AIBU? - Out with a child with chickenpox

Mawbroonsback you are correct when you say anyone with CP shouldn’t be in contact with pregnant women but it is important to highlight it is women in the 3rd trimester of pregnancy. They aren’t the only group of people either. What about adults and children with low immunity and anyone having radio or chemotherapy & babies under a year. I’ve nursed babies who died of the virus. There are lots of misconceptions regarding CP such as someone contracting shingles from CP as I mentioned earlier. High risk patients can be vaccinated against this virus and it’s available privately.

As I said, I met her in town for a coffee, in a busy cafe, I had no idea she was bringing him in, when she mentioned it I was concerned about passing the virus onto any of the above mentioned vulnerable groups, in the end BIL took hime home and she continued shopping.

Regarding mumps, my daughter had mumps when she was 4 years old - it was pre MMR, I'm surprised I didn't get it because I'd never had or been vaccinated against it.

My sister contracted Bell's Palsy through exposure to a child with CP. Her face never fully recovered as it was at a time when the hospital didn't know how to treat it properly.
It annoys me so much that society is so flippant when it comes to proper care and convalescence of all the childhood illnesses which risks outbreaks within communities and undermines how the actual child/patient feels with the illness as well.

As I said GrandmaJan my late DH. had a compromised immune system, was on immunosuppressants and very poorly recovering from sepsis, so I do understand about compromised immune systems. I had 20 years of having to take his compromised immune system into account and we coped.
When I had shingles some years previously he also had to follow a course of Acyclovir (anti- virals) as a precaution.
However, let’s not get hysterical about the risks of infection (not saying you are)
I got very irritated by whispers of “oh that looks like chickenpox”:when I took DGS1 out in his buggy on the occasion I was looking after him with chickenpox. I felt as if I was a plague carrier or the Angel of Death, while of course there was no risk whatsoever to anybody else from a 1 year old in a buggy.
Common sense, not old wives’ tales, that’s all.

Chickenpox can be spread by exposure to droplets in the air, so anyone coming within a few feet of a child with chickenpox CAN potentially pick up the virus, if they are not immune.

Who comes within a few feet of a total stranger’s child in a buggy ?

A lot of people don’t know that children can get a vaccination against chicken pox- just not on the NHS - it costs £40-60 and you can get it at some pharmacies. Advise your children if they don’t know about this.

blondenana Thanks for your kind comments,it has made me feel rather rotten to be honest all achy joints etc I am taking antibiotics for 5 days and should feel better once they start working.
I have warned my DCs to keep the little ones away even though they are all up to date with vaccinations.

Anyone in a small shop or a cafe or sharing a lift could be in close proximity to a child with CP in a buggy. It is spread in many different ways including airborne particles.

Why spread any disease when it can be avoided? It's very selfish to do so.

The vaccine isn't recommended in the U.K. except for vulnerable people because it leads to a significant increase in cases of shingles.

I read that the NHS didn’t offer the vaccine because of the cost. But who knows.

If a parent wanted to vaccinate their child against CP to avoid the inconvenience, distress etc then I wouldn’t blame them. I would pay the £40.

OK I feel vindicated as I took DGS for a walk around Cannon Hill Park nowhere near any small shops, lifts or cafes.

Drinking plenty of fluids may help to relieve the symptoms of mumps. Because mumps is viral, antibiotics cannot be used to treat it

Just wondering why you have been given antibiotics if it is indeed mumps and not cellulitis glammanana?

I think the CP vaccine is not recommended because of possible side effects. For most children CP is an uncomfortable but not dangerous illness. Two of my grandchildren had it last year within a couple of weeks of each other. The older one, twenty months, was very ill with a secondary skin infection which needed large doses of antibiotics, and her baby cousin had just a few spots and wasn’t very ill at all-it’s hard to predict the course of the illness. I think a bit of fresh air and a change of scene in the park is a good idea, especially for the carer! My four had it in two weekly intervals over the course of a summer. Two months of it!

In Canada the vaccine is now part of the standard vaccination schedule. One dose is given at 12 months along with the MMR (it is now MMRV vaccine - measles, mumps, rubella, varicella, which is the medical term for chickenpox) and one dose is given at the pre-Kindergarten visit at 4-6 years.

My children and grandchildren were very miserable when they had chicken pox. That is not acceptable.

I take a dim view of parents/grandparents taking children out and about when they are clearly not well.
DH has never had any childhood illnesses and is presently very unwell after radiotherapy, very vulnerable.
As nurses we accepted the risk of catching something and sometimes it happened, one of my colleagues died from encephalitis after getting chicken pox.
A little thought for others woule not go amiss.

There are people about with compromised immune systems due to illness or treatment. To say chickenpox is mild is absolute rubbish. Some children have quite a mild attack, but many do not. A neighbour's child developed brain complications and was in hospital for weeks; a parent at our local school was in bed for some time as he was so ill, having caught it from his daughter, that the GP visited daily - can you imagine that?
What a selfish woman - and that poor child might have felt absolutely wretched sitting in a cafe.

Although you can't catch shingles from chicken pox , my practice nurse told me , that sometimes it can give the virus a little nudge and if you are a little low it can flare up . I developed shingles while working in a nursery during an outbreak .

Yes it is very irresponsible. I have PMR ( polymyalgia rheumatica) and take steroids for it and it is very clearly stated that I have to avoid anyone with chickenpox or shingles. Luckily chickenpox is very mild for most people, but not for everyone.

It’s not just those undergoing cancer treatment - I’m immunosuppressed because of my rheumatoid arthritis drug & am specifically warned to avoid anyone with chicken pox.

Neither of my daughters caught chicken pox when they were little, despite being exposed to it. When she was in her 20s and living in Paris my eldest daughter caught cp and was so ill that she phoned a friend to come and look after her and the friend had to get a taxi in the middle of the night.

When my youngest daughter got married, I mentioned to her that, if she was going to have children, she should ask her doctor if she should have a vaccination. Her doctor thought this was the right thing to do.

As someone who has a compromised immune system, I am horrified that this still happens.

ANY virus can kill. Be it chickenpox, measles, mumps or even the common cold - due to the adverse reactions it can trigger in someone like me.

Thoughtless, ignorant and bl**dy selfish.

it might be mild for children but it certainly isn't mild for adults. Shingles for adults who've had chicken pox can be very very painful and chickenpox ca have all osrts of complications.
As to the child, although the symptoms can be mild to begin with in the first few hours the child can then begin to feel very unwell indeed and need to be in bed. This happened to my gd who seemed fine and then became quite poorly for a couple of days.
So I think you were absolutely right.

I think the parties were mainly for rubella. Before the vaccination was available, it was good for girls to get this before puberty, to avoid future risks in pregnancy. Though I think we also had the idea that chicken pox was something best got out of the way.