Gatt Posted July 11, 2012 Posted July 11, 2012 A few months back we booked our first family holday - a week in Majorca (Palma) - Leaving next Monday (16th July) Everything was going to plan, everything was booked, new togs bought and seats booked - the lot! Sunday evening we gave our son a bath only to finds something we really didn't want to find.. a cluster of bright red spots on his back and chest Yep - with impeccable timing, our son has come down with Chickenpox.. Its now Wednesday and he's covered in them Some of the early ones have already blistered and scabbed, but more are coming up and we're fast running out of time - meaning we have a rather large decision to make: Do we wait and see if he recovers - or do we admit defeat, ring the travel insurers and airline and cancel our long awaited and much anticipated holiday The airline (Monarch) is pretty clear on its policy - all spots MUST have scabbed in order to fly... We really don't know how long it'll be or if we have to cancel or if we can reschedule the holiday
Sirbendy Posted July 11, 2012 Posted July 11, 2012 You'll be fine. You have a few days yet. I had it, as did daughter...apart from the sheer "aargh" factor, it did naff off pretty quickly.. 1
chazzy2501 Posted July 11, 2012 Posted July 11, 2012 Take the Neighbours kid on holiday with you then they can return the favour 1
elsiegee40 Posted July 11, 2012 Posted July 11, 2012 You'll be pushing it to have them all scabbed by Monday... 10-14 days is normal. Whilst chicken pox is harmless to young children, for adults and vulnerable people it can be very dangerous. My mum got chickenpox (not shingles) in her 40s and was desperately ill. Give your GP a ring and get advice... you'll need a letter from him/her anyway if you have to claim on your travel insurance. 1
Gatt Posted July 11, 2012 Author Posted July 11, 2012 Quick update - apart from a few this morning, there have been no more spots, and the ones that came out yesterday (and before) have started to blister or scab, he is now complaining of being very itchy (though refusing the Calamine lotion!) At the rate the spots are starting to blister/scab (about 2 days) then we may just about make it so long as no more come up! @elsiegee40 = we did give the GP a ring, but we couldn't get past the Gestapo, sorry - Reception - who said not to bring him in and that they don't give notes out!?! Also, not sure about the 10-14 days for them to scab - too much conflicting advise on the net! - but he seems to be going from spot-scab within 3-4 days so fingers crossed! He seems to have had a very mild dose, but a decent one (if you know what I mean)..
elsiegee40 Posted July 11, 2012 Posted July 11, 2012 Your GP will write a letter if required for insurance purposes... They may charge. I have had to do it on two occasions, once when I ended up in hospital the day I should have flown to Florida and once I had to get a letter from my Dad's GP when he collapsed at home the day we went on holiday. Your GP won't want him in the surgery, I'm not surprised at that. Ring your insurers, explain that you may have to cancel at the last moment and ask them what you would need to do to claim if it did happen. Take a photo of your son's spots as evidence! I found Caladryl cream helped with the itching for my kids. I clearly remember sitting my daughter on a potty in the bathroom aged 2 and plastering her in the stuff! 1
Gatt Posted July 11, 2012 Author Posted July 11, 2012 We've just had another look at him as we plastered him with CL - and more of the blisters have already started to scab!
Gatt Posted July 12, 2012 Author Posted July 12, 2012 Got him up this morning and had a quick check.. No new spots and the majority are already blistering/scabbing We may be in luck - so fingers crossed
elsiegee40 Posted July 12, 2012 Posted July 12, 2012 Got him up this morning and had a quick check.. No new spots and the majority are already blistering/scabbing We may be in luck - so fingers crossed Fingers crossed for you. You deserve this holiday! 1
Gatt Posted July 13, 2012 Author Posted July 13, 2012 Not sure as I haven't seen, but Mrs Gatt is a little concerned as she thinks she's seen some more spots BUT!! She isn't sure if they might have just become noticeable as they have blistered (ie that small that they werent really visible - especially under all the calamine lotion...) She is now seriously stressing about it so much she's barely sleeping.. I feel we have nothing to lose by going to the airport on Monday - if they say No then the Travel Insurance will still kick in.. If they say yes then we have everything to gain! I really don't know what to do for the best - for everyone
pooley Posted July 13, 2012 Posted July 13, 2012 Don't volunteer any information unless asked, hopefully his face wont be too spotty and he will just walk on the plane without issue.
aerospacemango Posted July 13, 2012 Posted July 13, 2012 Don't volunteer any information unless asked, hopefully his face wont be too spotty and he will just walk on the plane without issue. I really hate to do this....but someone has to.... IF the spots have NOT scabbed over, you are going to HAVE to stay at home. The problem with aeroplanes is that they are a closed air environment. The air just gets pumped around the plane. This means that if there is ANY chance of infection, the illness could spread like wildfire. Turn the situation around for a minute.... How would you feel if you'd got on a plane, for a nice holiday, and during your holiday you or your children came down with an illness that you suspected was from another passenger on the flight.... How would you feel? I truly hope that the chickenpox has cleared, and you and your family can go on holiday.... Buddha/God/Your own particular deity knows that everyone needs a holiday now and again, but you cannot, in all conscience, put others at risk. Insurance should pay out on a doctors cert.
Gatt Posted July 13, 2012 Author Posted July 13, 2012 I really hate to do this....but someone has to.... IF the spots have NOT scabbed over, you are going to HAVE to stay at home. The problem with aeroplanes is that they are a closed air environment. The air just gets pumped around the plane. This means that if there is ANY chance of infection, the illness could spread like wildfire. Turn the situation around for a minute.... How would you feel if you'd got on a plane, for a nice holiday, and during your holiday you or your children came down with an illness that you suspected was from another passenger on the flight.... How would you feel? I truly hope that the chickenpox has cleared, and you and your family can go on holiday.... Buddha/God/Your own particular deity knows that everyone needs a holiday now and again, but you cannot, in all conscience, put others at risk. Insurance should pay out on a doctors cert. Had the spots first appeared a couple of days ago then yes we would have immediately cancelled and rescheduled.. But they didn't they appeared sometime Saturday Night / Sunday Morning! The vast majority have now blistered and scabbed, there are still a few blistering and I'm not sure about these "new" spots as I haven't seen them - they may have been there already but too small until they have started to blister.. the dilemma is not knowing when they will all scab - we could phone now and they all have scabbed by Sunday. How do you then explain to a 5yo that we had to cancel the holiday only for him to be fit to fly, and then have to console him because he thinks it's his fault (he already thinks that now!) No matter what we do - if the holiday is cancelled - we are going to have one very upset kid who is going to blame himself for not being able to go. This is why I feel it is better to wait and see what happens - if we are down to a few spots and if we feel they have all scabbed - then we got the airport and see what happens.. If by Sunday there are still a load of spots that are not scabbed then cancellation is inevitable... As it stands - he *should* have fully scabbed by then....
aerospacemango Posted July 13, 2012 Posted July 13, 2012 (edited) Had the spots first appeared a couple of days ago then yes we would have immediately cancelled and rescheduled.. But they didn't they appeared sometime Saturday Night / Sunday Morning! The vast majority have now blistered and scabbed, there are still a few blistering and I'm not sure about these "new" spots as I haven't seen them - they may have been there already but too small until they have started to blister.. the dilemma is not knowing when they will all scab - we could phone now and they all have scabbed by Sunday. How do you then explain to a 5yo that we had to cancel the holiday only for him to be fit to fly, and then have to console him because he thinks it's his fault (he already thinks that now!) No matter what we do - if the holiday is cancelled - we are going to have one very upset kid who is going to blame himself for not being able to go. This is why I feel it is better to wait and see what happens - if we are down to a few spots and if we feel they have all scabbed - then we got the airport and see what happens.. If by Sunday there are still a load of spots that are not scabbed then cancellation is inevitable... As it stands - he *should* have fully scabbed by then.... I understand completely, Gatt, but I felt that the other side of the story needed to be shown as well. I would think that by saturday night you'll be in a much better position to know what to do. It was not meant to suggest that you would willingly expose others to a possible disease, just that it should be thought about very carefully when the time comes to travel. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for your family, and hope the youngster recovers in time. EDIT: And I don't think I made it clear enough in my first post that the time to make the decision would be as late as possible. Edited July 13, 2012 by aerospacemango 1
Gatt Posted July 13, 2012 Author Posted July 13, 2012 Don't worry about - just so stressed with the whole thing (and Mrs G is 10x worse ) It has been carefully thought and we really do want to try and leave it as long as poss! It's just typical after everything we've been through in the last few years
sonofsanta Posted July 13, 2012 Posted July 13, 2012 I really hate to do this....but someone has to.... IF the spots have NOT scabbed over, you are going to HAVE to stay at home. The problem with aeroplanes is that they are a closed air environment. The air just gets pumped around the plane. This means that if there is ANY chance of infection, the illness could spread like wildfire. Turn the situation around for a minute.... How would you feel if you'd got on a plane, for a nice holiday, and during your holiday you or your children came down with an illness that you suspected was from another passenger on the flight.... How would you feel? I truly hope that the chickenpox has cleared, and you and your family can go on holiday.... Buddha/God/Your own particular deity knows that everyone needs a holiday now and again, but you cannot, in all conscience, put others at risk. Insurance should pay out on a doctors cert. Definitely this - my daughter has Crohn's, as a result is on immuno-suppressants, and if anyone at her school has chickenpox she has to stay home as with her now-damped-down immune system, it can be very serious. It may well be a choice of a holiday for you and a hospital stay for someone else - you never know. It doesn't even have to be something as serious as Crohn's - just an adult who never had chickenpox and who might therefore get shingles, which can be fatal. The flight restriction is there for a reason (unlike most air flight rules, in all fairness. If MP3 players are a danger to your plane's electronics, get better electronics. I'd warrant the static in the clouds you'll fly through will present much more electromagnetism than any of my toys) Best of luck, though... and definitely leave it as late as possible, and hope you get someone understanding at the check-in desk
elsiegee40 Posted July 13, 2012 Posted July 13, 2012 This is a five year old we're talking about, @Gatt, not a teenager. He's excited about the concept of the holiday... not excited about going to Majorca. Frankly, he has no idea what you mean by it! You and your wife must not let your worries and understanding project onto your five year old. If he thinks it's his fault that you're upset, you are doing it wrong. If you end up not going, you tell him you're going on holiday and then take him to the zoo or farm park or somewhere else he finds exciting... he honestly won't realise the difference at that age! If you have to, tell him the aeroplane broke down or Majorca was too rainy, or something and you've decided to have a special holiday at home! What ever you do, don't blame those spots! This a white-lie occasion! I completely agree with @aerospacemango that if there is doubt, you must not go for the sake of everyone else on the flight. Some poor family could end up stranded at the end of their fortnight away, not allowed on the plane because their child has come up in spots... the incubation period for chickenpox is two weeks.
Gatt Posted July 13, 2012 Author Posted July 13, 2012 This is a five year old we're talking about, @Gatt, not a teenager. He's excited about the concept of the holiday... not excited about going to Majorca. Frankly, he has no idea what you mean by it! He's excited about going on an aeroplane and has been since we booked it.. We took him to the airport not long ago and he loved it and was saying he couldn;t wait to go on one.... You and your wife must not let your worries and understanding project onto your five year old. If he thinks it's his fault that you're upset, you are doing it wrong. He's not upset about us being upset, he's upset that he wont be able to go. We didn't say to him that it was his fault, he picked that up himself - he may be 5 years old - but he's a bloody bright and sharp 5 year old!. We've already told him that if we can't go on Monday we'll try and go as soon as he's better and been stressing to him that it isn't his fault. If you end up not going, you tell him you're going on holiday and then take him to the zoo or farm park or somewhere else he finds exciting... he honestly won't realise the difference at that age! If you have to, tell him the aeroplane broke down or Majorca was too rainy, or something and you've decided to have a special holiday at home! What ever you do, don't blame those spots! This a white-lie occasion! Had he not already known what we were doing this might work - but unfortunately - he knows the score I completely agree with @aerospacemango that if there is doubt, you must not go for the sake of everyone else on the flight. Some poor family could end up stranded at the end of their fortnight away, not allowed on the plane because their child has come up in spots... the incubation period for chickenpox is two weeks. I agree - but also disagree to an extent and for purely selfish reasons too. Like I said earlier, if we got up on Sunday, or if he had just broken out in spots yesterday - I would have cancelled there and then - but its been nearly a week since he got them and the vast majority are blistering and scabbing now. He seems to scab about a day after he blisters. I haven't seen him today so I cannot speak about what's possibly been seen today. We have had so much conflicting advice that we really don't know anymore .. For everyone who says they were refused to fly there are those who say they were allowed to. For everyone who said they only lasted 6 days before scabbing there are those who say it took 10-14 days to scab. There is no set timescale on it - I know that and accept that. That is why I am going to keep hanging on to that one single remaining thread of hope - because someone damned well has to! Anyway its hometime... so will try and catch up later
mac_shinobi Posted July 13, 2012 Posted July 13, 2012 If you do cancel do you not get money back due to small print or do you have insurance so you can claim on that and get your money back that way or was the said holiday paid for by credit card or what exactly ? No way they can let you move the holiday to another time frame or would you have to rebook it if you managed to get money back from cancellation or what exactly ?
elsiegee40 Posted July 13, 2012 Posted July 13, 2012 Sorry if it sounded like I was getting at you @Gatt... I'm really hoping you get to go and have been all along.... you've had a tough time and need this break. However, being selfish because you need a holiday or to avoid upsetting a 5 year old could be very selfish in terms of someone else's health. It could be much worse than a ruined holiday... think of the Mum-to-be who might be on that flight if nothing else. If on Monday morning, you are still not sure then please don't go to the airport.
witch Posted July 13, 2012 Posted July 13, 2012 That's a bit harsh, @elsiegee40! Not like you at all Nowhere did he say that he was going to try and beat the system and get on the plane when he shouldnt, by hiding spots or whatever, so I dont think he is being selfish at all. He is just hoping that things will be OK by the time he has to go.
elsiegee40 Posted July 13, 2012 Posted July 13, 2012 That's a bit harsh, @elsiegee40! Not like you at all Nowhere did he say that he was going to try and beat the system and get on the plane when he shouldnt, by hiding spots or whatever, so I dont think he is being selfish at all. He is just hoping that things will be OK by the time he has to go. Sorry @witch and @Gatt that wasn't meant the way it may have sounded. I agree - but also disagree to an extent and for purely selfish reasons too. I don't think Gatt is inherently selfish, I was trying counter what he said. I'm sure he'll do the right thing.
Gatt Posted July 13, 2012 Author Posted July 13, 2012 Just to clarify - If he had just broken out in them, then no I wouldn't be going - end of. As for the "purely selfish" comment, I'm not at all suggesting that I would take him on a just cos I wanted a plate - IF he was still highly contagious! What I meant was that I keep seeing and hearing people going on about how they've been abroad, how they booked it ages ago, and how everything seems to go swimmingly for them - but we've had so much go wrong recently that we were all looking forward to this - and then this happened... I really appreciate everyone's comment and concerns - I really do appreciate them all
Gatt Posted July 14, 2012 Author Posted July 14, 2012 Looking much better today, spots not as "angry" looking and virtually everyone has a scab! A few very small spots are either blistering or receding so its looking promising now He still has traces of Calamine in some of the larger ones, so we're gonna give him a quick shower later and see how he looks.
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now