Help Case Of The Chicken Pox

[genia]

SOMEONE PLEASE HELP !!!!

Last wednesday my cousin bought her 2.5 yr old son around to see me and joshua they played for about 1.2 hr not really with each other but in the same room with there own toys............ on saturday night i saw my cousin at the pub and she said her son has caught chicken pox and the spots came up on saturday as we are due to fly to wdw on the 15th may (just over a week)i am now really really worried my son has caught it and the symptoms are going to come around the time we are due to leave !!!!!!! This thought almost brings me to tears !!!!!i dont want him to get ill because .....well its just not going to be nice for him and also because we have been looking forward to this for so long and now that we have got this far i dont want this holiday to be snatched from us at the last minute !!!! has anyone had anything like this happen to them before ? i would be very gratefull to know (oh and he hasnt been vaccinated against it as we were never offered the vaccination so it never really crossed our minds !!!) some one please help im going out of my mind with worry !!! LIFE IS SO UNFAIR !!!

 

[BrerMama]

Call the dr. There are medications which will lessen the symptoms of chicken pox and make recovery quicker. It also may not be too late to get the vaccine.

 

[StephMK]

I would cautiously say you're probably ok. If the pox didn't appear til Saturday, my doc said they're only contagious 2 days prior to showing spots. My son JUST had chicken pox 2 weeks ago, he had the vaccine but still got a really mild case. My 2 DD also had the shot but could have contracted it anyway. So far (knock on wood) he's the only one that got sick & I think they would have gotten them by now.

Since they weren't together that long & the spots didn't appear til 3 days later, it sounds hopeful but I'd call the doc anyway to see if there's anything to do.

Will keep my fingers crossed for you that your trip goes smoothly!

 

[genia]

thanks alot for the quick reply its nice to know theres people out there willing to help !! i will call the doctor first thing tomoro i didnt today as its a public holiday here in the uk ! i am praying he will be ok for his own sake more than ours !!! i will let you all know tho thanks alot!!!

 

[SueM in MN]

here's a link to the chickenpox fact sheet from the United States Center for Disease
It does confirm what StephMK's doctor said about them starting to be contageous 1-2 days before the rash is first seen.

 

[genia]

so if he has caught it we wont really know untill next week which is when he will be due to get the spots (if he has caught it that is )and if it is only contagious 2 days before he gets the spots will they still let him travel on a plane do you think ?? its going to be just typicall that he ends up with it !!!!!!!

 

[moinab]

Just to be clear, an infected child starts being contagious approximately 2 days before the spots appear, and continues to be contagious until all the spots scab over. I believe this takes approximately 10 days to 2 weeks.

I was extremely disappointed when I got chicken pox as a child, because I got them in the middle of the summer, so I didn't get to stay out of school for 2 weeks, like all of my friends did!

 

[~Czarina~]

Okay, quick trip in review. My brother has horrid ears and on the flight there his ear drum ruptured...he claims he didn't feel anything and then once he started having a weird discharge on his pillow thought he had done something wrong and therefore didn't say a word. About half way through the trip is other ear drum ruptured (this is while he was on the strongest stuff the emergancy doc at Disney would give us) and so we called home and our doctor game him the knock 'em dead stuff. Well, about two days later he pops up with red spots everywhere. He was exposed and broke out wiht chicken pocks while we were at Disney. They still allowed him in the park but obviously we didn't let him swim or anything like that. As long as he wasn't feeling overly yuckie they let him in the parks and even in the plane to go home.

I would recommend that you commant your doctor and get some medication to control some of the yuckiness of chickenpox just in case he does get them and take him to Disney and have a great time! Just a word of warning though, I had "controlled chickenpox" and now being a teenager I am not allowed around people/children with chickenpox because of having a controled case that are afraid I will be subject to more then one visit from the nasty little things. So, you might only wanna control the poxs if he is really having a hard time of it.

 

[Jordan's MOM]

I hope and pray that your son will not catch those poxs. If in fact he does however break out, please consider not exposing him to others at WDW. I know he could be contagious before he breaks out but you have no way of knowing that and not going because he "might" gets them however is not realistic. While chicken pox is, for most kids, a harmless event, for some kids it can be life threating. Many kids that visit WDW through Give the kids the world are very imune surpressed and a case of the chicken pox can be life threating. Our friend's daughter got a wish through GTKTW and while she "looked" ok, chicken pox could be very dangerous for her post transplant body. You just never know who your child with chicken pox could be standing next to in line. Just someting to think about.


Jordan's mom

 

[fran99999]

I dont want to be the bad guy but... As you are in the UK, will they let him through customs, into the US, if he has chicken pox?? It may be something to check into. Also will they LET him on the plane in the UK?

You may want to check with the Airlines. I would hate for you to get to get all this way only to be turned back. What a BIG disappointment that would be

 

[zippidy-zap]

I couldn't help but feel sorry for you. What a rotten time to be exposed to chicken pox. A couple of things to think about.
First, do you have trip insurance through your booking agent? We always pay extra for it and one time it actually saved us thousands of dollars when my husband was in a car accident and we needed to postpone an anniversary trip.
That said, if you do, change the dates asap. The doctor should be able to write a letter to the insurance to justify the change. It's medically necessary which is what they look for.
Also, the folks who posted about how dangerous chicken pox can be to immunosuppressed people are accurate. It can be a life threatening disease to people on chemo, or drugs that suppress their immune system. And knowingly taking a contagious person onto an aircraft is a prosecutable offense in the US according to the Federal Aviation Administration. Obviously your child would have to be showing symptoms (i.e. vesicles, papules, the typical chicken pox rash) for this to happen, so if you board and fly before you know he's sick, you cannot be held responsible.
If your child is well and becomes ill when in the US, have him seen by a doctor here. There are antiviral meds that can shorten the length of illness.
But most important, try not to worry about what you cannot change. The whole point of Disney is to have a blast. If he gets sick, something will work out. Chances are he will be fine. If you are prepared the best you can be, just try to change what you can, and consider what is most important. You have a little one to love, and hopefully many more opportunities to enjoy the Mouse as the years go on.
You will be in my thoughts. I hope your doctor can ease your mind about the trip.

 

[genia]

me again just a quick note to say thanks for the quick response from everyone !!!i completely understand about him going on the plane etc and i would rather postpone the holiday by a couple of weeks than put anyone else at risk and also it would be nice to go when he is feeling well rather than itchy and upset !!!!! BUT as yet he has not shown any signs i check him frantically everyday and all is fine at the mo.
i find myself not wanting to tell people about it so i dont 'tempt fate' so to speak but then most people know that my cousins son has it !! im still praying he is one of the ones that hasnt caught it tho but as my nan said we can only wait and see now its not like there is anything we can do to prevent it !!!

thanks for everyones support i will keep you all posted on how he is getting on

 

[sarahsmom73]

I got the chicken pox (from a student at school) on my First Mother's day in 2002, I alos had them for my 29th birthday a few days later. I was gicen a medication which seemed to help.. DD who was 9 months old promptly got the pox 2 weeks to the day I came down with them... Were told by our doc that you are contageous until the last pox scabs over...

I'm crossing my fingers for you..

Good luck!

 

[jkjjhuddle]

I know how exciting planning for a Disney Trip can be. We are planning for our now as well. Your DS could very well be fine. Do as everyone suggested talk with your Dr. and proceed with planning. I hope and pray that all will be well and you can go and have a wonderful time. If your DS does come down with the chicken poxs deal with that as it happens.