Really scared about catching chicken pox.

[FeatherySquawkington]

DS1 has caught chicken pox at the grand age of 10yrs, have DS2 who is 5yrs and will no doubt end up with it. The problem is that when I was pregnant with DS2 I found out I'm not immune, despite having a bad dose of it as a child and being in contact with siblings who have had it since. I'm so scared of catching it and how ill I'm going to be 😭.

Did you not consider paying for the chicken pox immunisation for yourself?

Get yourself and younger DS vaccinated? The vaccine is fairly effective even if you have already been exposed. CP in adults can be v unpleasant.

Speak to your GP tomorrow, you may be able to get antivirals which will reduce your risk of developing chickenpox or lessen the severity if you do catch it. Alternatively you could get vaccinated, I'm not sure if the GP will do it but Boots and Superdrug do for around £60-£70 per jab (you need two, a few weeks apart).

DS starts school in September and seemingly has escaped CP through nursery and friends countless times now. If he’s still not had it by August ahead of reception then we’re absolutely vaccinating. If it’s worrying you, go and get it done. A lot of big high street chemists offer it. A friend had it as an adult and it was a hard knock.

I'm definitely going to ring the GP tomorrow for some advice. I did consider the vaccination but one GP I spoke to said she found it hard to believe that I wasn't immune after having it and said she thought I would be fine. I didn't give it much thought again until now.

The CP antivirals (VZIG) are very expensive and only given to immunocompromised patients, and the vaccine is only available on the NHS to family of immunocompromised patients. My son should have been able to have NHS vaccine as his baby sister was immunocompromised but they don't stock it at GP, it was a total song and dance "we'll make him a hospital appointment in x weeks" . We rang the nearest travel clinic and had him done the next day, £65 x 2 doses.

And get well soon to your older son!

I had chicken pox last year. I went to the GP at the first few spots and was prescribed antiviral medication. That stopped it in it's tracks and it was no worse than a bad cold. The antiviral worked really well as I'd taken them so early on. Good luck OP

I had it at the grand old age of 36 at the same time as DD.
I felt fluey and tired but DD had also been having a phase of night waking for 2 hours at a time. I felt like that for 3 days but then once the spots were properly out.the other symptoms reduced.

I don't really understand epidemiology but if you have had it before badly, surely you have antibodies? I think it's unlikely that you would get it badly if you did get it again - shingles is probably the bigger problem but you don't get that though exposure, it happens when the virus gets woken up again for some reason.

But yes, if you are worried, get the vaccination.

Get vaccinated. I caught chicken pox as an adult and was off work for 5 weeks. 2 of those were in hospital. It was very severe but doctors said that it wasnt unusual for it to be that serious as an adult

How did you find out you weren't immune? It's not routinely tested for in pregnancy, I thought it was only checked if you were exposed and hadn't had it.

How recently did DS develop symptoms? The vaccine is supposed to be quite effective even after exposure, but ideally should be given within 3 days. It reduces the risk of developing it by quite a lot, and for those that do get it, it's typically much milder.

You can get it privately at boots, superdrug and travel vaccine clinics.

Get the vaccine. My poor SIL still isn't immune to it and she's had it three times, the third time she nearly lost her eyesight. It isn't worth the risk OP!

Just pay for the vaccine