AIBU? - Out with a child with chickenpox

DoraMarr. Many thanks! I am learning! You can't catch shingles from chicken pox!! What a relief! I was always told the opposite! Thank you!
Also there is a "shingles aware" programme in the UK and you may be eligible for a shingles vaccine if you are over 70. See;
www.shinglesaware.co.uk/patients/information-for-people-in-england.xhtml

agnurse. Thank you to you also!!

MawBroonsback “What makes you think you do know more than anybody else or that your knowledge is more “up to date”?

The fact that I have just quoted current NICE Guidelines!
If you have any medical background at all you will know the importance of these Guidelines and how much respect is attached to them! Please tell me where more up to date guidelines may be accessed???

You have clearly stated - “The only group you need to keep a child with chickenpox away from is pregnant women.”
WRONG - FACT

You have also WRONGLY implied that there is no risk in contact with Chickenpox - “Oh here we go again, bring out the handbell and intone “Unclean, unclean”

I have not criticised you for walking round a park with a child in a buggy!

The comments you made were in response to someone meeting up for coffee, in a public cafe or restaurant which I do criticise you for!!*

I used to respect you as a “Gransnetter of some standing.”
Everyone can be wrong, but to refuse to accept you are wrong when proved to be, does not command respect.

People can be extremely ill with chickenpox, shingles is really painful, but as another post said chickenpox can be a killer if your immune system is down. I’m on steroids at the moment with strict medical instructions not to come into contact with anyone with the disease. Well how are you supposed to avoid when irresponsible people are taking chickenpox victims out and about. No you’re not being unreasonable.

Add comment | Report | Private message MawBroonsback Sat 01-Jun-19 11:40:20
I take your point Chucky I suppose I had in mind that there are many many more pregnant women around especially in the social circle of young mums whose child may have chickenpox than those on immunosuppressants. Reproof accepted.

Perhaps you missed this chucky ?

If I may add, my comment about “chickenpox parties” referred to our mothers generation, not the present day or even when our children were young.
I fear Tillybelle may have misunderstood that too.

Regarding the comments:

"*Oh here we go again*, bring out the handbell and intone “*Unclean unclean*”"

Is this level of sarcasm necessary? It pours such acid into our discussion and its vituperative tone cuts the discussion,
which otherwise is very civilised, to pieces. The rest of us are behaving normally, being respectful and helpfully passing information to each other. Then suddenly this nasty assault swerves into the thread.

If people come here just to be nasty or sound clever or to pour scorn on people regarding what they wrote in the initial post, may I ask that their comments be ignored? It is not in the spirit of GransNet. Also by making such forceful statements people might think they know more than they do. This denunciating jibe was followed by wrong information which could mislead people.

This is a good topic and such a helpful discussion. There are many sides to it. I for one am so grateful to fizzers for raising it. My gratitude also goes to those who explained about the direction of transfer between Ch Pox and Shingles.

I do not usually read posts that start with the proclamation of a venomous diatribe. They usually come from people with nothing of interest to add to the topic. I noted that from this announcement onwards people had to defend themselves instead of being able to talk to each other openly. This kind sarcastic and personal criticism makes us feel threatened and stifles good communication.

I am so glad that many people have been able to carry on and contribute.

I reiterate that I think it was thoughtless to take a child that is infectious to a public place, both for the sake of the sick child who should have had the peace and quiet of home and for the public who should not have to worry about being exposed to the highly contagious virus the child has. This virus is much more contagious than MawBroon would have us believe.
I remember that when my sister and I caught ChPox a child further up our road developed it too and had to miss being a Bride's Maid. So it is not always about health concerns that people try to avoid the disease.

MawBroonsback

I misunderstood nothing about what you wrote.

I quoted from the CDC webpage: "Chickenpox Parties"—Don't Take the Chance"

My reference had nothing to do with anything you said.

Pat1949. Very good point! It certainly is not "just pregnant women." (Was it a fair guess, you probably are not pregnant at this time?)

I do hope your health will improve a lot, you can avoid all the infectious blighters and you will soon be feeling much better.

Tillybelle you are so right in what you say. I hate posters who take away from the original post, by pooh poohing it and making sarcastic remarks, without any real knowledge base other than their own tainted views!! It certainly leaves me annoyed and frustrated with some posters, who appear to be unable to see past themselves, even when their error is pointed out. Perhaps best to leave them to it, without rising to the challenge!
It is best to concentrate on the positives that these threads bring with their, sometimes, invaluable comments.

Mawbroonsback
I didn’t miss it! I haven’t misunderstood anything you have said. I have quoted the facts which you appear to have either missed, ignored or thought you knew better!

I will leave you alone in your bubble!

Shalene777 Oh Shalene! I should have said before! I was heart-broken when I read how you lost your baby at that late stage of pregnancy! I had a late miscarriage at about 23 weeks. I still think of it a lot. The circumstances of losing your baby are so terrible. I hope and pray you are able to live happily now and do not feel the grief so badly. I had a friend who told me that these little babies carry on growing in Heaven. She was entirely convinced she had been there and seen them. I would like to think that their little souls are safe and in a better place.
Lots of love, Elle

Mawbroon what difference does it make if the OP has had c/pox?

Despite my mum’s best efforts , out of 4 children I didn’t catch any of the childhood illnesses that my brothers and sisters did.

At the age of 31 I caught it from my children and I can honestly say I have NEVER been so ill in my whole life , both before and after. I truly thought I was dying !!

I would be horrified to find someone bringing a contagious child out to a public area. I wouldn’t wish adult chicken pox on anyone.

Let’s be honest it’s only for a short period of quarantine so why bring the child out at all?

I agree with you, but maybe she is ignorant of the fact of how serious it can be

To be honest sarahanew I thought everyone knew the risks to pregnant women at least , same as measles. Maybe it should be publicised more .

In the late 70’s there was an outbreak of CP in London and a particularly vicious form on Canvey Island. My friend’s 3 year old caught it, she also had the pustules in her mouth and vagina, and so did her nursery friends. A young mother on my friend’s Canvey estate also caught it and was very ill. As she got better she sat in her armchair to watch television, and got up to change the channel (no remotes then!) She didn’t make it back across the room, but collapsed and died. The virus also causes shingles in older people - I’ve made sure I had my injection!

No, Tillybell, I’m not pregnant. ??

My, then, husband had chickenpox when he was 41. He was so ill - it caused kidney failure, and if it hadn’t been for a very vigilant doctor, it could have been much worse. It’s only a mild illness in children, but very dangerous for older people, and can cause shingles. Very irresponsible of your sister.

Chicken pox is not good news.
My son had it at the same time as his sister, his was mild dose but my daughter was exteramly ill and had to have an injection.

I have had chicken pox twice, my cousin also caught it twice.

I am just recovering from a second bout of shingles, the first was just over 4 yrs ago.

My father had shingles on his face that resulted in encephalitis.

My grandmother lost most of her sight in one eye due to shingles.

I believe in order to suffer shingles you need first to have had the chicken pox virus.

So I would have thought that it would make sense to vaccinate children against the chicken pox virus which would prevent then shingles in later life.

FWIW, I agree that Maw belittled and tried to minimise the causes and effects of a poorly child being taken into the community and she can huff and puff all she likes now but it matters not one jot. Her remarks are there in black and white. I want to thank Chucky and Tillibelle and anyone else that have argued and proved her wrong in this thread.

My DC got measlesoff two toddlers at a party! Their mother was “bored” keeping them in! To say I was furious was an understatement; I knew the side effects of this illness. And I caught chicken pox off my DC when I was 40. Not a lot of fun!
No, any “childhood “ disease is best kept at home until the FULL quarantine period is over. Our parents were very good at that, fearing any sort of contagion...

Not really a good idea, but then the infectious stage is actually before the spots appear.
The child will not be allowed back at school until the spots have at least scabbed over.
Would have been more thoughtful of her to have contacted you beforehand and asked if you minded - how would she know if you had had chicken pox yourself?

NatashaGransnet Only one person started any kind of "fight" by making a very sarcastic remark. It is only that person's remarks that have caused disruption. She made claims about other people, including me whom she said had "misunderstood her". I had not. When one person does this, the rest of us are left with no alternative but to defend ourselves and explain the truth of what we said.Did this one person wrote to you to complain that we were unkind to her? Please read the thread and decide who the unkind person really was. Many thanks.

I think everyone has been giving relevant information raised by the OP. It's a good OP. I have learned a lot.

The hugely overwhelming majority here agree with the OP that an infectious child should be kept at home!

grandMattie. I'm so sorry to hear that! And aghast! It's unbelievable what some parents will do! Apart from the dangers of complications with measles and ch/pox, what about the poor children? Being sent to a party when they were ill could not have been any fun for them.