No idea, but it sounds it’ll be a close call. There’s potential liability on the line here. |
It is a gray area for sure. With 50-60 pox or more they may mostly look scabbed but what if the dr didn't notice one spot that wasn't? Or perhaps a new lesion shows up that goes unnoticed. It it too soon from onset to reliably and definitively declare this child not contagious. Hopefully any dr would agree sending this child on an airplane is a terrible idea |
Outside of the plane run this by the bride and groom! |
No. And the people t the wedding will not want him there either. Traveling is not as important as your child completely recovering and not infecting others. |
No, Typhoid Mommy—do not do this. |
Have the adults in your household already had chickenpox or received the vaccine? Do you have any other children? My concern would be that the incubation period for chickenpox is more than just a few days. Anyone who was exposed to your son, but hasn’t developed a rash yet, could also be a carrier.
When I was fifteen, before there was a CP vaccine, I attended an event where a little girl curled up on a bench and cried. I sat down next to her and asked her what was wrong, and she started sobbing that she wanted her mommy. I put an arm around her and comforted her while she waited for her mother to pick her up. After about 10 minutes, the little girl mentioned that her brother had just had CP and maybe that was why she didn’t feel well. She didn’t have any visible indication of CP on her skin, but because I’d never had CP, I immediately wished her well and got out of there and washed my hands. Two weeks later, I was symptomatic. Another two weeks later, my brother was symptomatic. Unless the risk of contracting CP is very low for all of the other members of your household, your family should probably stay home. |
For all of you who would not trust the doctor to decide..how would you decide? |
Obviously, you leave the sick, uncomfortable kid with the parent who isn't as close to the couple getting married.
Parent who is closest to the couple travels alone. Obviously. Because even if the doctor says the kid is technically not contagious, the kid will still be uncomfortable, and the kid will LOOK very sick. And if you walk around waving a doctor's note at wedding guests at the reception, you'll look like an attention-seeking moron. |
Per the CDC:
OP, is your doctor going to be able to tell if no new lesions have appeared for the last 24 hours? Probably not.... https://www.cdc.gov/chickenpox/about/transmission.html |
OP here. Son and I ended up staying home and my husband and DD went. You all had good advice - I didn’t even consider that he’d be too rundown and he slept until 10 am this morning! - plus he had some new bumps Friday.
Also airline gave us a credit for our flights which was nice. |
Thanks OP for the update and for doing the right thing for everyone. Hope your son feels better soon. |
As someone who got the first round of the vaccine and wasn’t able to get the second round because I became pregnant I thank you. |
Good call. I'm happy for you that the airline gave you credit. |
Good news on your part and congrats to the airline for doing a good deed. |
I stood in line behind a mom and kid with obvious chicken pox scabs at TSA a few months ago, and it was clear it was an issue. I didn't wait around to see how it played out, but i did hear TSA tell the mom that even if they let them through, the flight crew likely wouldn't let them on the plane.
Honestly, you need to pull the plug. Send one adult family member if you must--but even that is risky on the off chance you are germy. We've skipped our big family Thanksgiving festivities (which entails travel and allows us to catch up with relatives we otherwise don't see) twice in recent years because we had a sick kid. You can't take germy kids around the elderly. Heck, nobody wants your germs. |