To think BBC reporting of Chicken Pox case is.....

[NobodyInParticular]

....dire.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-36952432

This reinforces my view that it's becoming more and more trashy with lower quality reporting? There have been more and more sensationalist headlines and I've also read a lot of badly researched articles too.

This one is especially irritating; shocking picture of sick child + misrepresentative sensationalist headline "worst case" + lets launch a campaign = classic tabloid article formula. Very disappointing BBC!

I also find it irresponsible of the BBC to have used the line "worst [ever] case", given this is clearly bollocks (the boy did not die, that would be the worst case. Nor did he even spend months in ICU with organ failure / encephalitis / acquire brain damage etc. Actually, he had a lot of horrid looking spots, some complications and was discharged after 5 days and was well enough to go on TV a fortnight later, as far as I understand). I really do not think that one somewhat worse case than usual warrants a petition for change in NHS vaccination policy.

Surely a better headline would have been "child has quite bad case of Chicken Pox which prompts distressed mother to petition for knee jerk reaction cause"? Oh, wait, that's not very shareworthy !

(No, I'm not trying to start a vaccination debate, I'm sure there is a thread for that elsewhere.)

[SarcasmMode]

Id don your hard hat, OP.

[Mummyme1987]

I totally agree it wasn't the worst case ever. The poor child was very bad but to describe it as the worst is bad reporting.

[MoggyP]

I was somewhat puzzled at the choice of words 'worst case' as this boy (mercifully) did not have the severe/fatal complications.

[Lindy2]

I think a lot of BBC reporting is pretty awful right now. I always thought them impartial but several news areas lately have very bias slants.
The poor child has had a very bad case of chicken pox. However, clearly not the worst ever. I think the families if any child who has died from chicken pox will be tremendously hurt by that headline.

[MadeForThis]

I'm fascinated by this reporting. I have been looking into getting the vaccine for my DD when she turns one.

Most of my family and friends seem to view chicken pox as just another illness that everyone gets. I've even heard talk about intentionally exposing kids to get it over with??

I know that most kids get a mild dose but I'm thinking why risk it?

A vaccine is available for a not extortionate amount of money.

Am I in the minority and being PFB?

[CoreyTaylorsMask]

I found the 'worst case' headline really upsetting - my DN died, aged just 2, as a result of having chicken pox.

[augustwashout]

In this instance I dont care.

I think there is a too glib approach to CP in the UK and some people are wholly ignorant of its complications. When a small child has so many open wounds on its body, its rife for infections and its secondary infections which cause most complications.
I had a very sick baby with it. My neighbours baby had it too and never ever have I heard a baby cry so much, so long and with so much anguish. It was heart breaking to hear.
Yet some in my NCT group were excitedly trying to infect their dc with CP parties....then coming to meet everyone else and wondering why their dc had not come down with it - a day after interaction.

Its nasty, it can be, and I am glad this case has published the other side of it, it can kill old people who have never had it.

[NobodyInParticular]

Hardhat donned SarcasmMode

[augustwashout]

made if you can afford it I would vaccinate. My younger dc still has the scares, not even covered like child in picture but very deep vicious wounds. Older Dc was covered and not a mark on.

[Longdistance]

My colleagues ds had CP last year.

As a result he ended up with septicaemia and was in GOSH for a while.

The dc now has long term hearing problems

My dd2 had the Vacerella vaccine in Oz. Dd1 hasn't had it yet..

[NobodyInParticular]

Lindy2 yes, there has been a lot of bias from the BBC recently, and I read this article and thought I had clicked on the DM one instead!

[augustwashout]

Long I have heard of so many dc with complications due to the CP this little boy was the worst his medical proffs had seen and mum was nursery nurse for years too.
Five days on a drip? Its a very bad case, and there are bad cases out there.

As I said - sorry if the worst case offends some, but I am pleased its being publised this isnt actually an easy and gung ho illness to have it can be bloody dangerous.

[TheCatCushion]

Actually I think people completely under estimate just how bad chickenpox can be

[StripeyMonkey1]

I vaccinated my two children and would recommend it to anyone. From the kids perspective I think a quick jab (or two with the booster) has to be better than the misery of chickenpox - even a 'mild' case.

[Charlie97]

Coreytaylorsmas

I'm sorry, that's dreadful.

You must feel very angry/upset at the recent coverage.

X

[GiddyOnZackHunt]

It was the mother saying it was 'the worst case of CP ever'.
And that undermines her cause. Worst case ever results in 5 days in hospital, so why vaccinate?
No, death and permanent disablement are the worst case and you've just made it look as if that never happens you silly woman. And the BBC have emphasised your misconception.
I suspect some doctor said 'This is the worst case I've ever seen'

[augustwashout]

My baby went limp in my arms, her temp was rising rapidly and she was floppy, I was shaking and trying to call doctors and we were in a heat wave I thought my baby was going to die.

I am pleased this head line is catching attention and educating people that this can be dangerous illness, if it saves lives, if it makes anyone think " oh....but I thought it was just CP, thats a good thing"

[Weightgainorgoodbrain]

oh Corey I am so sorry.

[NobodyInParticular]

august but the BBC article doesnt help raise awareness of the dangers of CP, It was really misrepresentative of the dangers as it implied the "worst ever case" is hospital for 5 days then well enough to pop on GMTV a fortnight later! Yes, lots of people are ignorant of the dangers, but this was an irresponsible trashy article which hasn't helped anyone.

(Also, the complications are not just secondary infections; the virus can also attack organs and the brain.)

[CigarsofthePharoahs]

I see your point op, but if it helps people realise that chicken pox isn't always just a mild childhood illness and raises awareness that a vaccine is available then the article isn't all bad.
I believe the title was quoting one of the medics who hadn't ever seen a case that bad before.
Before my then 3 year old contracted chicken pox I thought it was a minor illness. I didn't know it could cause dangerously high temperatures and I didn't know about the risks of the spots becoming infected. I saw the picture of the child and my first thought was how my own was very nearly in that position as he was just as spot covered. It was luck or grace that meant my own didn't pick up a secondary infection and didn't quite get a high enough temperature to need hospitalisation. He was in horrendous pain for days on end that calpol did nothing for and has been left with permanent scarring on his face and body.
One of my sons friends who contracted it at the same time did end up in hospital with a very high temp and an infected spot. He has a very nasty scar that is unlikely to fade.
The article could have been much better written but I am so fed up with hearing parents asking if other children have it so theirs can catch it and get it "out the way". People look at me funny when I suggest vaccination.

[augustwashout]

Thats what the medics dealing with her said. They had never seen such a bad case. It doesn't undermine her cause at all, your picking at straws. It was also mainly the fact she was batted off from her surgery because she was told " everyone thinks their dc has the worst case" then he ended up on a drip for five days.

[Longdistance]

And don't get me started on CP parties 😡

[FramptonRose]

My older two children have had it but my third has not.
The only thing with the vaccinations is (now I could be completely wrong) that they are only 75% effective, which, apparently, is the reason the NHS will not fund a vaccination programme.

[OhtoblazeswithElvira]

To answer you question OP, YANBU.

This item of news was up there with the "newsworthy" picture of the off duty Swedish policewoman arresting a baddie whilst wearing a skimpy bikini a couple of weeks ago

News reporting on the BBC website has gone downhill in the last couple of months - probably since the referendum actually. Ridiculous, click-bait stuff. If any mumsnetters know why this is happening, please can you explain? Or maybe I'll have to read Private Eye

hopes thread won't descend into a chickenpox bun fight

[NobodyInParticular]

^what Giddy said.