacy and paid for them to be vaccinated.

[Edited as since seen your son had one dose, and understandably didn't have second. I'm afraid he was bound to get the pox at some point and sods law is that it'd be the wrong time. Hope he is soon better.]

Sorry some people are selfish.

But I think that given that you get almost everything free, you can fork out for vaccines.

Like the OP did....?

Have you read OP's grand total of 4 replies?

Meant to quote you @MintyNew .

I know it's a long thread and all, but just take the time to filter the OP's posts before coming on and telling her she should have vaccinated him.

Shit timing but honestly a week won't make much difference as they'll all be too busy figuring out the basics to make life long friendships in week one.

DC3 has never had CP and she is going into Y2. If she doesn't get it this year I will have her vaccinated I think.

Having never had it myself I always take care with outbreaks (but I have natural immunity as I have been tested in all 3 pregnancies and nursed DC1 & DC2 through CP)

The family are selfish yes but I can kind of understand still going on a caravan holiday (provided they made their own way there and kept away from everyone etc)

I am surprised by the age of 11 he hasnt had it already. both my grandsons aged 2 and 5 have had it this summer. At least now he has it he wont get it again.

You can get it more than once. DC2 has had it 3 times!!!

First time I am not sure about - she had a rash so I took her to the GP who said CP (If I had suspected CP I'd have not taken her to the GP and just treated at home!!). Then she got it again a year later - very mildly. Gave a good dose to her sibling and then as the sibling recovered she got CP "proper" (this was about a month after the mild version)

Neither DC have had it since though and this was 6+ years ago.

DC3 has been in classes with outbreaks and just never had it!

You are nit the only one. I only found out when my elder ds had chickenpox and friends mum (dr in spain) asked why he didn't have the vaccine as part of early years immunisations.
Our GP said that there is no vaccine for chickenpox (there clearly is as you can hmget it privately £££)

Your poor son. He must feel so disappointed. But by half term he will have forgotten all about it.