Chicken Pox Etiquette...

[jfulle5]

Yes I'm still dealing with this....
OK so once I get Rena's clean bill of health she will still have spots all over her. She wants dearly to go see Santa at the mall. So I was thinking I would compromise with her. We will go to the mall to see the tree and Santa but not actually take the picture. The mall has carollers and a 4 piece jazz quartet and a huge tree. We will keep her strapped in the stroller and just let her see and hear everything. Do you think this is OK? I'm sure that we will get looks from other parents but as long as we keep her away from everyone else I figure it should be OK. Or should we keep her out of public until the spots go away? 

[andi]

as long as she's not contagious/not running a fever i don't see any problems taking her out.

[Clara Bow]

I don't think that it's that big of a deal, as long as she's not in close quarters with other children. Could you maybe dot a little concealer on the spots so she (and you) doesn't have to put up with stares?

[debnjerry]

I think that once they scab over they are no longer contagious, usually about a week.  There was outbreak a couple years ago in my son's kindy class, the kids were expected back in school as soon as they were scabbed over, so pretty much the whole class was spotty.  I would think nothing of taking them to the mall if they are allowed back into school.

[MadMadge43]

don't forget to keep her far away from pregnant women. chicken pox can cause deformities in fetuses.  I had chicken pox when i was 26 and called every store that I needed to go to before hand to make sure there weren't any pregnant women there and most of the time asked them to do my shopping for me and would meet them at the door cash in hand. 

And just so you know, I was vaccinated as a child, but it wore off. I'd be much more worried about spreading to adults than to kids. Personally I would have preferred having them as a child. I wish I had never been vaccinated and had just got them along with everyone else.

[IndianInlaw]

I thought it was rubella that caused deformities.

[MadMadge43]

Also chicken pox, they made it perfectly clear when i got them, and they made sure I wasn't pregnant. 

[kisu]

Rubella, chicken pox, toxoplasmosis and cytomegalia can all cause birth defects, and probably many more illnesses too... rubella's just the best-known one.

[veryfluffy]

Please do not limit your concern to "pregnant women" and children. Why should they be the only ones worthy of such consideration? You should not expose anyone to a contagious child. I have not had chicken pox, measles, etc., and I really would rather not get them now.

[ClaireC79]

When ALL of them have scabbed over then they are ok and not contagious - I went by wait 2-3days after I felt they were all scabbed just to be on the safe side.

[jfulle5]

Please do not limit your concern to "pregnant women" and children. Why should they be the only ones worthy of such consideration? You should not expose anyone to a contagious child. I have not had chicken pox, measles, etc., and I really would rather not get them now.

Well she's not contagious, but she LOOKS like she is. So I'm looking for what to say to people to reassure them she is ok.

[avonlea29]

Please do not limit your concern to "pregnant women" and children. Why should they be the only ones worthy of such consideration? You should not expose anyone to a contagious child. I have not had chicken pox, measles, etc., and I really would rather not get them now.

Well she's not contagious, but she LOOKS like she is. So I'm looking for what to say to people to reassure them she is ok.

Exactly that. "Oh, her doc says she isn't contagious anymore." That's it. You don't have to spend 15 minutes excusing yourself to strangers, IMO.

[graceh9]

Yes I'm still dealing with this....
OK so once I get Rena's clean bill of health she will still have spots all over her. She wants dearly to go see Santa at the mall. So I was thinking I would compromise with her. We will go to the mall to see the tree and Santa but not actually take the picture. The mall has carollers and a 4 piece jazz quartet and a huge tree. We will keep her strapped in the stroller and just let her see and hear everything. Do you think this is OK? I'm sure that we will get looks from other parents but as long as we keep her away from everyone else I figure it should be OK. Or should we keep her out of public until the spots go away? 

if she really is over it -- i.e. no more spots breaking out, no fever and spots are scabbed over and the doc says she isn't contagious then taking her out is okay but it will drive everyone else nuts -- since they won't know you have taken precautions

 chicken pox is close to the most contagious ailment there is -- it is easily transmitted in a crowd even without close contact -- so I'd be a little reluctant to take an obviously pox ridden child out and make everyone else nervous about contagion

[alli_wan]

This might be a dumb idea, but could you just get a friend she doesn't know to dress up as Santa and visit her at home this year?

Not because she is contagious, but because you don't want the outting spoiled by other worried parents saying things, and because it will be hard when 'everyone else' gets to talk to Santa and she can't.

(Also, if she just got over chicken pox, you might not want to have her out exposed to every other germ on the planet.)

[freakyfemme]

This might be a dumb idea, but could you just get a friend she doesn't know to dress up as Santa and visit her at home this year?

Not because she is contagious, but because you don't want the outting spoiled by other worried parents saying things, and because it will be hard when 'everyone else' gets to talk to Santa and she can't.

(Also, if she just got over chicken pox, you might not want to have her out exposed to every other germ on the planet.)

Alli Wan, I *love* your idea.