Chicken pox parties

[RosebudTheCat]

A relative has asked if I'd like to expose my two kids to her DD, who has chicken pox. My youngest is just 8mo. AIBU to think it was a stupid question to ask? Do people really still do 'chicken pox parties'?

If you catch it, meh, if it's doing the rounds at school, meh, if it's going round nursery, meh, risk it, they might catch it, they might not, that's life.

Put them in with other children in the oozing stage and encourage sharing of toys, kissing etc and then look at niece 20 yrs later who hasn't got the life she was meant to have?

Fucking stupid risk.

How do people know they have immunity?

How do people know they have immunity?

They may need a blood test to check if they are immune (protected from) chickenpox.
From:
www.nhs.uk/conditions/Chickenpox/Pages/Introduction.aspx

I thought it would be a blood test - but I don't think it's common to actually test.

IMO there's accepting the risk your child will get CP at some point in their life, and that chances are it's likely to be a minor childhood illness and everything will be fine. But you know at the back of your mind there's a tiny, tiny risk it will be more serious.

Then there's running headlong towards that risk saying 'here! here! infect us over here!'. Now the outcome will probably be the same - minor illness and everything is fine - but if it did turn into something more serious, knowing you had caused that infection to happen? That is going to seriously fuck with your head.

I hear plenty of people say they have immunity but I don't know of many who have been tested

I don't think some of them know for definate, they just think they are immune

I get the point that were it to become serious you would feel guilty, but really it is logical enough. Get it over with while they are a) young, b) in good health otherwise, c) at a convenient time - not at xmas or just before you fly off on holiday.

DH had CP as an adult and wishes he had been exposed deliberately as a child.

Pox parties have almost certainly prevented more brain damage and complications than they have caused by preventing people from catching it as adults or when ill with something else (when the risks are much higher).

Vaccine sounds even better but not read reasons as to why its not normal in UK.

I was thrown into every house which contained a poxy or measles infested child when I was little

Never caught anything, until I was 38 and caught it from ds1 who had it for the second time

We had DD vaccinated. It cost £100 in total for 2 jabs and for me that is a bargain to avoid a week off work and a poorly child. I would have felt terrible if I had deliberately exposed her to CP and she went on to have significant complications.

I personally would not deliberately expose mine to it but they have been exposed numerous times accidentally and at 8,5 and 2 they still haven't caught it. In some ways I wish they would as I feel like I spend half my life on spot watch because they have been in contact with some one who has within a day or two come out with cp!
Last year ds2 was shut in a car for 15 mins and had previous to this been play fighting and sharing a drink with a child, who, when they got home, turned out to be coming out in spots on his tummy etc and had cp. still ds2 didn't get it!

If you have 2 or more DCs who haven't had CP do bear in mind that them catching it naturally will probably mean one after the other so more time off work and second one getting it worse.

Deliberately exposing a baby must be a bad idea though as they often don't develop immunity.

QOD that's awful but if she'd caught it naturally as an adult the risks would have been far greater. The plus side would have been the parents not feeling to blame.

i have been to and hosted cp parties - as a nanny often the parents want the kids to get it

one job we went to a 3rd bday party and popped out in spots day later and within 2 weeks every child at that party who hadnt had cp came out in it - but i didnt know charge was going to pop, so wasnt deliberate iyswim

last perm job was in for 5 years and tried so hard to get younger 2 to have cp, older child got at 3, and failed, last day there i saw a chikd with cp and out they popped 2 weeks later for the new nanny - whoops lol

seriously i think its better for children to get when younger, rather then have as a adult, dp was very ill when caught cp/shingles off his then 3yr daughter

you cant catch shingles. it is a reactivation of the chicken pox virus that you would have had in the past.

you can get chicken pox from direct contact with the fluid from shingles blisters but not shingles fron contact with chicken pox

tho i wouldnt delib expose now as xmas is 2 weeks away

Ds1 took part in a flu vaccine trial last year where they gave cp and hep a(I think) as the other jabs - you didn't know at time which we got.

When I found out it was cp I was delighted and he's getting booster tomorrow. I remember having it as a child and it was miserable! Planning to pay for ds2 who's five mo to be immunised.

Cannot imagine purposefully making my child I'll .

I'm trying to decide whether to get DS the vaccination. I had the vaccination (2 shots a month apart) between pregnancies (I was tested while pregnant with DS and had no immunity) and it made me less anxious when I was pregnant with DD (now 9 weeks).

Have any of you got your kids vaccinated?

Sorry to derail a bit.

I think part of the reason why some people are so pro cp parties is that immunisation is not included in the childhood programme on the NHS. this leads people to think that it is a minor illness that is really just an inconvenience, so it is better to get it out of the way when they are young and at your convenience.

I don't know what I think of them tbh. I had it as an adult and was very I'll. I wish I had had it as a young child - but that is based on the assumption that it would have been less serious. as people have reported here, it can be serious for a child.

we paid for DD to have the vaccination.

I can't understand deliberately exposing your child to any infectious disease. DS had chicken pox in the summer and just avoided being hospitalised.

There is currently a big outbreak at his school and because of that I had to keep him off longer after a course of steroids because although the chances of him catching it would have been slim it could have been nasty.

I always wonder if those who deliberately expose children to chicken pox keep their child away from everyone who is immuno suppressed for the incubation period?

Does anyone else think the fact they've introduced the shingles vaccine for 70 and 79 yr olds this year means they might be working up to including the varicela vaccine?

Our dd got done as we were living in Canada, the boys Christmas preset this year will be the vaccine.

I would never purposely put my ds at risk . So many horrible stories about it of thy have a reaction . If he gets it so be it .