Going to the shop with Chicken Pox?

[DesTeeny]

DD4 may have chicken pox, I don't know for certain because apart from the spots, she is absolutely fine, no rash, no upset, nothing. I can't tell if it's chicken pox or a viral rash, as she had a stomach virus last week (thank you so much primary school, she's never been ill so often).

I've kept her off school just in case but I need to go to the pharmacy, and a shop. Is she OK to come with me if we go when it's quiet and keep her away from other people? And thoughts on going for a walk/ feed the ducks /outdoor play area if there aren't any other kids?

AIBU to take her out?

When I wasn't sure one of mine had chicken pox I rang the doctors. They told me to wait outside around 6.30pm until they rang me to go in. This was to avoid contact with other patients at the end of the day. They confirmed it was chicken pox. So no you can't take her into shops but you could ring the chemist when you're outside and explain. They might come outside to check it.

A rash isn't chicken pox?

Call the GP, 111 or do an online triage, often you can submit a photo and they triage / diagnose remotely.

You shouldn't go to the shops if you suspect CP.

Does she actually have that typical pox @DesTeeny ? It almost always starts with one or 2 significant pox and then become more but thes pox are very distinct looking.

I'm aware of herd immunity and why it's important, but (a) all healthy children and adults are not vaccinated because until literally a month ago it was not part of the national inoculation programme, (b) it still won't be offered to everyone who is fit to have the vaccine because it will be offered to a particular cohort of children and (c) thanks to the inexplicable rise of anti-vaccine bullshit many people who could have their kids vaccinated won't.

It's really basic social etiquette not to take your infectious child to places where other people who are vulnerable to disease might catch it from her. Really, really basic.

did they all come on at once or did it start with one or 2 then spread? That kind of looks like cp. I'm not a medic though.

Hmm how does that work with siblings then? My eldest had the pox. So I could keep her away from other people outside the household but not away from her sister who she shared a room with. And seeing as sister didn't have pox she was still experienced to be at school etc

Though it was contagious before spots appeared anyway

BTW DD2 didn't get the pox until nearly 2 years later

This is the third day, no blisters have developed at all, the spots seem to be getting smaller.

All at once, maybe one or two slightly before but mainly all together.

Did they develop gradually staring with one or 2 pox at first? Have they been insanely itchy to the point of having to have an oat bath?

They don't itch at all, she doesn't feel unwell or poorly. She did develop one or two slightly before the others but the majority all came up in a matter of hours.

Chicken pox is not airborne so you could put her in a buggy if you still have one, put the hood up and a blanket on her so she is well covered and make sure she isn't touching anything in the shops and it will be fine. I'd also say a walk is fine, especially if it's somewhere quiet. Play park, I'd say no as she would be touching all the surfaces which would then be touched by other kids.

My pharmacist has a bell so you can ring them they will come and take a peek. Then on minor ailments can give calamine/ paracetamol. It may very well be a post viral rash and pharmacists are excellent at knowing. I also found with chicken pox it goes a couple of spots to lots very quickly so might be apparent later on.

They dont sound like chickenpox spots. They would scab over rather than just fade away.
I'm guessing a post viral rash rather than chickenpox

If they’re not itchy/fluid fills then it’s probably a viral rash as you’ve said she’s been ill. Quite common to get a viral rash, my 63 yo mum has had one recently following a cold and was surprised when I said what it was as she was thinking shingles but wasn’t in pain/itchy.

Chickenpox is very definitely airborne!
Not sure this sounds like CP though if they aren't blistering, arent itchy and arent scabbing over

You don’t need to take her to the pharmacy to check if it’s chicken pox - you can look up what chicken pox look like on line if you need to. I suspect it’ll soon become clear if it’s chicken pox of a viral rash.

If you need to get your own medication, is there no other adult who could watch her for a while or couldn’t your partner or another adult get the medication for you?

Outdoor walks are fine but not where anyone else will come into contact with her.

When you say “thank you primary school” re the bugs, did she not go to nursery?

Send the blister pics to chat gpt or put them on here so someone can do it for you.

The bigger issue here is you - you haven’t had chicken pox. You need a vaccine or if you catch it from your kids at some stage, you will be really quite ill. It might be too late as it can take 3 weeks to show up after infection. But please watch out for yourself

re your meds - call up the pharmacy and ask if anyone can deliver them to you. It isn’t great having a child with chicken pox in a pharmacy, but if nobody will deliver and you need your meds, then you will have to go in. It’s all very well people saying don’t - but there isn’t anyone helping the OP, so she runs out of options.

Sorry, it is airborne but through coughs and sneezes, which it doesn't sound like she has. I would have thought a 4 year old, on a buggy with the hood up, could practice good enough hand hygiene to quickly grab needed medication or essentials from the shops

She's not being rude at all. You said you need to go to the pharmacy for your essential meds now saying it's to check the rash. Whether it's either or both you can do both of those things remotely. As I said before uber now has a courier service where they can run errands for you. There won't be not anyone in the pharmacy when you go because the workers are in there too. Workers can be vulnerable too.

2 weeks incubation for chicken pox. You are often unwell a few days before the spots.

Have you actually called the pharmacy @DesTeeny?

I have looked it up, it doesn't look like chicken pox as there are no blisters. It also doesn't quite look like a post viral rash, but I'm not sure.

She did go to nursery, yes, three days a week, but never had a day off whilst she was there due to illnesses. She's not had chicken pox, hand food and mouth, head lice (not that you'd be off with that, but as an example), sickness bugs, she's had a few colds but that's it.

I don't know one 4 yo that practices good hand hygiene. There's a reason nurseries are full of germs. Hand sanitizer will do very little for CP. It's viral. OP needs to phone her GPs or Pharmacy.

My friend caught shingles from a kid covered in pox in a shop. It was the only place she went in ten days as WFH and had a supermarket delivery.

When my youngest had it as a toddler I still had to get oldest into school, so she went in the buggy with the rain cover down, and we waited untill last minute when most people were already in, kept out distance and watched DS walk in from the end of the path up to his class door.

If she needs to see the pharmacist, I'd go but take similar precautions to minimise risk as much a possible (Probably without buggy if she's to big). However, if it is chickenpox you'll probably know by tomorrow anyway. Before my kids had it there were a couple of rashes that I had thought might be the start of it but weren't. When it was the real thing it was very clearly different to the other times. I'd maybe just stay home today, get a food delivery/ click & collect from the car, and see if she gets better or worse.

No she didnt!
You dont catch shingles from chickenpox
You can only develop shingles if you've had chickenpox in the past. CP then reactivates as shingles when youre stressed or have a low immune system