chickenpox/measles exposure and jabs

[vannah]

DD (14 months) due to have her hip/menc or something jab yesterday but i cancelled it, because 4 days ago we were at the library when child came in covered in red spots that I can only presume were chickenpox and can only hope were past the catching phase.

I know that the incubation period is 14 days, do I really have to wait 2 weeks before re-booking? what if she is well? (she has had a cold the last few days but seems much better and over it today...

if she is carrying it, would she be poorly the few days before spots emerge?

thanks

Hiya - I'll tell you what I know although I'm no expert - but my DS (just turned 2) and all his little buddies have just had chickenpox so had lot of exposure recently!

Whilst a child has blisters they are still contagious. This means if the spots are reddened/blistery then yes it is. If they are just crusty/scabbed over/healed but sore/reddened then they are not contagious.

If it was chickenpox sounds like the child was contagious - begging the question why did the parent take them to the library unless a) they really didnt care which is totally unacceptable as it can be a very dangerous disease for people with heart complaints, expectant mums etc or b) they knew it wasnt cp.

All of DS's friends showed symptoms exactly two weeks after exposure to him. i.e. we bathed them together on the Weds, and two Weeks later exactly they showed a few spots (which can look blistery - and they only have a couple to start with, often on the torso)

None of ours were poorly before the spots - about two days after they emerged they werent very well, but we only had two hellish night then it got better. A friends little boy was quite ill and not sleeping a day or two before they showed.

Hope that helps a bit!

many thanks for that reply lynniep, looks like i will postpone it....

Incubation period is 10-21 days, not specifically 14.

I've never got mine jabbed if I know they've been exposed to chicken pox and are within the incubation period. Of course, it's always turned out that they haven't caught the pox after all, but I feel safer that way.