to be livid that a doctor on itv has just advised chicken pox parties?

[peanutMD]

I bloody hate this!

Children suffer and can die as a result of chicken pox so why the hell is this advice still being dolled out?

But not having a party (and I do think "party" is a rather stupid term for controlling exposure) does not mean your child won't get it. I'm not particularly advocating them (and agree it can be serious or fatal) but if you don't immunise catching it is inevitable, either as child or adult.

I watched it and thought he was in agreement with Holly.
He may have said later that it could be dangerous for adults but def agreed with Holly about the parties.

Fence sitting.

I got CP in the middle of my final year university project, very inconvenient.

Mum sent me to play with the kids next door when they had CP, didn't catch it. Didn't catch it at 18 when all the brownies I helped with had it either.

So why did I get it at 23 when no one else had it? Fortunately I didn't give it anyone either.

My doctor advised me to wait until DD was 5 and vaccinate then if she still hadn't had it. As it happened, she caught it at a birthday party when she was 3 so no need to vaccinate.

I do know of a child (distant relation) who died at 22 months of complications of chicken pox

the argument that x illness can be dangerous is just silly - any illness can be dangerous. A simple coldsore can be dangerous for some yet we don't go into hysteria mode over someone with a coldsore do we? or the common cold? or a cough? or any number of other contagious illnesses that are on the whole mild but in the wrong place at the wrong time might have serious implications.

It's a fact that children come into contact with chicken pox all the time. Most children will catch it and you will have no idea when that is going to be. No I wouldn't deliberately expose my child but doing so isn't akin to feeding your children crack or sending them into a burning building imho.

And vaccinations are overused in our modern day society IMO yes, some illnesses warrant vaccination, but chicken pox which is not a serious illness and the complications of which are incredibly rare is not one of them. Besides which there is much evidence that vaccination does not bring lifelong immunity whereas catching the illness does.

It seems like people don't so much a problem with the idea that tehir child might catch CP, but that intentionally sending them to a party where they get it would mean that somehow they were to blame if their child gets very ill? But they most likely would have got very ill if they caught it accidentally, from school? So it's about making the parents feel better? Bizarre.

I'm not advocating CP parties at all, but I do agree with the idea that I would prefer to have some control over when they caught it; would rather it wasn't the year they were sitting big exams, or just before a holiday etc. Don't know if I woulf go as far to try and make sure they caught it, but I don't see it as the fury inducing act some seem to class it as.

I know someone who died on a bouncy castle, that doesn't mean I should tell everyone not to have one at a party.
Anything can be dangerous. But thats not the point anyway, the question is: Why is it more dangerous to catch it on purpose than to catch it by accident?

And the answer is, it isn't. So I'm still not understanding the problem.

It can kill you? I seriously did not know that. Do you have to have underlying health issues?

Spot on wannabe the reason a few kids suffer so badly with it could well be down to the fact they have a low immune system in which case a cold could be serious for them. The complications could occur as a result of an unseen problem cp is not the cause of the problem. If a child has a weakened response to fighting illness then Any usually mild illness could cause massive complications but no one knows if the kids have something wrong until it happens :(

I know 2 children who have died of CP perhaps that's why I'm so touchy about it but I just think is irresponsible to promote the idea as if its no big deal.

maybe it is about the parent as I realise on the rare occasion it turns vicious it could happen regardless BUT I couldn't live with myself knowing that I'd intentionally exposed my DC.

I'm currently PG with DC2 and myself and DS have just had bloods taken for CP immunity levels as he has had it twice already and I have had it twice as a child and once a an adult. We have been recommended to be immunised.

No, you don't. It is incredibly rare though, especially without health issues. 75% of deaths from CP are in adults though, as its much worse to get as an adult, the younger you are the milder it tends to be.
In children the main complication is bacterial infection of the spots themselves, which can rarely be lethal, also encephalitis is a possiblilty.

One if the children I know was proven to have no underlying health problems it was the CP that lowered immunity and brought on infection through a cut :(

Your child may be fine or it could be in the small minoraty that get it and die. I would still rather not be responsible of intentionally exposing my child to an illness that killed them, regardless of any underlying, unknown health problems

Actually he did say it was a good idea to send kids to CP parties, I just watched it on ITV+1.

I had CP as an adult at 25 and it was horrendous. However I wouldn't deliberately infect my child with a disease. Luckily he had it pretty mildly when he was 3, so it's no longer an issue for me.

Soooo.... My DCs are 3, 2 and 6 months, and have not had it. I've had it, but DH hasn't. Do I try to control exposure for my DC so they get it whilst young and healthy? If I do, what about my poor DH - he will get it and badly, non?

Only three European countries vaccinate children for cp under age 6. Three others vaccinate age 11 upwards, by then, most children would probably have had the infection anyway.

We are not being deprived by not having it here: having the disease gives better longer immunity than the vaccine. Yes, cp can rarely be serious, but many other common infections can turn nasty too.

No need for parties, it spreads like wildfire in every toddler group, nursery, pre-school and primary school ime. Both mine made it to primary before they succumbed, but I was concerned for DS1's teacher who was pregnant at the time. No problems, luckily.

Plus there r vaccination reactions and vaccine damage to consider too so not a risk free option either

Sadly, yes , in rare circumstances you can die from complications from chicken pox. This happened to a child I knew a couple of years ago. The child was only 3. So tragic. But VERY rare.

Yes yes.

He told people to get their children infected on purpose.

I bet there a few sweaty palms in ITV's legal dept now

I bet there are too! When he said it I thought "Noooooooo you stupid man, your career on telly is OVER!"

ZiaMaria, yes, a colleague of mine's healthy toddler died from chicken pox. And the child of one of DH's colleagues was in intensive care and touch-and-go for a while. I know a couple of other children who wound up with serious but not life-threatening complications requiring hospitalisation, too.

All of those are rare, though.

I stand corrected. Sorry OP, i genuinely thought he had said it was a shocking idea. Will keep my mouth closed in future

The proven risks of the vaccine to the child are less than the proven risks of CP.

I also know of a healthy child who died from CP.

For these reasons I got DD1 vaccinated and will get DD2 vaccinated when she turns one.

triggles i ask if American as I know there is a vaccine there. in England/UK we don't have one that's routinely given. I never ment any offence by it