Chicken Pox Etiquette...

[jfulle5]

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.)

She's not really intersted in Santa, she's afraid of him. She just likes to look at him.

[bopper]

Make really really really sure that your child is not contagious anymore before you go out...CP is very very very contagious and if you go out now, you might be giving somebody the not so welcomed Christmas present of the Spots.

I say this because one time my SIL's kids had Chicken Pox and she was supposed to host the other SIL's bridal shower.  "Oh, they are all scabbed over and they will be at their grandparents anyway."
They were not at their grandparents, they may or may not have been scabbed over, and although we tried to stay outside as much as possible and away from the cousins, two weeks later my daughter got them, and since you are contagious before you break out, her whole daycare got them...costing parents time from work and income from the daycare provider. 

Keep your daughter home, just tell her you cannot go out when you have the CP.

[HogwartsAlum]

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.

Um...no you don't.  I had them at nine (at Christmas yet) and I've never been more miserable in my life.  The constant itching was TORTURE and there wasn't a single spot on my body that didn't itch.  Add fever and chills to that and it gets even worse.

My poor mother...my sister and I had them at the same time and she didn't get a lick of sleep for almost a week, running back and forth between our two bedrooms while we cried and cried all night...

[kareng57]

If you're sure that absolutely all spots are completelys scabbed over, it should be fine.  From the sounds of your posts she had a pretty mild case so I'd doubt whether there'd be more than one or two spots on her face which is probably about all that strangers would see (at this time of year I assume that she'd be pretty well-covered with outerwear in her stroller).

Apparently years ago the rule was that kids could not re-enter school until all the spots had completely disappeared, not just scabbed-over.  If that had still been the case, DS #1 would have missed about two months of first grade.  As it was, he had his class-picture about three weeks after he returned to school, and I had to spend about ten minutes that morning working his face over with the makeup cover-up pencil.

[jfulle5]

Make really really really sure that your child is not contagious anymore before you go out...CP is very very very contagious and if you go out now, you might be giving somebody the not so welcomed Christmas present of the Spots.

I say this because one time my SIL's kids had Chicken Pox and she was supposed to host the other SIL's bridal shower.  "Oh, they are all scabbed over and they will be at their grandparents anyway."
They were not at their grandparents, they may or may not have been scabbed over, and although we tried to stay outside as much as possible and away from the cousins, two weeks later my daughter got them, and since you are contagious before you break out, her whole daycare got them...costing parents time from work and income from the daycare provider. 

Keep your daughter home, just tell her you cannot go out when you have the CP.

Actually because of the vaccination rules at her daycare my daughter was the only one to get them and it's been 2.5 weeks with no other outbreaks. Her doctor actually said she doesnt see them too often anymore because of the vaccine. She was checked today and she's a -ok

[Xanthia, Maker of fine Tin-foil hats since 2007]

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.

Um...no you don't.  I had them at nine (at Christmas yet) and I've never been more miserable in my life.  The constant itching was TORTURE and there wasn't a single spot on my body that didn't itch.  Add fever and chills to that and it gets even worse.

My poor mother...my sister and I had them at the same time and she didn't get a lick of sleep for almost a week, running back and forth between our two bedrooms while we cried and cried all night...

I was vaccinated, and I got them, not once, not twice, but THREE TIMES.  I also had Rubella.  I stay away from anyone exposed to CP because I am afraid of getting that again or getting shingles, which I have heard is excruciating.

Also, please remember, CP can cause sterility in men past puberty, so it is not just children and pregnant women who can be in danger.

[VorFemme]

I have long known about Rubella - German measles - causing deafness and retardation - how badly the fetus is affected depends on how far along the pregnancy is.

Agatha Christie's The Mirror Cracked (or is that Crack'd?) has a plot that involves a case of German measles..............

[kareng57]

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.

Um...no you don't.  I had them at nine (at Christmas yet) and I've never been more miserable in my life.  The constant itching was TORTURE and there wasn't a single spot on my body that didn't itch.  Add fever and chills to that and it gets even worse.

My poor mother...my sister and I had them at the same time and she didn't get a lick of sleep for almost a week, running back and forth between our two bedrooms while we cried and cried all night...

Also, there's the factor of scarring.  DS #2 (who has very sensitive skin) still has a noticeable "dent" in the middle of his forehead where there was a large pox.  I don't think it really bothers him, but some kids have worst scars.  I know an adult woman who is still missing about one-third of the lashes on one eye - a pox grew right on top of them.  It's true that in the pre-vaccine days it was considered better for a child to have CP while very young and get it over with but in areas where the vaccine is available and free, I can't understand why any parent wouldn't want to take advantage of it.  Of course it's not 100% effective, but at least kids get far milder cases.