Chicken pox

[Clarabellawilliamson]

Hi all, I think I need some reassurance. It not me who is pregnant, it's my sister in law (about 16 weeks) She came round to our garden on Sat to see me and the kids. Today my two year old has a very suspicious looking blister/ spot. There was pox in his nursery a few weeks ago.
We stuck pretty closely to Covid guidelines so no hugging etc though she may not have been 2 meters away at all times.
I don't know if she has had it previously, I don't know if it's definitely pox, and if it is, I don't know how contagious he would have been on Sat!!
I want to wait until I know if it is or isn't before I speak to her. Does anyone know more about how contagious he is likely to have been on Sat if first spot came out today?

Chicken pox would normally be contagious 1-2 days before spots appear. It is airborne but being socially distanced outside would help with minimising risk (a bit like covid!).

She should be ok, it depends if she has had chickenpox herself, I would just inform her and let her know it is a possibility, but if there was no hugging or inside time them I highly doubt she would get it.

But knowledge is power and if she has had it there is not issue, if it is CP and she has not there is a treatment available depending on where she is in the pregnancy and if it is needed.

I went through this, the woman who scanned me at 12 weeks came down with chickenpox and they where very firm about had i had cp or not, but thankfully I know I had it, from my own memory.

She can have a blood test to check her immunity levels. It would be unusual for her not to be immune and unlikely to have caught it three days before.

I would tell her and ask her to speak to her midwife. If she has had chicken pox in the past herself then she will be fine. If she is unsure or hasn't, she needs to have a blood test called Varicella Zoster Virus immunity. It can often be added onto the tests she will have had at the start of pregnancy. If they come back that she is non-immune, her hospital may offer her an immunoglobulin injection to protect the baby.

As above it really depends if she's had it or not and sounds as if the risk of her catching it were quite low.

However, I think you should tell her now just so she can be prepared. I'm currently pregnant and I would personally be really annoyed if someone thought there was even a small chance they'd passed it to me and didn't let me know. Just explain that you're not sure if that definitely is what it is but make her aware

Thanks all- I was only planning to wait until this afternoon! I didn't know there was a potential treatment offered if necessary.

She needs to go to the doctor to get a blood test ASAP to see if she has already had chicken pox. This happened to me at around the same time & I was initially denied a blood test. Got a blister & was then fast tracked for a blood test which showed I had not had chicken pox (bloody stupid midwife behold denied me the initial blood test!), but it was too late & despite getting the VZIG injection the same day I got full blown chicken pox & was extremely ill. Luckily my son was born healthy with no issues, but I was very anxious up until the birth.

I've rung her, she's pretty confident she has had it before but she will prob ring midwife for advice. Thanks for the extra information about the possible injection- that was helpful.

Phew! Blood tests came back saying she was immune. We can all relax a bit now. Except the spotty two year old I suppose!

Also- glad everything was ok in the end for you @Journeynotdestination , that must have been a really anxious wait

@Clarabellawilliamson thanks, and glad she is immune and can relax now 😊