Daughter developed hand foot and mouth day before we travel abroad...

[AmyAW]

...Should we cancel?

In the nightmare scenario where we're due to travel to Greece in the early hours of tomorrow morning, and today my DD (20 months) has come down with hand, foot and mouth.

It's spreading really rapidly, and we know from the last time she had it how poorly it can make little ones feel. I also don't want to be the one to make others on holiday poorly - and I'm 11 weeks pregnant so nervous for me too..

What do we do? Would insurance even cover this?

You need to phone your travel insurers now.

Next on my list to do - post-doctors appointment this afternoon as we need medical confirmation of it before we can discuss with anyone. Gah 😔

You can’t go.
your child is ill, travel will be horrendous.
everyone else on the plane is at risk, not only other kids but people with autoimmune illnesses.
it’s very unlikely they’ll let you fly.

phone your insurance

Thank you. My group of Mum friends have been pushing us to still go, but this is exactly where my head is at.

My DD was absolutely fine when she had hand foot and mouth, didn’t bother her at all, but she would have still been contagious so she stayed home for a week. I don’t keep her home lightly. It’s disappointing but it can’t be helped.

If she'd had it before you know how poorly she could be. My daughter was exceptionally unwell and we didn't leave the house for days on end.

Oh OP sorry to say but yes you cannot take anybody with this on a plane!
Hope your DD gets better soon

That is shit timing!

NHS says no need to keep a child off nursery / school if they are well enough. Getting on a plane doesn't sit
Comfortably with me though.

Would you like to travel feeling awful? (Putting aside consideration for other people for a moment)

I wouldn’t. You need to cancel.

It is definitely not fair to risk spreading it. I caught it in my 20s from my Nephew. The doctor said I would have it mild since I was an adult. I had it worse than all the kids and any other adult family member. I was covered head to toe in the spots. I couldn't sleep. I could only get a bit of relief in the bath. It was awful.

So appreciate the advice - thank you all.

I think we will cancel. So devastated as I have a feeling we'll lose the cost of the holiday, unless our doctors can say our DD is not fit to fly (which seems unlikely given the exclusion period is nil!?).

Here is what the NHS says:

Keep your child off school or nursery while they're feeling too unwell to go.

But as soon as they're feeling better, they can go back to school or nursery.

There's no need to wait until all the blisters have healed.

Keeping your child away from other children for longer is unlikely to stop the illness spreading.

Based on that I wouldn't cancel they holiday and you've got zero chance of insurance paying out if you cancel.

Its hand, foot and mouth - not leprosy.

Update for anyone looking at this with a similar situ:

We have cancelled our holiday, and it is covered by insurance on the proviso we have a doctors note explaining our child is too poorly to travel. EasyJet also didn't want us to fly given its classed as an infectious disease.

Happy with our decision. Being covered in blisters, woken up at 4am and taken to a hot country sounds utterly miserable and I'm glad not to be putting my daughter through it.

Thanks again to those who gave advice. Fingers crossed we'll be rebooking for a few weeks time...

you’ve made the right decision for both you and your daughter, at least you were at home when she developed symptoms hate to think of being away in a foreign country and having to cope.
Hopefully she recovers well and you can rebook.

I hope she gets better soon and you get your holiday.