If you’ve ever had it in your house, you’ll know that chickenpox can be a nightmare to deal with.
The illness is also hitting many Irish families deep in the pocket, it’s now been revealed.
A new survey shows that a significant amount of Irish parents have had to make time off work due to chickenpox.
Seventy-two per cent of parents with dependent children said that their families had experienced the virus.
Of those affected, over a third of parents (37 per cent) claimed that they were forced to take between four to six days off work when their child got chickenpox.
Almost a quarter of those affected, meanwhile, said that they had to take as many as seven days off work.
This amounts to a serious financial toll for many families, the study commissioned by MSD Ireland found.
With the current average daily income at €146.37 per person, this amounts to over €585 in lost wages four missed days of work and almost €1,025 for seven days.
Other findings from the survey include;
- Thirteen per cent claim that their child had been impacted by complications of chickenpox.
- Almost half of parents (47 per cent) claim their child(ren) picked up chickenpox at school, with a quarter (25 per cent) claiming they caught chickenpox from a sibling.
- Women’s work is more severely impacted by illness in the family as nine in 10 Irish women shoulder the burden of care for sick children.
Many parents aren’t aware of the preventative measures against chickenpox, like the vaccine, comments Dr Nick Flynn.
“While incidences of complications as a result of chickenpox may not be very common, they can be very serious.
“More frequently however, parents are forced to take as many as seven to ten days off work to care for a sick child, on top of the cost of treatments, GP visits, transportation and more.
“I’d always recommend speaking to a GP or healthcare professional directly to get all the facts.”
