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'?

[bumbleymummy]

MrsDeV, I hope you are not referring to me as the PP who thinks your experience is irrelevant. There is a big difference between saying something is irrelevant and pointing out that complications are very rare when you look at the population as a whole. I'm sure most people are well aware that CP can be very serious for the immunocompromised (like your daughter) and I'm sure you have seen me saying as much on other CP threads where the poster is asking whether they should take their child out because they are bored.

As far as 'risking my child' goes, I have already said that both my boys have already had CP so I do not have to consider intentional exposure. I just think that all the frothing and insults aimed at people who have said that they would consider it if their child had not contracted it by a certain age is a bit unnecessary. Everything carries a risk (including catching a cold) but people aren't accused of being neglectful, idiotic, insane etc etc for allowing their children to play with other children who have a bit of a sniffle.

[rednellie]

I know pointed it out earlier, but do people not realise this year all 70 and 79 year olds are being offered the shingles vaccine. It'll be rolling out. I'm convinced this means they'll probably start introducing the cp vaccine for babies in the next decade

When I asked in Canada why the UK doesn't they reckoned it was a) cost related and b) the govern felt it would be hard to convince parents to accept another childhood vaccine after the whole mmr debacle.

[DazzleU]

I know pointed it out earlier, but do people not realise this year all 70 and 79 year olds are being offered the shingles vaccine

www.nhs.uk/Conditions/vaccinations/Pages/who-can-have-the-shingles-vaccine.aspx

No I missed this earlier in thread - most of my older relatives are either over 80 already so illegible or in 60's so not yet eligible so I wasn't generally aware either.

Good news.

Though they may have a point with vaccines and young DC as many parents do seem to understand how vaccines and immune sytems work and talk about 'over loading' already - but I'd have like it for my DC.

[bumbleymummy]

So we vaccinate against CP (which may require boosters throughout our lifetime) and then we have to vaccinate against shingles as well - well Big Pharma are certainly doing well out of this idea!

[bumbleymummy]

As others have said on the thread Tiggy, the concern about introducing the CP vaccine in the UK is that it may increase the likelihood of shingles in older people.(source: NHS website) IIRC this has something to do with the decreased circulation of CP in the community reducing the opportunity for natural 'boosters'. I think someone earlier mentioned that rolling out the shingles vaccine may be a sign that they are planning to introduce the CP vaccine in the next few years.

[ZeViteVitchofCwismas]

mrsDvere

Couldn't agree more.

This is why I was so furious when NCT MUm was deliberately exposing her DC then meeting up with us all she kept saying " I keep exposing them, like last week but they have not got anything yet" she clearly had no idea about the two week gap between exposure and spots, even more of a fucking prat. . She had also been doing baby massage along side very prem babies and other mums where we did not know their med backgrounds. She was not even bothered about telling them all, I had to ask her to tell the others that her child had come down with it,.

She had no idea of the chain reaction she could have been causing. It ruined my holiday tBh as I was paranoid about spots appearing every day until we went. .

Sadly its just ignorance.

[bumbleymummy]

ZeVite - but that could have been the case with plenty of people who weren't intentionally exposing them too. You could be surrounded by any number of people incubating chicken pox. It's endemic in the UK

[expatinscotland]

That may be true, bumble, but to deliberately expose young babies and children is, IMO, shockingly ignorance and irresponsible. I would have complained A LOT about such an individual in such a position.

DD1 got it at nursery, it was before there was a vaccine. She got swine flu, too, from that nursery, again, before there was a vaccine and before the people knew they were sick. In fact, what happened in the later case was that a father of one of the children was on a hired coach to an away football game that picked up a number of fans in a neighbouring town who were all carrying. They caused a serious outbreak in our small town and in the city where they went and sat in a crowded stadium.

Nothing intentional, this happens.

But to deliberately expose people is ignorant and irresponsible, IMO, no matter how 'endemic'.

My child died of an endemic virus she obviously contracted in hospital, seeing as she was in strict isolation at the time, HMV. I accept that many people carry this and are asymptomatic entirely and that it can make even healthy children very ill.

But no one deliberately exposed her, an immune-compromised child.

[LuciusMalfoyisSmokingHot]

After looking at my spot ridden, exhausted and dehydrated 6 yr old DD, i cant understand deliberate exposure, DD is itchy and shattered, and sadly will miss her nativity play.

I've told my Dsis to not come over and see other Dsis im looking after and DD, because i really dont want her getting the virus and passing it to her children. Shes already had it, but she can still carry the virus.

[LuciusMalfoyisSmokingHot]

Apparently, you cant spread it if you've already had it.

[ZeViteVitchofCwismas]

expact it was horrid, I heard a hushed conversation about it as she arrived, and she wasn't being open about it, her and the host were good friends, I was taking my shoes off and happened to catch it. My heart started to pound, looking at my 6 month old thinking, god, i came here for a chat not to catch the fucking pox

So seconds later others arrived and her baby with possible pox was playing on the floor along side all of our babies, one lady had already had a nasty time of it with her older DC...and I knew that lady would'nt have told the other lady who was exposing us, it all put me in a very difficult and horrid situation.

Another one of the mums had been driven to the wall because of her DC having back to back illness, again her little DC was on the floor next to the possible pox carrier! It was a nightmare, so unbelievably selfish.

Bumble my baby got it months later and it was a fraught time, she did get a secondary infection, it was horrid. My one consolation was thank god I have not chosen to do this to her. I will be more than happy for her to get it when older and sturdier, but I think its disgraceful to expose tiny babies to it.

She still has a few scars now.

[ZeViteVitchofCwismas]

Expat

[IneedAsockamnesty]

Lucius,

Yes you can. Its possible to get it more than once and you will be contagious on every occasion that you have it.

[thegreylady]

It is quite hard reading this thread while you are looking after a child with cp. Yesterday dgs was reasonably ok, playing happily and watching some tv. He went a bit sleepy after lunch so I gave him Calpol and Piriton as advised by GP. This seemed to perk him up a bit. Last night dd bathed him with some peppermint and tea tree oil in the bath which was very soothing and she put Eurax on the spots.
Today should be his first speaking part in a Nativity play but he will miss it of course. How long do I need to worry about these horrendous complications? Atm new spots are still appearing. His temp hasn't been above 37.7 and is controlled by Calpol. He hasn't a great appetite but is sitting at the table and eating his meals. Dd is more or less giving him what he fancies eg fish fingers and cucumber followed by raspberries with yoghurt and honey.
I am including the detail to show that this isn't a desperately ill child atm but when can I be fairly sure he will be ok? How long is the danger period?

[TimeIsAnIllusion]

My ds's complications began in the first 2-3 days of the first spots appearing. I didn't notice the temperature so much as the spots looking very red around the edges and he was extremely miserable. It got progressively worse.
If the spots start to look like a scab with a large red ring around the edge then go back to the dr.

[bumbleymummy]

Grey lady :( It sounds like your DS is doing well so please try not to worry. Just watch out for the spots getting very red. I put tea tree on the redder ones on my DSs and they calmed down quite quickly and dried up. The first couple of days were the itchiest for them and they just had lots of time playing in a porridge bath. After that they were completely back to normal except for the spots!

37.7 isn't really a fever so I wouldn't bother with the paracetamol. There was a recent study that showed it can prolong the length of time it takes for the spots to crust over so I would just stick with soothing the itching for now.

[SantaIKnowHimIKnowHim]

I can't get my head round why someone would DELIBERATELY want their child to catch an infectious disease and make them poorly. Absolutely ridiculous.
Yes, I 'get' that those who do it want their child to 'get it out of the way' but really?
What happens if they become seriously poorly with it? How would you feel knowing you'd deliberately exposed them to it?
It's an idiotic idea in my opinion. and one I definitely wouldn't do.

[diplodocus]

Yes, the potential guilt would stop me deliberately exposing, but where do you draw the line? At the DD's pre-school there were regular outbreaks of CP at least once if not twice a year. It went through the group like wildfire. I knew by keeping DD at the pre-school during an outbreak there was a very high chance she would get it (and she did). Is that "willful exposure" or bowing to the inevitable?

[puntasticusername]

Sorry, I have not RTFT but if the likelihood of catching it is that high, wouldn't you vaccinate?

[diplodocus]

AS discussed in the thread earlier the decision to vaccinate is by no means straightforward. In hindsight, though, and now there is new evidence (this was some years ago) I think I probably would vaccinate privately.

[puntasticusername]

Sorry, I knew I should have RTFT...I just couldn't immediately see how vaccinating would be potentially MORE risky than allowing (to whatever point of deliberate-ness) your child to catch the full-blown illness.

[sleeplessbunny]

Seems like madness. If you're going to go to that trouble, why not vaccinate? A well proven vaccine has been available for years and is used routinely in other countries in Europe, USA and Aus. It is only available privately in UK, we paid £100 for our surgery to vaccinate DD (2 quick jabs 3 months apart). Less pain, stress and worry all round, I am a bit cross it is not available on the NHS though.

[sleeplessbunny]

Just read some more of the thread. Some of the stories of children becoming seriously ill with chicken pox make me even more angry the NHS doesn't offer this vaccine routinely. "Not cost effective" .Well it seemed cost effective to me to pay £100 and have her jabbed rather than watch my child suffer, risk complications, and, oh, lose a week or two's pay while I stayed at home to look after her