To keep my kids away from chicken pox party?

[Badgerboop]

More of a WWYD?

One of my friends is having a kids party tomorrow and both of my children have been invited. I've just found out via Facebook that the birthday girl has got chicken pox in the contagious stage. The mother is not going to postpone the party and it's still going ahead.

Neither of my kids have had it. I wouldn't mind the eldest one catching it as I think she would cope with it but I really don't want my youngest to catch it as she's just getting over a cold, ear and chest infection which has knocked her for 6 and neither of us have had any sleep for the past 5 days!

Shall I just decline the invite or just take them? She's the type of woman who will get funny with me if I decline. I thought about just taking the eldest but if she catches it she will obv pass onto th youngest

If kids aren't ill with anything else, don't have compromised immunity and you don't have any holidays etc., booked for the foreseeable, then I don't think it's altogether a bad idea.

Otherwise, you can bet yours will get it just before a holiday, or some other time when you really want to be taking them here and there.

We were living in the Gulf when mine had it one after the other, while it was doing the rounds, and I was heartily thankful to have got it over before I was due to take them back to the UK for 2 months of that ghastly, blistering-heat summer. No way could I have taken them on a long flight at the spotty stage - even if they'd allowed us on it would have grossly unfair to other people.

Amazing auto correct to cheesecake lad!

I took DS to a family party, despite knowing his cousin had it. Let them share a bed and everything because I thought it was a good idea to get it out of the way. DS was fine really when he got it but I was shocked by how wiped out he was by it. I'd totally fallen for the line that is a mild illness. I would never recommend deliberately getting it, and would look into the vaccine.

If kids aren't ill with anything else, don't have compromised immunity and you don't have any holidays etc., booked for the foreseeable, then I don't think it's altogether a bad idea.

That's what the vaccine is for.

Honestly, if you've seen children with chicken pox pneumonia or meningitis you wouldn't be recommending people deliberately put their children at risk.

I can't understand why anyone with a child with chickenpox would hold a party for many reasons.

But would the child feel up to it anyway? Wouldn't they rather have their party when they feel better?

YANBU my dd has chickenpox when she was 2 and it was awful, she was so, so poorly, I would never, ever deliberately get my child infected with anything 'just to get it over and done with'. The mum of the other child is being an absolute bitch by not postponing the party.

It's 98% effective actually. Why do people post misinformation like this?www.vaccines.gov/diseases/chickenpox/

They give two doses - as for many vaccines (e.g. Men B) you need two doses to get the higher rate of effectiveness.

Sorry, ineed. I just looked at the NHS site:

www.nhs.uk/conditions/vaccinations/pages/chickenpox-vaccine.aspx

I apologise for not Googling further.

my elder DD had the vaccine and it worked a treat, she never caught it. I'd have done the 2nd DC if I'd realized how much it'd wipe her out after she had it.

I had always understood that its relatively low effectiveness vs cost and risk was why it wasn't routinely offered by the NHS. If the effectiveness is now known to be 98%, then I wonder why it still isn't included in the normal vaccination schedule? Is it the live virus issue?

Cost I think.

My DS is vaccinated. If you aren't going to vaccinate then I can see the wisdom of getting it at a convenient time.

I thought that once someone had chicken pox the virus is in their system and can reactivate decades later as shingles.

I am not in the UK and children here are vaccinated against chicken pox, that is probably because 1 in 3 adults comes down with shingles and they are trying to stop that.

I have never come across a child here who has had chicken pox. My MIL had shingles. It was nasty.

The vaccine is standard and required here in California. When my dc's were little it wasn't even available in the UK and I had to get them vaccinated on a trip back to the USA.

So cost of vaccine per child vs average cost of treatment per child (so weighing the cost of those who get complications vs the many who don't need specific treatment at all)? Sounds possible - it can't be the most expensive vaccine (small volumes and private administration will drive up the current cost) compared with some that have been rolled out more recently.

My DS was ill before his third birthday and I desperately wanted his party to go ahead, he had few friends (older siblings so less time for toddler friends) and we were moving away and I wanted to have happy party memories. It took a good friend to look me in the eye and tell me to cancel the party... she was right, I just needed a nudge. Perhaps a quiet word with nursery ... maybe they could tell her or at least tell the parents of the other children going to the party.

I would be so angry if I turned up at a party where the party child had chickenpox and I did knowingly allow my DS aged 7, to play with a friend who had chicken pox.

Sofia, DS had many of his childhood vaccinations in the US, where we were living at the time. He didn't have the varicella one because it was only required for school and we knew we were not there for that long.

I've had the vaccine (2 doses) and I still caught chicken pox so its not that effective I dont think.

Anyone who knowingly holds or goes to a CP party is an irresponsible parent.

He was a real pincushion as it was, because he had to have the remaining UK ones that he had started (even when not offered routinely in the US) as well as all those the US did (but the UK didn't at the time). So we figured that missing out varicella for a while would be OK!

Here's why it is not on the NHS

www.nhs.uk/Conditions/vaccinations/Pages/chickenpox-vaccine-questions-answers.aspx#routineschedule

My ds was 6 when he had chickenpox and he ended up with a 40 degree temperature and he was poorly for 11 days. At one point i thought he had complications but it was a secondary virus. I wouldnt purposely inflict it on my dcs

Not a chance I'd go! How dangerous of her. What if a pregnant lady goes along. My dd had it at two and it was vile. She had it in her eyes and frankly wasn't the same after. It's not a mild illness it's awful.

I was really unwell with the chicken pox. I had it in my mouth, ears, nose and on my eyeballs. All my spots got infected. I bled from my mouth when I chewed, my eye lids were stuck together for most of the time and when they were open I couldn't see well as there was so much pus and exudate over them and my hearing was damaged for a short time. I couldn't lie or sit because my skin was so sore. It was a month before I was back on my feet and probably a year before I was properly well and I had no underlying conditions.
I will concede that it's pretty rare to be as I'll as I was but it does happen.

Decline. Both of mine were covered and my little girl has been left with scars on her face. If I had intentionally done that, I would feel awful

Isn't it a lot more dangerous to catch CP when you're an adult? So people would rather their kids have it now when its less likely to kill them. Ive still never had it mind ...no matter how many CP Parties i went to.

My chicken pox vaccine was on the NHS