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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

to consider the chicken pox vaccine?

111 replies

ooooooeak · 21/10/2010 22:04

I kind of feel the pox is hanging over us! DS1 was vaccinated but DS2 is too young still.

What happens if you catch it just before going on hols?? Can you fly? I assume not. What would happen if your child came out in pox when your away?? Would holiday insurace cover your extra stay??

Its one of the most horrible childhood illnesses.

What are the chances of catching it under a year old?

One private GP I spoke to today was happy to vaccinate at 10months but this makes me feel a little uneasy.

Part of me thinks its a very managable if not annyoying childhood illness the other part of me thinks its a pain, can cause terrible illness even death and why not just be vaccinated.

AIBU?

OP posts:
Flojo1979 · 21/10/2010 22:15

Death from chicken pox is very rare. Its much better they get them young than as adults. I think over vaccinating children is more harmful but then I've never heard of any child in this country die from chicken pox.

ooooooeak · 21/10/2010 22:19

Although I asked a ped at our local hospital and he said he had many serious cases and a death, he was very keen for it to be added to the programme but not with MMR interestingly.

OP posts:
Ispy · 21/10/2010 22:19

YANBU. I had my 3 kids vaccinated. 2 because they were born and lived in the US at the time and it's standard and the 3rd because just before we were due to move back to the US from Ireland there was an epidemic and I didn't want dc3 getting really sick at that time and/or not being allowed to fly.

cakewench · 21/10/2010 22:23

YANBU. The vaccination is standard in the US and Germany (where DH and I are from) and we're tempted to have our son get it. We've no idea how to find a provider who will, though, so we've just been avoiding the issue. Hmm

earwicga · 21/10/2010 22:23

I would have had mine vaccinated had I known a vaccine existed. Mine were very ill with it and obviously I took them to visit a friend who had a poxed child so they would get it in time for half term. They didn't and spaced it out so I had a month of hell.

And the one who was soooooooooo good and didn't scratch has a pox scar right on the end of their nose. The scratcher has no scars.

chitchat09 · 21/10/2010 22:28

I was immunised, but that was when I was planning on getting pregnant as a safety precaution and a blood test showed that I hadn't had it. I wouldn't get my DSs immunised unless they managed to get to late teens without catching it.

Apparently the rate of shingls in the US has increased quite dramatically because of the low rate of chicken pox. Adults who have previously had chicken pox received a 'booster', so to speak, from being around children with chicken pox. This booster helped them avoid shingles. Without this natural booster, the rate of shingls has increased. It would be sad to see that happen in the UK.

Sassybeast · 21/10/2010 22:35

YANBU.
Flojo 1979 - I think you have to be quite careful when you make such statements - there are those who would interpret what you say as fact and that may mean they don't make an informed decision about the health of their children. news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/1537231.stm

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/1470606.stm

I was lucky. My otherwise healthy daughter survived after a period in intensive care.

I am struggling to find statistics for the numbers of unborn babies who die because of CP but there are some mums on this forum who can share their own devastating experiences of that.

ooooooeak · 21/10/2010 22:36

How likely is it that a baby would catch it before age 1 when they can be vaccinated??

It was intersting to be offered it at 10months......only one private GP would do that but I do worry as its not really meant to be given before age 1. However as the GP said its no different to catching it at 10 months..... not sure....

OP posts:
GiddyPickle · 21/10/2010 22:46

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

MillyMollyMardy · 21/10/2010 22:50

i had my ds vaccinated. I was told it's 95% effective and so far he hasn't caught chickenpox despite it going round his nursery several times. We had it done as there are rare complications of chickenpox, he had been really poorly around that time with dairy intolerance and I just didn't want him to be ill again and I have seen some pretty ill people with shingles. I plan to have my dd vaccinated as well.

ooooooeak · 21/10/2010 22:55

MillyMollyMardy I'm not sure how long ago your DS was vaccinated by DS1 was 2 years ago and I haev been told he will needa a booster around now to get maximun immunity. Did you have a booster? If not may be worth looking into. I don't feel comfortable about getting DS2 vaccinated early but I really don't want him to catch it.

OP posts:
musicmadness · 21/10/2010 22:57

YANBU - I think I'd probably get it in your situation. I know I was only just over 1 when I got chicken pox but my mums friends son caught it off me at 8 months so you can get it any time. My friend is one of those poor people who don't develop any immunity to chicken pox dispite having caught it. She is 20 and has had chicken pox 17 times so far. I didn't even realise that some people didn't develop immunity until I met her [hblush]

MillyMollyMardy · 21/10/2010 23:00

Thanks for the tip off. He was done at the same time as yours. I'll check but I'm sure his immunity is pretty good as he's had lots of exposure to CP. I would hold off until 12 months just because they are bigger but that may be irrational and not have any bearing on immunology.

PadmeHum · 22/10/2010 03:54

I was a hardcore "anti" CP vaccine person. Until both of my children caught it on holiday.

Not only was the holiday ruined, our eldest child scarred horrifically on his face. I did not give it a second thought when my daughter was offered the vaccine.

CP vaccines are on the schedule in both South Africa (where we lived when DD was born) and in Australia where we now live.

It's a horrible illness. I can scar and it can kill. In our case, our children got it from an infected child on the plane when we departed for a very special holiday/journey. I did request that the child in question be removed from the flight, but the mother was adament that he was no longer infectious.

sparkle12mar08 · 22/10/2010 04:06

Having had a five month old with chicken pox who was covered from head to toe, I wouldn't hesitate. His entire body, scalp included, was one just one superating mass. It was awful and thankfully our GP was equally horrified and prescribed and antiviral which stopped it in its tracks.

ragged · 22/10/2010 04:29

I and DC had CP mildly enough that I have no worries whatsoever about the disease itself.

Having to quarantine my entire life when they had it, though, that was enormously inconvenient. A huge pain the proverbial, especially once I had older children to take to school (and I detest being stuck at home, anyway).

I would get CP vac in a flash if it were an option, just to avoid the hassle.

ooooooeak · 22/10/2010 07:35

But AIBU to vaccine under a year old??

OP posts:
Bucharest · 22/10/2010 07:40

For most children it's a manageable childhood illness. A small minority die from it.

That small minority, for me, was enough, to take up the offer of the CP vaccine.

As far as the age is concerned, IIRC dd was vaccinated when she was about 2?

I'd listen to whatever advice my GP gave me tbh. (rather than a private one who presumably has vested interests )

sux2bu · 22/10/2010 07:52

hello there

personally i would vaccinate but not in one so young - not unless you already have a preschooler/older sibling who hasn't had it yet and you think they will put the younger at risk.

I am in the middle of having my 8 year old vaccinated for cp - 2nd shot on Thursday.
Have waited for her to have it as a child and have now decided to take matter into own hands.

I had it at 20 and wouldn't wish it at that age on my worst enemy - I felt absolutely awful and was also very badly scarred.

Upside potentially having had it so late so badly i passed on some immunity to DD1 through bf. Hard to say - i had no idea that antibodies 'wore off' until I had a work ban recently (am pregnant) until they had checked the levels...cp still sky high.

DDs teacher claims the cp vacc has little effect - I don't care, at least I am doing something to lessen its effects if DD does succumb later...

The only reason I would avoid vacc. in under 12 months is that they already have to go through a lot in that time and my own reacted badly to some of her shots but each to their own - as long as youz are making an informed decision/researching it a bit/and know your own child's allergies/reactions/tolerances then imho YANBU. x

mousymouse · 22/10/2010 07:57

yanbu - I had ds vaccinated (privately 40 Pounds) and a short while after it was making the rounds in nursery. I was so very glad.
will have dd vaccinated as well when she is old enough.
it is recommended that you vaccine against chickenpox when your child has eczema.

mousymouse · 22/10/2010 07:59

cakewench: I just took ds to a paed in germany and had it done privately. no fuss at all.

tokyonambu · 22/10/2010 08:02

"For most children it's a manageable childhood illness. A small minority die from it."

It's an interesting version of the debate around vaccines. Given that all medical procedures carry a non-zero, even if infinitesimal, risk the optimum strategy for an individual (in best "tragedy of the commons" style) is for you to be the only person who doesn't have the vaccine. Some anti-vaccination, er, enthusiasts latch on to this, and twist it into a conspiracy that places the health of the mass above the health of the individuals (in that herd immunity benefits the herd more than it benefits any single individual). They're wrong, I think, but governments do have a bad track record of seeing individuals as collateral damage in larger campaigns (ie it's OK for 1 person who wouldn't otherwise have been harmed to harmed if 10 people who would otherwise have been harmed are protected).

Chicken Pox may be the reverse. From a public health perspective, a downside of vaccination lies with the herd (the increased risk of shingles), and it's probably a greater threat than the risk to the individual. So if all children receive the CP vaccine, the number who won't die or suffer serious harm who otherwise would have done may less than the number of adults who will be seriously affected by shingles, who wouldn't have been had their immune system been regularly challenged by CP in the young population.

One anti-vax argument, which I think has a certain amount of logic to it although I think it's hardly moral, is "why should I expose my child to risk in order to protect people I'll never know?" Measles, for example, it mostly a risk (in the sense of serious harm) to the immuno-compromised and otherwise weakened, who for various reasons can't be vaccinated, so the risk to people who are able to receive the vaccine from measles is less than the risk to the total population, while the risk of the vaccination (tiny though it is) lies solely with those able to have it.

But here it may be the reverse. So having the vaccination becomes the selfish, my child's interests over the population at large, route, while not having it becomes the selfless, OK chicken pox is a risk but shingles is bad for granny, position. The numbers aren't clear yet, but it'll be interesting to watch it shake out amongst campaigners.

MmeBodyInTheBasement · 22/10/2010 08:12

Tokyo
That is interesting. Do you know if a cp vaccination protects against shingles?

My dc were both vaccinated - not sure what age but certainly over 1 yo. Not sure if I would have had them vacccinated before then, unless there was an outbreak in the area, or they had been exposed.

My mother was ill for months with shingles. It is such a painful illness.

Saying that, I know that my mother would prefer to have gone through shingles than risk my DC having cp. Our pediatrician told me that it was the most common ground for hospitalization of children in Germany (where we lived at the time)

umf · 22/10/2010 08:19

OP I'd wait until a year. Or at least find out exactly why waiting to a year is recommended.

Just had DS1 vaccinated because he hasn't had it yet and I'm expecting DS2 imminently - didn't want DS1 bringing it home from nursery and infecting newborn.

Will probably have DS2 vaccinated at 1 year.

tokyonambu the idea that this vaccination may cause problems later in life is theoretical, right? Countries which are adopting this vaccine have decided the risk is worth taking - my understanding is that the reason it's not being brought in here is that it's politically difficult with the MMR fuss.

Traditionally childhood diseases inc CP have been seen as pretty minor and just something we have to go through. As several posters here have highlighted, CP can actually be very nasty plus dangerous for children, and cause a great deal of anxiety and inconvenience for their carers. I reckon you could make an argument that taking childhood diseases more seriously is a good sign - that we now recognise that babies' and children's suffering is real, even if poorly articulated and confined to the domestic sphere. Probably a strong economic motive too, since many more mothers work and try to minimise the days they have to be off work. My mother spent abut 5 weeks confined to the house looking after children with consecutive CP - that's not something I could do.

EveWasFramed72 · 22/10/2010 08:19

No vaccinations here; my DCs were 22 months and 8 months when they got the chicken pox, and they were both fine...grumpy and scratchy, but it was tolerable.

I am convinced that this is one of the reasons my daughter (who was 8 months when she had them) has NEVER been to the doctor...she's 3 now, and we've never had to take her in for any kind of illness...her immune system is rock solid!

I like that the UK doesn't vaccinate like the Americans do (I am American)...all my friends' kids are sick all the time...I am convinced that they are vaccinated against so much, they are never allowed to build their own immunities.

Of course diseases can be fatal...but so can vaccinations!

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