Did you find that your child who'd been BF got milder chicken pox?

[FlossALump]

Just wondering as apparently there is some research to back this up. I BF Ds exclusively till 5 months and mix fed till 9 months. DS got his first spot on Weds, and now has around 20, with no more appearing last night and most all scabbed over.

His cousin, who wasn't BF, was much more unwell. Hundreds of spots,affecting sleep etc, feeling unwell for at least a 5 day period, waking up hourly at night. DS hasn't woken up once as yet, although he did crash out before dinner tonight so tonight might be different.

Without wanting to start a fight did anyone else find similar?

[ruddynorah]

dd got it at 11 months. i bf until 8 months. she only got about 20 spots in all, and only 3 were in her face (her forehead). she didn't scratch them at all. however, i undertsand they do tend to handle it better when they are younger.

[FlossALump]

Yes, I'd heard that too. Would have been useful in OP to reference to ages, Ds's cousin is 2.2 and DS is 2.6.

[colinandcaitlinsmommy]

No, the exact opposite. I was bottle fed, and my sister was breastfed, and even though I was the older one, from what little I remember, I imagine I had a pretty typical case of chicken pox, while my sister had such a hard case, she had them internally, and even threw up chicken pox.

[WK007]

I bf'd almost exclusively for about 4 weeks, then bottlefed and dd has always been incredibly quick to get over infection - has a cold for about 2 days!! When she had chicken pox I wasn't even sure she properly had it, she had the spots for about 5 days and was a bit under the weather for a couple of days then very quickly bounced back and was absolutely fine within a week of starting. When I say under the weather I don't mean really poorly I mean just sleeping slightly longer, one hour-ish nap in the afternoons, being slightly quieter - nothing worrying.

Not sure about the bf/bottle difference tho, I put dd's immune system down to the fact she had to get over jaundice and group b strep within the first fortnight of her life, practically without help (due to hosp cock ups).

[GrandMasterHumphreyLyttelton]

Makes no difference ime.

How can you compare? Most children get chicken pox once, so you're comparing different children. The quantity of spots could be down to other factors.

[shonaspurtle]

I had dreadful chickenpox aged about 8 - spots in my mouth, down my throat and in my stomach so I was in a lot of pain and very sick. I was breastfed. My brother caught it from my and was very mildly affected (also bf, would have been about 5)

I've also heard the theory that it's milder if they get it when tiny.

[oldwomanwholivedinashoe]

BF both mine for 6 mths. DS got chicken pox really bad. DD wasn't ill at all really. ????

[harman]

Message withdrawn

[fruitful]

Milder than what? Too many variables to say I should think.

Dd got a medium-ish dose and ds got loads everywhere with infected spots as well. She had it first, he had it second, she was 4, he was 2, both breastfed.

[hoxtonchick]

ds had it fairly badly & was b-fed for 6 months. dd hasn't had it yet & i b-fed her for 18 months.

[Wheelybug]

I was breastfed for quite a while and got horrendous pox - my mum says she's never seen anything like it. My two brothers who were hardly breastfed (and one of them weaned at 4 weeks ) barely suffered.

[Desiderata]

It's got nothing to do with bottle or breast.

[bottersnike]

Hmm, well, ds2 has chickenpox as we speak, and is exactly the same with it as ds1 - very sleepy ( ie, practically round the clock for the last 3 days ), grumpy, appetite slightly diminished but still eating and drinking, absolutely covered head to toe with spots.
DS1 was exclusively breastfed for 6 months, ds2 for 1 month.
They have, however, both had it at exactly the same age.
Who knows really? There's probably some correlation with breastfeeding, but varied, if you see what I mean!

[Desiderata]

From what I understand of breast-feeding (I only managed six weeks), one of the benefits is to impart your immune system to your child.

What I've always been interested to know (and apologies for departing from the thread slightly), is what to do if you have a bad immune system (ie. you generally pick up everything going)?

[FlossALump]

here is the article I found. It doesn't however state whether it is only while the baby is BF or is longer acting.

[chipmonkey]

My children have never picked up chicken pox when breastfed, even when every other child in their creche got it. They did get it much later when weaned.
Ds3 is rarely sick and is still breastfed.
My own immune system is rubbish.

[bionicley]

I have breastfed all my children for long periods. They all had horrible chickenpox, one aged five (was no longer feeding) and the two-year-old (who was feeding) had them at the same time. The last child had them the worst (while exclusively breastfeeding) around four months - looked like the plague. I myself had a severe bout as a baby.