If chicken pox starts Monday morning...

[Thurlow]

Do you think they're likely to be relatively uncontagious by Saturday?

2.5yo has some spots this morning that I'd bet anything will turn into chicken pox (one is already a big fat blister) - she hasn't been unwell though, which is good. But sod's law we're going on a UK-based holiday on Friday! Driving on Friday so that's ok, so it would be Saturday by the time we started doing anything.

What are the odds she's going to be ok to take out into public by then? Just want to know how much 'home-based' activities we might need to plan versus actually doing something interesting

[LeMousquetaireAnonyme]

Sorry you have no way of knowing! In my family we have record breaker 1: DB was cleared in 3 days! Record breaker 2: Me, still going after a month!
and anything in between.
You might know a bit more in a few days when you can see if she has a bad case or not.
DD2 started on sunday night, she was fine by the next saturday, went back to school on the monday. That seems pretty average for her peers.

[Thurlow]

5-7 days would be nice!

She is coming out in the SLOWEST spots ever which is making it very hard to confirm whether it is chicken pox or not...

[donkir]

Heat makes spots come out faster. So maybe go for a play in the park or a nice warm bath. You are most contagious up to 10days before the spots come out and until they scan over.

Try and keep the spots as dry as possible and use piriton to stop the itch rather than calamine lotion as that will just keep them damp.

Also if possible let her be naked as much as possible as less chance of pulling scabs off and them having to re heal. It is usually 7 days from onset of spots till your good to go.

[Seeline]

both my DCs were off school for two weeks.....

[Sirzy]

So maybe go for a play in the park

And risk giving it to other children in the park?


OP - its very much a play it by ear thing. I would plan on 5 - 7 days an hope its clear by then

[Thurlow]

So frustrating - children have the best timing, don't they!? And we're right on the beachfront from the weekend in this gorgeous weather

I'll tell DP to let her go crazy in the garden and warm up and see if any more spots come out.

It's once they're all scabbed over that they're good to go, right?

[GoogleyEyes]

One of mine was in quarantine for 6 days, the other for 14 (first spot until all crusted). Both infected at the same time, by the same person. Both treated the same (lots of porridge baths).

[Sirzy]

Hopefully by the time you go, or within a day or 2 she will be nice and scabby!

She she got any siblings?

[AryaOfHouseSnark]

She will probably be ok,but as you know she will still be contagious until all the spots scab over.
Dt2 had a few slowly pop up and scab over after a few days, dt1 got the first round, then another, they had all scabbed over around 7 - 10 days.
What sort of accommodation are you staying in ? You could still go and just stay in until they scab over, I really wouldn't want to risk exposing someone vulnerable to it though.

[Thurlow]

We can still go as it's a self-contained cottage in the UK, so we've got until Saturday before the holiday really starts, and my parents are coming too so plenty of people to keep her amused if she's still contagious. No siblings, no. Am crossing fingers and toes that the slow appearance of spots might mean she won't get too many spots!

[AryaOfHouseSnark]

Bicarb baths help dry them out I think.

[ilovepowerhoop]

www.hpa.org.uk/webc/HPAwebFile/HPAweb_C/1194947358374 - HPA says exclusion period is 5 days from onset of spots so she should be just about past the contagious stage by Saturday.

They are contagious for 1-2 days before the spots appear and until they crust over which is normally 5-7 days from when they first appear.

[shushpenfold]

All fine with the HPA but it clearly says 5 days from onset of spots.....my children's spots were still arriving 4 days after the onset of the first ones!

[Thurlow]

My parents had her this weekend and she went to a lovely, busy fete and played with lots of kids

Will keep things crossed. We can manage a few days keeping her relatively contained but it would be sad if we lose the entire holiday, but hopefully by the weekend she'll start scabbing over. These holiday photos are going to look lovely, aren't they?

[shushpenfold]

She'll be fine, if a touch isolated! Yes, lovely piccies to look back on and smile (but possibly not put on the mantlepiece... :0))

[Thurlow]

I can just see us, finally enjoying the beach at 9.30 at night when it's empty!

[AryaOfHouseSnark]

Yes but it will be lovely and cool then, and you will have it to yourselves.
She will possibly be ok by then anyway.
Good luck.

[insancerre]

Its 5 full days from the first spots
So if you take Tuesday as the first full day then she will be out of quarantine by Sunday morning

[Thurlow]

Thanks everyone. Bloody timing! I must stop Googling for horror stories of chicken pox that lasted a fortnight, really most people I know were back at nursery within the week. Dr Google is a dangerous thing!

Now I just need to tackle the grandparents who still ascribe to a rather blase 1970s view of childhood illnesses and who will have DD for two days on their own at the start of the holiday (if she's not poorly with it, obviously). Mum still believes in airing all illnesses. Fine for a sore throat. Not fine for chicken pox