To Be Wavering About The Chicken Pox Jab at 10am Tomorrow?!

[MagicalMrsMistoffelees]

We have booked an appointment at 10am tomorrow for our 15 month old son to have the chicken pox vaccination. We want him to have it mainly because he has eczema and when our middle son (who also has eczema) had chicken pox it was pretty horrible.

However, I'm wavering because the immunity from the vaccination doesn't last forever and no one really knows how long it does last. And when the immunity wears off he will be at risk of catching chicken pox and could end up catching it when he is 15 or 25 or 50 - and it'll be worse then, surely?

But all vaccinations wear off eventually (don't they?) and yet that doesn't stop us getting all the routine NHS ones. Why is that? Is it because mass immunisations of things like mumps and polio means that, even when the immunity from vaccination does wear off, you are very unlikely to catch it?

Please help me decide whether I am being reasonable to get the chicken pox vaccination for my son or not!

BumbleyMummy I'm talking about very young children, i.e babies and toddlers, the age group, along with the elderly and pregnant women are more at risk. Of course it is dangerous for adults too however these age groups are even more at risk that adults/children

It is also important to know that the WHO states a CP vaccine as a medical necessity. Around 3/4 of children who are vaccinated become immune teenagers and adults.

Also when the Diphtheria, Tetanus and Polio jab is given as teenagers they ask you [and your parents] if you have had the full MMR, if not it can be given to you there and then. I do know that Mumps is a massive problem for teenagers though, my university has a whole page just for symptoms and what to do if you think you have Mumps. This is a bit weird as the only other page is on STDs/STIs so they're clearly seeing it as a big possibility!

DS1 had such a terrible time with CP as a 12 month old that he ended up spending the better part of a week in hospital having iv antibiotics. I wouldn't wish a moment of that on anyone, so didn't hesitate to immunise DS2.

Oddly, DS2 has asthma (no family history and no smokers around at all) and we were asked by our NHS asthma nurse if we'd considered vaccinating him against CP because she believes it hits asthmatic children harder and the complications can be more severe. I've never known an NHS worker recommend a private vaccine until then but I rave about it to everyone who asks; DS2 is 5 and has survived 3 bouts of CP doing the rounds at school/nursery unscathed and has the constitution of an ox.