To not even bother packing - Chickenpox?

[Eyeofthelamp]

My son was sent home from school on Thursday with the dreaded pox. He’s absolutely fine, but we’re due to
go on holiday in just over a week. I know I can get a fit to fly note before we go, BUT my little girl hasn’t had pox yet. She currently shows no sign of getting them but she will, won’t she? I know I can’t cancel our holiday due to exposure, but I also don’t want to go with the impending risk of her getting them abroad and then being stuck in another country for a week on my own, whilst my husband and son have to
go home.

If we cancel we stand to lose £4.5k, but I just can’t bring myself to even start packing. AIBU? What would you do in these circumstances? I’m feeling pretty crap as this is our only chance to get away this year due to other commitments, so it would be another full year without a holiday if we can’t go 😔

Blimey OP that's bad timing. I'd chance the vaccine but I'd be geared up to cancel. One of mine wasn't really unwell but crikey the second was and ended up in hospital. I get very cross when it's dismissed as a routine illness, for many it isn't.

It was 2 weeks after ds1 went back into school that ds2 came down with it they had shared a bath the day before ds1 came out in spots so we all assumed he would come out with it sooner plus he was actually at the same event where most of ds1s year group caught it

The timeline made no sense

I haven't read the whole thread so this may have been mentioned...but from next year, the chicken pox vaccine is going to be included in infant vaccination programme. And it's been successful in other countries that have been doing it for a long time - I think we're quite behind on it personally!

That's what 2 weeks incubation period means though; child gets exposed then child gets spots 2 weeks later.

Once again, the risk was to adults who had NOT been vaccinated. Theory being that one round of chickenpox might not be enough to avoid shingles. Even if that had proven true, those adults who wanted extra protection could have had a shingles vaccine rather than require children to get wild chickenpox to protect them.

That is how incubation works though, two weeks?

Yes that’s textbook timeline for CP.

The shingles vaccine is only given to older adults (used to be age 70-79 but is now age 65 or 50 if you have a weakened immune system).

Adults who hadn't been vaccinated would have more than likely had chickenpox and would be at risk of shingles in the future. I dont know why you're arguing with the point that I made tbh.

https://www.ox.ac.uk/research/everything-you-need-know-about-chickenpox-and-why-more-countries-don%E2%80%99t-use-vaccine

Says:
In the last review of the chickenpox vaccine by the committee which advises the government on vaccines (the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, JCVI), the future modelling of the impact of vaccination indicated that there could be an increase in the rate of shingles in adults over time, which would make the vaccine programme not <a class="break-all" href="http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20120907090205/www.dh.gov.uk/prod_consum_dh/groups/dh_digitalassets/@dh/@ab/documents/digitalasset/dh_109874.pdf" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">cost-effective.

This is because, if chickenpox in children disappears as a result of a vaccine programme, adults would no longer have their immunity boosted by exposure to their chickenpox-suffering children and grandchildren and would be more likely to get shingles. Put simply, the conclusion of the previous review was that it would not be cost-effective for the NHS to immunise children against chickenpox.

(This view seems to have changed now after shingles cases didn't seem to increase and CP vaccine is to be added to the immunisation schedule)

Ignore the middle bit. Don't know why there's a random link in the middle and it won't let me edit it out

My 21 months old came out in spots 2 weeks to the day her older sister did

It was 15 days between my dd and ds getting it. Incubation period is 10-21 days

Not exactly, so ds1 came out in spots he had a bad case so was off school almost two weeks then another two weeks after that was when ds2 got the chicken pox four weeks after he was exposed

2-4:weeks from exposure fits within the average 1-3 weeks, a delayed immune response or late exposure would still fit. He might well have just been exposed to someone else at school though.

We’re in the same boat, did you go what was the outcome?xx

We went. She came out in chickenpox on day 3. We ended up staying an extra 3 days (covered by insurance). It all worked out ok, but not exactly the best holiday ever.

Did you have to advise your travel insurance before you went that a member had it just before going?

No I didn’t. Kids can get it, or not, anytime. No point mentioning it.

One child had it a week before half term hols, was fully scabbed over within a few days so fit to fly. Didn’t bother with fit to fly note as not many scabs on face and staff barely looked at her (more interested in valid passport) as kids faces change so quickly. Came back off holiday and day after after a few blisters had appeared on other child.