Urgent we need your thoughts on chickenpox

having had chicken pox, my two are still snifflers and will catch a cold from 100 paces, i think thats just cos they mini men so practicing getting man flu!

actually in principle i wouldn't object to a chicken pox vaccine

no personal issues with vaccinations

doesn't make much sense to say that somehow vaccinating against all these things is weakening children's immune systems. the vaccines are actaully using the children's immune systems to protect them.

slightly - but hep B has a very different mode of transmission to childhood illnesses.

The main reason that the average life expectantly in the country has increased so much is due to the reduction in deaths in children (including deaths from measles, chicken pox etc). I fthink statistically if you live to 40 then your remianing lifespan is not significantly different to what is would have been 100 yrs ago (sure someone will prove me a liar but am sure I read that recently). There is no evidence that introducing vaccines is going to result in a herd of feeble people unable to fight the common cold. If nothing else the bloody common cold will still be around so we will build our immune systems by exposure to that!

(I speak as mother of a houseful of common cold germs at the moment)

Sorry that was a crap post - it should have read...

It is not necessarily true about herd immunity...unless you are aiming for erradication.

I have an HepB vaccination because there is a risk of me catching HepB from my job. There will be no herd immunity there because most of the public are not immune to HepB...but it is given for my personal protection.

thb I had no idea it could be so dangerous

my 18m dd had it last week-about 40 or so spots, she didn't scratch at all, all healing up nicely now. So no big deal.

am ambivalent about another vaccination tbh
I would have said not necessary but didn't know you could die from it...not sure what to think now!

he does yes cos many of the spots joined to form one big scab and you can't stop an 8month old scratching or rubbing them off in the night.

It was 3 weeks later that was scary - 3 doctors told me to stop fussing it wasn't until his actual paed saw him for routine check that he was admitted.

It is not necessarily about herd immunity...unless you are aiming for erradication.

I have an HepB vaccination because there is a risk of me catching HepB from my job. There will be no herd immunity there because most of the public are immune to HepB...but it is given for my personal protection.

the vaccinations against small pox were world wide.

y
shrinkingsagpuss - yes, but the problem is when you move from a country where there is 'herd immunity' to a country without herd immunity, which is why my American friends should be aware of this, as that's what they've done.

that's nasty. Do they have scars now Meeely, from so many spots?

the point of vaccination is to create herd immunity - the virus therefore has no available hosts and should die out - that therefore renders the point about boosting no longer relvant - we no longer vaccinate against smallpox becuase it died out as a result of mass vaccination and herd immunity.

Thing is WannaBe - You can only vaccinate against an infection. Asthma is not an infection. Scientist are working very hard at trying to treat the symptoms and causes of Asthma - but you well never be able to vaccinate.

for pox pic (wasn't there when I posted the last message)

Awwww look at them being eaten by their clothes on their first outing Loving mummy's new specs too

I have a few American friends whose dc have been vaccinated agianst chicken pox. They didn't know that their children would require a booster until I told them.

i will add some pics of my LO with chicken pox to my profile - i was very scared at one point when his temp rocketed.......

anna, this vaccine does not provide lifelong immunity, so at some point, you'll need to booster those who have been vaccinated.

I think it depends what you're vaxinating against though. apparently 6 children died from chicken pox related illness in the past 13 months. How many children actually contracted chicken pox and were absolutely fine?

More children die from Asthma than chicken pox - what is being done about that?

You simply cannot throw vaxination at every illness in the hopes of iradicating disease, because the more diseases you iradicate, the less imunity children grow up with because they have nothing to fight. To a point where soon the common cold will be considered life-threatening because our children's imune systems just aren't capable of fighting any more.

their not your

I also had to pay for the new mengigitis vaccine Prevenar - It cost in the region of 400 euros (more then £250) - but I certainly felt it was worth it as I know of someone who has lost your dd to the pneumoccocal menigitis.

Haven't read the whole thread, but agree with ChubbyScotsBurd that as chicken pox can have devastating effects if contracted during pregnancy, I would be supportive of a vaccination programme.

my dc had the hep B vaccines as babies, before the age of one.

Sorry, mean any benefits outweight the potential risks.

Belgo - thanks. My daughter is in the process of having Hepatitis B vaccination (three shots, one and six months apart), which is highly recommended here in France.

I agree, there doesn't seem to be nearly as much fuss about vaccination here in France as there is in the UK.

In any case, I am pretty pro vaccination. Any risks far outweigh the potential benefits.