AIBU - chicken pox and Christmas plans…

[anon2423]

Chicken pox is doing the rounds at my DC nursery and they’re starting to show the first signs. However, we’re meant to be going to my parents for a quiet Christmas just us, them and DC. All our presents are already down there and waiting!

Parents and husband think we skip the cinema trip and festive plans which would expose DC to the public, but we could still travel down. I’m not sure - parents live quite a distance and I think being in the car for 3 hours would be really hard on DC if they have chickenpox. Everyone else thinks we should just get on with it - all of us (bar DC) have had it before, and no one is vulnerable.

YABU - you’re overthinking this, you’re fine to go (and remain in their house avoiding the public for the duration!)

YANBU - that’s too far to take DC when they’re poorly

I think that it is wait and see. It may well be fine. When my DC and 2DN had it, one after the other they were all completely different. DD was barely ill, DS and DN both developed infections were off school for 2 weeks and needed antibiotics and my other DN was extremely ill and hospitalised.

They normally appear and scab over within about a week.

If they're itchy you can use piriton antihistamine
You can use acqueous calamine cream, poxclin or virasoothe on the spots
Paracetamol is fine to use but avoid ibuprofen as it can cause adverse skin effects.

Exposure to the chicken pox virus will NOT activate Shingles. But Shingles can give you chicken pox if you've never had it before. It's the other way round from what you've described.

I'd wait for them to scan over then travel.
We had a similar situation but luckily the second child contracted it and scabbed over just before we were due to travel.

I can’t vote because I sort of think both. If you’re taking precautions to avoid the public and everyone there is okay with it (not vulnerable) then that’s fine UNLESS DC is feeling too poorly. Then I think that’s a long way to travel for them, but surely you will just have to judge that when the day of travel arrives?

I would just go. The only thing more miserable than being stuck at someone else’s house with chicken pox is being stuck at home on Christmas with no presents or fun and also chicken pox.

I think just see how they are. They could have mild discomfort and maybe feel a little under the weather and be as comfortable in their car seat maybe with a blanket and a story or music on the radio. They could be itching like made all over, headachy/feverish and need to mainly lie down with the option of changing position every few mins to stay even mildly comfy.

My child was very unwell with chicken pox, narrowly avoiding hospital admission. You need to wait and see how they are, then decide.