Chicken Pox

[satindesire]

So, I found out recently while taking my little one in to get shots, that they have a Chicken Pox vaccine.

Now, when I was a little girl, my mom just took me over to a neighbor kid's house who had chicken pox to make sure I got it. Boy did I EVER get it, too. I still have a scar on my cheek from it.

How long has this vaccine been out, and wouldn't getting the vaccine be so much easier on the child, since they don't have to suffer through a week or more of intense itching, bleeding, insomnia and pain due to lesions?!

What are your thoughts/info?

 

[Rosie_Riveter]

It's been available a good 10-12 years, Satin. My youngest got the vaccine and if memory serves he got a very, very mild case of chicken pox. Definitely much easier than the full blown case my oldest got before it was available.

The dose was much stronger in the early years. Now some kids get the vaccine and still get a mild case--apparently too strong a vaccine produced its own problems.

I don't think it's very controversial at this point--except amongst the people for whom all vaccines are controversial.

 

[satindesire]

It's been available a good 10-12 years, Satin. My youngest got the vaccine and if memory serves he got a very, very mild case of chicken pox. Definitely much easier than the full blown case my oldest got before it was available.

The dose was much stronger in the early years. Now some kids get the vaccine and still get a mild case--apparently too strong a vaccine produced its own problems.

I don't think it's very controversial at this point--except amongst the people for whom all vaccines are controversial.

I think I might get Brooklyn that vaccine. Do you have to ask for it specifically now, or do they just offer it along with the rubella and mumps vaccines that all children get?

Anything to keep her from suffering with CP like I did. I still remember it. Ugh, it was awful.

 

[intothewoods]

I think I might get Brooklyn that vaccine. Do you have to ask for it specifically now, or do they just offer it along with the rubella and mumps vaccines that all children get?

Anything to keep her from suffering with CP like I did. I still remember it. Ugh, it was awful.

I don't think it was available when you were a kid. Anyway, your ped should throw it into the vaccine mix, but ask to make sure it's on the schedule. Some people still do want their kids to catch it because the subsequent immunity is stronger but the vaccine does spare kids the suffering.

 

[satindesire]

I don't think it was available when you were a kid. Anyway, your ped should throw it into the vaccine mix, but ask to make sure it's on the schedule. Some people still do want their kids to catch it because the subsequent immunity is stronger but the vaccine does spare kids the suffering.

Ohh, okay! I'll check and see next time we take her to her Pediatrician. She's not quite a year old, so she's gotten a LOT of shots so far.

 

[FloggingMolly]

I've not heard of it here. I'd be pretty seriously looking into it before going for it, but then I am one of _that_ sort of people I'll be giving the MMR jab, but only because the risk of the diseases outweigh the risks of the supposed side-effects.

 

[Rosie_Riveter]

Yep, should be part of the standard mix. I can't remember when my little guy got it but I don't think it was within the first 18 months.

Intothewoods is right about the strength of the immunity--the more you suffer the more you get. But I suspect the vaccine gets you enough.

My oldest got CP when we were traveling. Put an end to the travel--had to stay put so as not to infect and thereby sterilize on the nice immunity-less men on the airplane.

 

[satindesire]

Yep, should be part of the standard mix. I can't remember when my little guy got it but I don't think it was within the first 18 months.

Intothewoods is right about the strength of the immunity--the more you suffer the more you get. But I suspect the vaccine gets you enough.

My oldest got CP when we were traveling. Put an end to the travel--had to stay put so as not to infect and thereby sterilize on the nice immunity-less men on the airplane.

Did the vaccine seem to help the symptoms not be so bad?

 

[CutieMouse]

The vaccine has been around long enough (15 years or so) that it's actually become somewhat difficult to find anyone to catch chickenpox from. So yeah - far better to get the vaccine (assuming no history of vaccine reactions), than risk never catching CP as a child/developing complications as an adult.

I can't remember if it's in an egg protein base, so if you have any history of egg allergies in your family, be sure to ask your pediatrician about that. Also remember that the vaccine will provide immunity, but not the same degree of immunity that occurs from going through the natural course of the disease. She will need boosters, just like any other childhood vaccine.

Aside to Molly - if you're worried about reactions (when the time comes), talk to your pediatrician about single dose vaccination and spreading out the vaccine schedule to accommodate potential reaction time. MMR can be given in single shots, as can DaPT; I believe most manufacturers removed thermisol as a preservative several years ago, but if you're concerned about mercury levels re: vaccination, you can also order thermisol free vaccines through your doctor's office, and ask to see the drug company inserts for each vaccine.

 

[sb2009]

the vaccine was out when my oldest was born...she didn't get it because she actually caught the pox before the vaccine was due...she ended up getting chicken pox twice. She does have the antibodies now, we've had her tested.

Youngest has the vaccine. Due to our military status, if I wanted to have my kids take part in any activities like sports, or use the daycare, they needed to have the vaccine or documented proof of having the disease.

that said, I know a lot of anti-vax people and they have various ways of getting around the requirements. It takes conviction and information though, to be able to convince the school system, for example, that your kid doesn't need the vaccines.

 

[4bidnfruit]

In the state of Virginia~ any child born after 1996 is required to have the shot in order to enter school. The first shot can be given around 12 months and another needs to be given before entering Kindergarten but there is a period that must be met between the two.

My youngest didn't get the shot but she did have to see the pediatrician when she got the virus because the law wasn't in effect yet but her doctor knew it was coming and he thought she would need the proof later on. they didn't go back and cover all the kids in the school system but they did go back a few years to cover most of them.

 

[the captians wench]

I was one of those weird ones who got it twice.

 

[ecstaticsub]

Both my children got the chicken pox vaccine. I had no 2nd thoughts about it. Chicken pox in rare cases can be fatal. The vaccine is worth it.

It is still too early to tell but it is hoped that getting the vaccien as a child will prevent or at least lessen the chance of getting shingles when older.

 

[MasterPhoenix]

I had a mild case as a kid.. no issues since.

 

[graceanne]

All my kids, my nieces, nephews, heart children, and my three of my six siblings have had the chicken pox vaccine. The only one who had a problem with it was my littlest sister, but that's because her idiot doctor gave it to her at 10 months old (you're not supposed to give it to them before a year old. Know why? IT GIVES THEM ONE HELL OF A CASE OF CHICKEN POX!) Idiot doctors.

Anyway, unless you have problems with vaccines, I'd do it. For one thing it's on the list of vaccines that schools require now (right up there with polio and whooping cough).

 

[ThorkelGriersen]

VIP NOTE

Once you have Chicken Pox it never goes away. It lies dormant and almost never re-erupts as CP. However --down the road it can come back as Shingles. My mother had singles in the ear canal at age 85. It resulted in blindness and no hearing in one ear.

Fortunately, there is now a vaccination for Singles. Anyone who has had CP needs the vaccine ASAP - no Excuses!! Singles is like Chicken Pox raised to the 25th power.

 

[sweepthefloor]

Chicken Pox Parties. I still have a scar too.

 

[ecstaticsub]

VIP NOTE

Once you have Chicken Pox it never goes away. It lies dormant and almost never re-erupts as CP. However --down the road it can come back as Shingles. My mother had singles in the ear canal at age 85. It resulted in blindness and no hearing in one ear.

Fortunately, there is now a vaccination for Singles. Anyone who has had CP needs the vaccine ASAP - no Excuses!! Singles is like Chicken Pox raised to the 25th power.

I'll also add that shingles is not just an old person's disease. I had it a few years ago on my face. (about 40yo) I was lucky that it was a mild case but it was very painful and ugly too. We believe it was triggered by enormous amounts of stress I was going through at the time.

 

[ThorkelGriersen]

I'll also add that shingles is not just an old person's disease. I had it a few years ago on my face. (about 40yo) I was lucky that it was a mild case but it was very painful and ugly too. We believe it was triggered by enormous amounts of stress I was going through at the time.

Stress is believed to be a trigger.

I knew a young woman [23 yo] going to College grad school {Physical Therapist Master's Degree} and working PM serving with catering company -- work, stress, little sleep. She had Shingles over the entire upper left half of her body. She spent almost a year in bed, racked with pain.

 

[DVS]

Doms don't get chicken pox...because they are never a chicken. I got rooster pox. They were so bad, that I don't even remember the experience. My memory of it has been blocked out. Probably because I'm too chicken to remember it.

 

[graceanne]

I got rooster pox

Would that also be called 'cock pox'?

 

[Netzach]

So, I found out recently while taking my little one in to get shots, that they have a Chicken Pox vaccine.

Now, when I was a little girl, my mom just took me over to a neighbor kid's house who had chicken pox to make sure I got it. Boy did I EVER get it, too. I still have a scar on my cheek from it.

How long has this vaccine been out, and wouldn't getting the vaccine be so much easier on the child, since they don't have to suffer through a week or more of intense itching, bleeding, insomnia and pain due to lesions?!

What are your thoughts/info?

pox sucks, but it's better to have it as a kid and get it over with than as an adult. Also, there's ambiguity as to whether the pox vaccine protects against shingles (which you do NOT want, I just had it from remicade infusions, it's horrid, the pain is everything they say and worse than my CD flares) as an adult - half the reason you'd want it would be to not get shingles.

Additionally if you have any immuno issues, you can't get the shingles vaccine and you're probably the population who most needs it, fun huh?

I'd zap pox and shingles or just shingles, if it was me and I had the chance.

 

[wicked woman]

The vaccine has been around for at least 40 years. I think it was fairly new when I was in high school. Because I'd never had it and the concerns with pregnant women catching it, I asked my doc about it. I remember because she was hesitant to give it to me, asking if I could guarantee that I wouldn't get pregnant. I told her to check the meds she had prescribed me.

That said, my 5 year old granddaughter caught a mild case of it a couple of weeks ago.

Agreed you don't want to be fooling around with chicken pox.

 

[DVS]

Would that also be called 'cock pox'?

Don't know. I don't remember scratching down there, as a kid. If I did, I know it wasn't related to small pox. Had to be LARGE pox!



That kind of scratching came much later in life.

 

[00Syd]

It's been available a good 10-12 years, Satin.

It's been around for much longer than that, because I got one when I was a baby (a year old-ish, I assume?) and that was 1990.