To wonder why people are so ill informed about chicken pox?

[knackeredmother]

I have encountered 2 people in the last 2 days who have allowed their infectious chicken pox children to mix with others.
My ds has respiratory problems and is frequently on steroids so needs to avoid contact. We are just waiting for him to be off steroids for a few weeks so he can be vaccinated (on hospital advice). I am also a health professional so have seen first hand the devastating effects the pox can have on cancer patients and pregnant women for example.
I realise therefore that I am more sensitive than most about this topic.
However, last week a new neighbour invited my ds to play , when I picked him up I saw her dd was covered with weeping ( not healed) chicken pox sores. When I asked her if her dd had chicken pox she just replied 'oh has he not had it?'. I explained about his immune system being suppressed with steroids but she did not seem to get it.
Today I have just met another mother in a soft play with her...yes you've guessed it.....chicken pox laden ds. Again not healed over, spots came out yesterday.
This mum is intelligent and lovely and I think I may have just spoiled a potential friendship with my little rant about the risks. She genuinely did not realise and said she thought as chickenpox was so common that people didn't really bother keeping them inside anymore.
So, AIBU to think the majority of people are ignorant of the quarantine advice re chicken pox and if so WHY is this?
Oh and expect a post from me in a week or so with a ds hospitalised with varicella pneumonia (pessimist, me? Never!)

I've always been told 5 days from when the first spot appears. DD's school had a bad spout of it & we got sent leaflets home about chicken pox as some of the mums were pregnant.

I do remember taking DD into her class & hearing one of the mums say "yeah I found 6 spots on me & 3 on (sons) back" she casually walked her son into class. I couldn't believe it. DD wasn't really ill with it at all but I let her play in the garden. Aside from that she didn't go anywhere. It's common sense.isn't it?

" It's common sense.isn't it?"

And therein lies the problem.

For those that think that cp complications only happen in children who have health problems see this research

[[http://adc.bmj.com/content/92/12/1062.full Most complications occur in otherwise healthy children
and would be preventable only through universal
immunisation]]

My ds was in close contact with a child that had leukhemia the day before the spots came out, we contacted them as soon as we knew and the child was sent to GOSH for the vaccination (cant remember what it is caused). it was the 4th time this had happened

A boy in ds's class had a stroke from chicken pox. Chicken pox is one of the leading causes of childhood strokes

A father at ds's nursery died from CP, he was perfectly healthy beforehand.

Bear in mind that pregnant women who are immune to CP aren't at risk. Of course there's no way of knowing if some is immune (or immunocompromised) just by looking at them so you shouldn't take your children out anyway but it isn't dangerous to ALL pregnant women.

I also resent the implication that people are careless/irresponsible/stupid/too worried about cost to vaccinate against CP. I wouldn't vaccinate against it even if it was available because it doesn't guarantee immunity and it doesn't provide lifelong protection and the boosters become less effective as you get older. It would be worse for them to catch it when they are adults. IMO it doesn't make sense to vaccinate against it in childhood unless you are at greater risk of complications - just as the NHS recommends. If you decide to vaccinate anyway, fine, but don't suggest that others are stupid or taking risk with their children's lives because they make a different choice.

From bruffin's article:

"Six deaths were due, or possibly due, to varicella, including one intrauterine death. Four of the other five children who died (ages 2?14 years) had a pre-existing medical condition."

So what we knew already, pregnant women and the immunocompromised are at greatest risk.

112 reports of complications in children over a period of 13 months is not a high rate of complications for CP.

Chicken Pox can vary. DD1 (6.4) had it last year - 40 degree temperature for days on end, hallucinations, delirium, in bed for hours at a time (she is normally medicated for sleep, so very unlike her), scabs everywhere, in her eyes, ears, mouth...anywhere you can think of, they were there. She caught it from other children at her Special School - they mix very closely all the time, and they had a bit of an epidemic. At one point, they had over 20 children off (they are a relatively small primary of 110 children). She has reduced skin sensitivity though, I think. She didn't itch at all.

DD3 (2.11) then caught it, and was absolutely fine in herself. She was extremely itchy though, and would writhe with it.

DD2 (4.7), despite sleeping in the same bedroom as DD3 and being in close contact with her siblings, didn't develop a single spot.

So those deaths don't matter to you Bubbleymummy because they are from a disease you consider to be mild and these children were ill anyway. But the main part of the report was that the majority of the children that were badly affected did not have health problems.
We are talking about a preventable disease which still kills children and adults and causes long term problems in some others ie ds's friend who was paralized down one side of his body at the age of 6.

Bruffin, I didn't say anywhere that the deaths didn't matter. Don't be ridiculous. Your link doesn't show anything that we don't already know. We are all talking about how people should be more careful about bringing their children out because of the risk to non-immune pregnant women and the immunocompromised - the study shows what the consequences of being careless can be to that group. It also confirms that the rate of complications isn't actually that high so a mass vaccination campaign seems a bit unnecessary and extreme. It also increases the risk of catching the disease in adulthood and, as with the father at your DSs nursery, the risks are much higher in adulthood.

"It also increases the risk of catching the disease in adulthood and, as with the father at your DSs nursery, the risks are much higher in adulthood."

no it doesn't as they have been vaccinating against chickenpox for over 25 years in places like Japan and there is no sign of the vaccine wearing off in adults. Also cases of chicken pox in those that have had the vaccine have nearly always been very mild.
I know a lot of people that have not caught chicken pox until they were adults, all who have suffered badly even if they were not always been hospitalized although at least one has through pneumonia. Having wild chicken pox in the community is no guarnatee that you will catch it as a child. Also as others pointed out shingles is a very unpleasant disease with long term consequences which thankfully now can be prevented.

I don't think it's a case of people being uneducated about chickenpox per se, after all it is generally a mild disease and most people treat it as such. I think people are uneducated about the number of immunocompromised people out there and the risk to them of any everyday disease.

With regard to vaccination though - I believe the UK don't vaccinate because of the possible increased risk of shingles in the adult population. Shingles causes more deaths than chickenpox.

Someone said further down that people have their children vaxd against mumps but not CP. Generally speaking that's because we have no choice (it being in the MMR).

colds cause more problems, especially for immuno comprimised children and those unable to cough. My dd currently has pneumonia. Again. As a cold turned into a chest infection then pneumonia because she cannot cough. Because someone sent their child to school with a cold.
BIBU to suggest all children with colds stay home and every child had flu vaccine injected into them.
Chickenpox is not a big deal for the majority any more than colds are. For a minority yes.

But you also have to be realistic. You can't expect people with the slightest sniffle to stay in, you can expect people with chicken pox to.

Ds has a lot of chest problems and any cold goes to his chest. As much as I dread him getting a cold I am dreading chicken pox a lot more due to the steroids he has been on.

Sirzy, do you think your ds would be eligible for the vaccine, under the nhs guidelines? Maybe you could ask your gp.

I looked into it but then with the increased risk of shingles, the fact that it isn't 100% effective anyway I decided that it wasn't worth it for now.

Is he still on them Sizry? dd has 12 weeks of injected steroids (ACTH) and was hospitalised the entire time. Then 8 weeks of weaning on perdnisilone. 2 months after the wean finished she caught chickenpox and she was fine. Once off steroids the immune system kicks in quickly.
But it was a bit off that the child in the next cubicle had chickenpox! Stupid hospital.

No, he is only his longest steroid free period now (3 months) which is why I am not considering the vaccine at the moment.

I've worked with a child with congenital rubella syndrome, I would agree that it is very worrying that we have girls without immunity. The problems aren't minor - this particular child had no sight, no hearing, SLD, severe autism and deformities of the joints, among other issues.

While pregnant and teaching I was exposed to CP (had it) Rubella (had it as a baby), Slapped Cheek (immune) and measles. The measles was a very worrying one, despite vaccination as a child I turned out to have no immunity to it, but luckily didn't catch it (don't know how, had the measley child sat on my knee/ having cuddles the day they were admitted to hospital with it!)

DS1 had CP while we were on holiday, which was a bit miserable - he spent most of it asleep in a buggy in isolated areas while his sister went off to soft play/ swimming with XH! It's going round at the moment, DS2 keeps missing it but I'm hoping he'll pick it up at Nursery, the earlier the better IMO in a healthy child. While it isn't part of the vax schedule and there is no herd immunity, most healthy people are better off getting it earlier, especially girls, as the pregnancy risk is then gone.

I find in general people are quite selfish with germs.A colleague came in to work last week with the most foul cold ever and sat right next to me,this was the same colleague who bought her baby to toddler group with the runs
Whatever happened to staying at home when you are ill? Some of my best memories of childhood and motherhood and snuggled up on the settee witha bit of telly and some lucozade
My baby had what i think is the start of pox this morning so watching with interest.

btw I seem to have no resistence to the pox as i have had it 3 times now so i dont appreciate the spotty contact either.

' but luckily didn't catch it (don't know how,'

its called an 'immune system'. People seem to think we dont have one. we do. And generally its pretty good.

what about a bad cold.Couldn't that be extremely serious to immunosupressed people.Should people not venture out for fear of spreading colds?

I mentioned that upthread. I think reposnsibility falls on both parties. The immunocomprimised to be careful but the sick to try and limit spreading disease. Using common sense.
Because on the whole catching things as children is best so I'm glad mine caught chickenpox. If every poxy child stayed quarantined no-one would get immune.

Do you think it is all lack of awareness? I think some is pure selfishness.

Some people (obviously not all) have a really self-centred approach to life, they don't care if somebody else is put at risk as long as they are not bored at home, especially if it's a person they don't know, so they're nameless and faceless

My Ds had it before christmas, i didn't realise what it was tbh and we did go to soft play (pre arranged) with what i thought was an allergic reaction. When i realised it was pox we mainly stayed in but as he wasnt to ill with it when he started to feel better we did venture to the park farm park etc, as i was told by yhe doc after spots out he posed no risk, my reasoning was they were open areas an we didnt use public transport so i believed myself to be acting sensibly. Flame me if you will but i believed (past tense) it to be a trivial illness.

At christmas a family friends DD2 (1 y/o) became unwell. Then was hospitalised. WITH A STROKE. Caused by her body's reaction to the pox virus. This little girl has had to relearn sitting, has partial vision, weaker side (palsy) may struggle to walk... And when heard this i cried, long and hard. I had trivialised something which could of killed someone. There but for the grace of god go I.

It is selfishness. I came across a toddler with it in a department store lift last week. I was boiling mad.