Flying with Chicken Pox
 

On my TLV-LTN flight now a family boarded with a toddler showing a full face of chicken pox. The FA rightly told them they couldn't fly and so they deplaned although not until everyone else including a bunch of other kids had boarded. I was shocked they even tried to fly. Anyone else seen anything like this?

Nothing quite so blatant, but it does beg the question whether or not the airline would re-accomodate them on a later flight without charge, or if they would be stuck eating the non-refundable airfare. The latter may have been part of their motivation to attempt to fly, horrible as the idea was.

Flying with Chicken Pox
 

Ain't no cure for stoooooopid!

The issue has come up a few times:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/searc...rchid=20985725

I never had chickenpox, and I'll be very upset if I get it at my 40's because a no considerate or even selfish person

Can you get the vaccine now?

This may be an old wives tale, but I've heard it is actually dangerous to get either the disease or the vaccine as an adult.

I never heard of anything so crazy before, but im definitely not surprised.
I wonder how they work out the tickets? If they didn't have insurance, do they get anything back? before booking a ticket, it never says you can't have chicken pox

I wasn't sure. Not surprised to hear this. That virus behave strangely in adults.

There is a vaccine for chicken pox. Which would be ideal as then you would also be protected from getting shingles.

Are you positive it was Chicken Pox?

There's lots and lots and lots of illnesses and rashes (many look just like chicken pox) that little kids get. Not all of them are contagious and most of them are harmless.

I've had to travel with my child while he was in the middle of some gnarly looking rash, but I got a letter from the pediatrician with his diagnosis and that it was non communicable.

Never the less, I still got stares that could have killed a person.

Also, many childhood diseases are not contagious anymore after the rash appears. Even just a mild cold can produce a rash that looks very similar to measles in kids.

A bad case of Hand, Foot and Mouth disease might look like chicken pox. Contagious yes, but not nearly as much as chicken pox. By the time the rash shows, the contagious period is almost over by the time the rash appears. Adults can catch it and be contagious without ever knowing that they were contagious.

And unless you are touching the child, coming into contact with it's feces or the child is sneezing on your child, nothing to worry about.

Indeed it has. This link may work better though: mentions of chicken pox on FlyerTalk

Thanks. :)

Wives tales …

Mumps are more a of problem for adults, specifically male adults. Chicken Pox symptoms can be worse in adults but the end result is no different.

Hmmm. Before posting I searched for "pox" and nothing came up

Flying with Chicken Pox
 

Tangent but I'm 35 now and got the first shot of the chicken pox vaccine at age 33. I still have to complete the vaccine with a booster but I had no adverse effects.

I really never considered it.

But this article made me look for more information, and I found that if I have contact with someone with chicken pox, and if I take the vaccine in the next 5 days, I may avoid the disease or at least have mild symptoms.

Not the worst case scenario :rolleyes:

Not sure about the vaccine, but it is more dangerous to catch actual chicken pox as I had the dubious pleasure of having it in my mid-30s. Was fairly lucky since didn't have any complications but blisters (and especially blisters that become infected) can be both worse and slower to heal than with kids. One tiny benefit - no one bothered to ask for a doctor's note at work when I came back a week later. :p

communicable disease or chicken may have worked better, as three letter words don't work as well.

I had an exchange about this before:

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trav...ir-travel.html

Varicella, AKA "Chicken Pox" is, as most of you know, a common childhood disease in most places. Children often contract it from other children when they are confined in somewhat "close" spaces such as schoolrooms in the months when windows are closed. The disease spreads through the respiratory route. Many children get the disease and show none of the usual "rash" while others break out visibly. Non-immune adults who contract the disease run the risk of it displaying as "varicella pneumonia" which, in adults, can be life-threatening.

Depending on how long the child was in the enclosed space, and if (big "if") the child actually had a case of full-blown varicella, there might be some concern for those who are not immune. Most adults are and they most certainly are if they've ever had a case as a child (and remember, you may have had the disease and not know it).

People with varicella may be contagious anywhere between two days prior to an actual rash breakout up until the 21st day after the rash appears.

Feel better now?

I'm wondering what would happen to the kid in immigration if they had been allowed to fly.

Were the child's pox scabbed over? If so, the disease was no longer communicable and there was no reason not to travel.

As has already been mentioned, varicella infections are communicable for several days prior to the appearance of a recognizable rash, and it takes two to three weeks for the illness to manifest after contracting the virus. That's why entire classrooms tended to experience outbreaks all at once before the introduction of the vaccine.

Chickenpox infections that never develop into full-blown rashes are also not uncommon, but they still follow the normal stages of contagion.

Varicella virus is also transmitted by people with active shingles cases. Shingles lesions can occur on any part of the body (e.g., under clothing), and even internally, so you will often have no way of knowing you've touched or been near a person with a contagious case of shingles.

In other words, you probably encounter many opportunities throughout the year to contract the virus without even knowing you've been exposed. You yourself could be one of those people who have actually been infected in the past without anybody ever realizing it. The only way to be sure is a titer test.

The initial varicella infection (chickenpox) is indeed significantly more dangerous in adults than in otherwise healthy young kids. Regardless of whether this child was actually fit to fly, you should either be tested or obtain the vaccine.

All seniors should get the shingles vaccine. MediCare will pay and it can literally be a life-saver.

Nothing quite so obvious, but it does beg the query whether or not the air travel would re-accomodate them on a later journey without cost, or if they would be trapped consuming the non-refundable air travel. The latter may have been aspect of their inspiration to make an effort to fly, terrible as the concept was.