Chicken pox - can I pass it to a newborn by being in contact even if I have had it?

[WickedXmasWitch]

I started to trawl through the old cp threads but I couldn't find the answer to this so I wonder if anyone knows?

We're supposed to be seeing a friend in a weeks time, but her husband now has chicken pox. He presumably won't be contagious in 8 days time (spots came out yesterday) so I'm not too worried about it, however, my friend hasn't had it and although she didn't catch it from her dd, who had it 2 weeks ago, presumably she could now be incubating it, having caught it from her husband. Couldn't she? (Still with me? Sorry, I know it's boring). My mum has no idea whether I've had it so I don't know if I've got any immunity. Ds (6yo) has had it so I'm not worried about taking him but I definitely don't want my 3 week old dd getting it. So,

• if I went to see these friends could I bring CP back and infect dd if I don't have any immunity? (Dp would stay at home with her if I went - we're not sure if he's had it either).
• Is there any way I can find out if I've had it - will it be in my medical records?
• if I have had it and therefore am immune, can I safely go, knowing I can't bring it back home?
• If I haven't presumably I shouldn't go since I might catch it and pass it to dd and dp?

These friends live in Namibia so I don't see them often, which I why I'd like to go if possible, since we can't easily re-arrange. Thanks anyone who's read this far and knows the answer!

Don't know the answer, but I have a thought, when your DS had it, wouldn't it be logical that if you had NOT had it you would have caught it off him? Presumably you didn't though?

www,ds had chicken pox when dd was 2 weeks old and she never got it,i don't know if is of any help

ok www, here is a link to NetDoctor . says there you get it by direct contact - so you couldn't give it to your dd unless you caught it yourself and passed it on to her that way.

it should be in your medical records if you have had it, i'd have thought.

yes - according to netdoctor.

possibly.

hth - you really need a doctor to respond don't you? what about nhs direct?

message withdrawn

WWW my dd has CP right now so have a little knowledge.
Your friend could be incubating - the period is 12-21 days and she will be contagious during this time. You're right about the husband, generally they say 1 week after spots appear and when spots "scabbed over" ie not pussy any more (yuk!) kids can go back to school. Your friend may start getting spots before you visit if she's going to as the most contagious period is just before the spots appear - my dd had very brief contact with a carrier 2 days before he came out in spots and then hers appeared 15 days after that contact.
The only way to be sure is to find out if you've already had them and are therefore immune.
BTW my SIL had CP at the time of birth of her 2nd child and yes he did get them (age 2 weeks) but he had about 20 spots only and she didn't find it to be too bad. My dd has had more like 50 spots but if you shut your eyes you wouldn't know - she's her normal happy self, except at night when she gets a bit itchy.
Another thought - although it may be a bit late - you can get vaccinated for CP. It is one of the standard jabs in the USA and has been used for 20 years. I investigated this (before DD came down with CP anyway) and the research suggests that the jab gives better immunity even than getting CP (about 10-15% of adults contract shingles even after having CP in childhood).
Have you asked your friend if she knows whether she had CP as a child?

If you've had it your dd should have immunity,

Even if your friend hasn't had it- if she didn't catch it before she probably has immunity (this is what happened to me I was blood tested).

If it was someone you saw all the time I would say not to bother going and rearrange as cp in a newborn can be nasty. However I do think the risk of your dd getting it is very low (as I think you must be immune if you have been exposed within the same household and didn't go down with it). In your position, assuming she is a good friend you're not going to see again for while, I would probably go, but not let her handle the baby! (unclean unclean! - could you do that without causing offence?).