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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

being fed up of seeing kids out shopping with active chicken pox?

152 replies

jellybeans · 08/05/2009 15:22

Hi I have a nearly 6 month old DS and 4 older kids. The older ones all had CP and when they were infectious I kept them in unless I had to go out and then I was careful to keep them away from people. However, the last two days i have seen kids in Tesco shopping and in Boots with full CP (ie not scabbed up). I would much rather DS was at least 1 when he gets it, also worry about the newborns and elderly getting it. AIBU to think people should keep their infectious kids at home?

OP posts:
Original poster
jellybeans · 08/05/2009 17:44

I only took mine out when I had too, never casually shopping etc. I stayed in almost the whole time but once had to take older ones to school. Went and kept DS in car while friend at school took DDs in. I know in some cases people may have to go out but I think casually shopping is abit thoughtless where there are alot of babies/elderly etc. I just think kids with infectious diseases should stay home.

OP posts:
mummyhill · 08/05/2009 17:53

I am currently pregnant, I work on checkouts at a major supermarket. I find it unbelievable how many families are coming out with kids covered in chicken pox to do weekly shop so they can get some fresh air!

I have had chicken pox but I have also miscarried twice after being in contact with kids infected with chickenpox. My immune system is not great due to thyroid problems so I find it a real worry.

CrushWithEyeliner · 08/05/2009 17:54

MH so sorry that happened to you

AitchTwoOh · 08/05/2009 17:57

i've never seen this, i don't think it's done round here. poor wee dd2's just had them and i kept her in of course, it's unthinkable to infect someone whose preg or going through chemo.

fellowmum · 08/05/2009 18:01

I'm sorry too mh.

This is why people should keep there kids at home. I don't agree that you have no choice if it is really necessary for you to go out you should get someone to watch your kids at home or like jellybeans did and kept infected dc in car. With regards to food shopping most supermarkets do home delivery now so no excuse there!!

Original poster
jellybeans · 08/05/2009 18:03

MH so sorry to hear that too. I hope this pregnancy goes really smoothly. (Have suffered m/cs myself and it's devastating).It's awful to hear how many people take their infectious kids out though, how sad to expose people with low immune systems etc.

OP posts:
maltesers · 08/05/2009 18:06

Havnt read all this thread but IMO you surely all want your kids to catch chicken pox b4 they are adults....dont you? So dont get het up too much about kids out in shops with active chicken pox.... after all its blinking well active when they have 2 spots on their torso hidden under clothes and they are at school or out shopping. It does drive you potty stuck in for days on end. If you have no partner who the hell is gonna get the milk or bread when you run out ??? you either get it or go hungry !!!!!

maltesers · 08/05/2009 18:08

Oh sorry /Mummyhill didnt read your message b4 my last. Yes true, you dont want to be anywhere near childhood diseases when you are first pregnant.

tiggerlovestobounce · 08/05/2009 18:09

I think that people are generally concerned about people who are immunosuppressed and those women who are pregnant and not immune to chicken pox, rather than the prospect of well children catching it.

LeonieSoSleepy · 08/05/2009 18:16

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BelleWatling · 08/05/2009 18:21

I also think you have to have pretty close contact over a period of time 20 mins at least so casual contact is not likely to result in infection.

MH I am sorry to hear that.

I can see both sides - there are risks to certain other people but they are quite small and the realities of life are that sometimes you have no choice but to take the kids with you. I understand that in Australia they vaccinate - although may be wrong.

twopeople · 08/05/2009 18:22

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DoNotAnnoy · 08/05/2009 18:25

I would never take a child with first 5 days of chicken pox because of the risks to immunocompromised (risks to pregnant woman are actually pretty low - for 2 reasons - most will be immune because of previous exposure and secondly there are only actually about 2 weeks where there are risks - the last 2 weeks. The first trimester consequences I didn't think were (too much of) a problem.

However - I also wouldn't jump to conclusions - as you (in most cases) don't actually know they are within first 5 days. You also don't actually know it is chicken pox - it could be any of the herpes family of viruses as they all look similar - or even a series of bites. My DD recently acquired a number of confrimed bites recently. She had more bites than the pox when she had chicken pox.

LeonieSoSleepy · 08/05/2009 18:25

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Veggiemummy · 08/05/2009 18:29

Well I am officially a terrible person when my DS's had CP at the same time, 3mths and 3.5 years I didn't have the luxury of extended family to come watch my children I'm new to the area I live in and the only person I knew who could have watched my kids had a 4 week old baby. The week they had it my husband was working away and so left the night after the 3.5 year old started coming out in spots and returned 5 days later. I managed to stay in for 4 days and ordered groceries and just went out for a walk around the block but by day 4 there were things I needed and I was going crazy so I went to an empty cafe for a coffee and picked up a couple of things from a shop. Except for the 1st day DS1 was fine (and climbing the Walls) and DS2 was only unwell at night, so I wasn't dragging out on deaths door children, in fact DS1 was begging to go to the park. If you lot can stay in then good on you but I needed to get out and as a paeds nurse I know that to get direct contact you need to be with the infected person for an hour unless you are immunosupressed and I made sure we didn't go near anyone for very long.

Veggiemummy · 08/05/2009 18:35

Also UK doesn't vaccinate because 90% of adults have varicella zoster virus latent in their body, coming in contact with kids with CP increases the antibodies in their body which would kill any 'reawakening' of the virus, basically they keep it latent. If the anitbodies aren't kept to good levels loads of adults will end up with shingles which is way worse than CP. If you are a health professional or at risk of complications from CP and you haven't had it yet you can get the vaccine. If you don't come under this criteria but want the vaccine you can pay for it.

Veggiemummy · 08/05/2009 18:36

Oh but doesn't garantee life long immunity.

sarah293 · 08/05/2009 18:37

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MilaMae · 08/05/2009 18:55

I have no immunity to chicken pox,came pg with my IVF twins after many years of ttc so was very twitchy about cp and actually got signed off work for the rest of the year when it arrived in school.

As far as teachers are concerned it is a risk but my gp who got me signed off and the consultant he contacted said you need to be in a closed in environment for at least 15 minutes to catch it. I don't think a huge supermarket and just walking past somebody with it is much of a risk if you go by that.

Funnily enough having sat next to countless kids with it in the very contagious stages(they were unaware they had it as the spots hadn't appeared)during the whole of my teaching career I never caught it. I also never caught it when all 3 of mine had it and I had them in my bed with me .

I had a total nightmare when my 3 got it driving through the South of France had no idea why they were screaming during the journey(night driving) until we got to the 1st hotel and switched the lights on dd was pickled. Next day same thing with dtwin1 in the next hotel, stuck in the middle of nowhere in France so had no choice but to keep going.

Was a nightmare as Riven says completely hiding away from the world often isn't an option. I ran out of food this week and ds is off school with a nasty coughing bug I had no choice but to take him with me with the result being loads of nasty looks. The fact was we had no squash,Calpol and other bits he needed I couldn't wait for a Tesco delivery.

fellowmum · 08/05/2009 19:23

Riven I do not know what I would have done in your case. I don't have lots of handy baby sitters but I do have my husband so when he came back from work is when I went out to do food shopping.

Milamae I don't think you can be expected to keep your child at home every time they have a bad cough or cold as with young children it does happen so often especially if they are at nursery.

But I still feel when they have cp that they should be kept as far away from others as possible.

EldonAve · 08/05/2009 19:37

MilaMae - if you have no immunity to it how come you have never caught it?

Onestonetogo · 08/05/2009 19:43

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AitchTwoOh · 08/05/2009 21:40

as it happens, nhs direct advised my (cp immune) sister not to visit my other sister's wee baby just because she'd been in contact with my dd when she had it. they said that it's a virus, it can live on clothes.
i posted about it on here cos i thought it was unlikely but a good few professional people on here agreed.

biscotte · 08/05/2009 21:43

YANBU,

There are a number of unpleasant complications that can occur with chicken pox and it also really clobbers the immune system of the sufferer, so opportunistic infections are not uncommon - my daughter being a case in point. It really isn't a benign childhood disease and the less opportunity we have of spreading it around the better.

I ended up vaccinating my older children as they hadn't had it before they hit 10 and it is quite common in mainland Europe to vaccinate against it too (by parental request usually)

Sassybeast · 08/05/2009 21:49

To all those who think that CP is not infectious after 5 days can you please read the advice from NHS Direct. The child is STILL infectious until the spots are scabbed over which is generally 5-7 days after they appear. Or as in the case of my DD 10 days.

www.nhs.uk/conditions/Chickenpox/Pages/Introduction.aspx

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