Chickenpox… likelihood of my 6mo getting it?!

[meadowkoa]

Hi all,

my 3 year old came down with chicken pox yesterday. I have a 6 almost 7 month old and I am wondering how soon she will catch it.

we are due to go away in literally 2 weeks so the timing couldn’t be any more bad. I have seen that babies can have some immunity from antibodies however, this naturally wears off. I am not breastfeeding.

im also worrying if we do away and she starts with it when we’re there. What do we do?! Google says to contact GP straight away if they are under one.

TIA xx

Do you have any idea where your 3 year old caught it? If both your children were exposed at the same time your younger one could come down with it any moment now. In 2 weeks you will probably be almost through it.

If it was somewhere like a preschool that only the 3 year old goes to then your younger one will very likely get it in 14 - 21 days time.

To be honest I'd still be inclined to go away. You say you're driving so you won't infect anyone else travelling. If you stick to solo, outdoor activities like walks you can still make a holiday of it.

My 1 year old caught it and apart from a few spots was perfectly well. You could always drive home again if you really needed to.

I'd say its high but not guaranteed. Slightly different but DD has managed to avoid 3 outbreaks at nursery and preschool since she started and a friends DD managed to not get them from my DS when we went away together despite sharing a paddling pool, baths and a bed.

My DD caught it at 5 months old from me, as I caught it from DS. That was a pleasant month in our house 😂 To be fair she was not too bad, just very spotty. I, on the other hand was 23 and thought I was dying, I’ve never felt pain like it! Much better to get it out the way now

DD is now 20 and hasn’t recaught it

If you’re only 3 hours drive away, then definitely don’t cancel your holiday! Just go and see what happens, you can always come back or find a walk in centre nearby if it’s needed.

Hope all goes as smoothly as possible!

And as someone else mentioned, remember never to give ibuprofen for chicken pox.

My 3yo doesn’t go to nursery or anything and I’m on maternity at the moment so I also thought this. We go everywhere together. No idea where she could’ve caught it. I was at a wedding at weekend but since learned she could have had it a few weeks beforehand. I’ve warned all the other parents that was there too. We’ve been to the farm and my 3yo goes dancing (where I also come along and bring my baby). Just have to wait and see! Xx

Sounds awful!! Xx

Yesss I think we will do this!thanks for everyone’s help. I just hate the uncertainty of what’s going to happen but I guess that’s life with two young children haha! Xx

My 4 year old had them but my 18 month old hasn’t despite them being in close contact / sharing baths etc. There’s definitely hope! Fingers crossed for you!

Pretty much guaranteed I would say. My eldest got it at 2years 6months and spots appeared in the 6 month old brother 2 weeks later. So we spent a month at home 😵‍💫

Almost certainly. I think it’s a 2 week incubation period but not sure how long they’re infectious before the spots appear.

Incubation period is 10-21 days but they only start being contagious 1-2 days before spots appear and until they crust over

Mine shared a bath also but he didn't catch it until 2 months later.

Praying this happens to us!!! Been attempting to keep things minimal, not sharing a bath or sharing bedsheets!! All I can do is wait xx

DD1 was vaccinated at a year so has avoided it but DD2 caught it at 6 months before we could get her vaxxed from a family friend’s kids, it was two weeks to the day from exposure to spots appearing. She did get it fairly mildly but she did quite obviously have CP. The annoying thing too is that getting it so young means they do run the risk of getting it again, so we chose to get DD2 one round of vaccine as added protection. CP is horrid.

Luckily the vaccine is available on the nhs when she turns 12 months. My 2 year old wasn’t offered it xx

Yes we had to pay privately for ours, it's great it's been added!

Can I ask, was it 14 days after you first noticed the spots on DC1?

DS came down with chickenpox on the day DD was born. Two weeks later DD had it. It's bad news for a newborn. No immunity despite being BF.

My 11 month old was so unwell she was admitted to hospital, turned out she so had an ear infection.

One of them caught it at 6 months old and she only had a couple of spots and I only knew it was CP as it had gone around at the childminders.

OP, I am in the same boat! My three year old first broke out in spots 15 days ago and my ten month old has had a fever for a couple days and today he has a spot on his cheek. I hope we get it over with as we’re travelling at the end of June, and that he gets it relatively mildly. I hope you can still go on your holiday and that the CP isn’t too uncomfortable for your little one!

You could try to get your baby a chickenpox vaccine. It is not usually given until later because maternal antibodies can still be persisting at this age and mean that the vaccine does not take as well. But given such a close exposure, it might be worth trying and you might get some benefit. They would still need a vaccine later in life though given that this one might not count.
Good luck