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

puffy you've misunderstood the worry with the vaccine and shingles. You can't get shingles if you've never had chicken pox so the children that are vaccinated are safe from shingles (assuming the vaccine works). It's adults who have had chicken pox in the past that are more at risk of the virus reactivating if there are fewer children with chicken pox around. This is from the NHS website...
There's a worry that introducing chickenpox vaccination for all children could increase the risk of chickenpox and shingles in adults.

While chickenpox during childhood is unpleasant, the vast majority of children recover quickly and easily. In adults, chickenpox is more severe and the risk of complications increases with age.

^If a childhood chickenpox vaccination programme was introduced, people would not catch chickenpox as children because the infection would no longer circulate in areas where the majority of children had been vaccinated.
This would leave unvaccinated children susceptible to contracting chickenpox as adults, when they are more likely to develop a more severe infection or a secondary complication, or in pregnancy, when there is a risk of the infection harming the baby.^

Sorry, italic fail and missed the important bit!

We could also see a significant increase in cases of shingles in adults. Being exposed to chickenpox as an adult – for example, through contact with infected children – boosts your immunity to shingles.
If you vaccinate children against chickenpox, you lose this natural boosting, so immunity in adults will drop and more shingles cases will occur.

It drives me nuts that all that work done to protect children by the medical world, and we are so complacent about an illness that can kill your child FFS. Its not just pregnant women and immunosuppressed. My friends DD had it with no problem, her son caught it and went septic ending up in hospital.

Twoo - the comments about GCSEs or weddings is crazy unlikely and not a good reason.

This would leave unvaccinated children susceptible to contracting chickenpox as adults, when they are more likely to develop a more severe infection or a secondary complication, or in pregnancy, when there is a risk of the infection harming the baby

The point is, chickenpox should be rolled out to all children. Then the problem just disappears.

The main issue is, as you rightly point out, that a generation of unvaccinated children would be more susceptible as adults.

Personally, I think its a price worth paying, but the NHS and their accountants disagree

chicken pox vaccine* should be...

I caught chickenpox at the age of 30 and it wasn't pleasant- I would much rather have had it as a child. Actually, I had measles and mumps when I was a child and the chickenpox was, for me, much worse!

It makes me rage when people dismiss chickenpox as a mild childhood illness. I was delivered by a student midwife with my 1st DD, and she had a rash round her back that she thought was eczema but it turned out to be shingles! DD and I were vaccinated and never thought anything more of it. She then got it at school and literally had 2 spots - if other kids hadn't had it, I honestly wouldn't have known. But our 6 month old DD then got it - she had a fever we couldn't get down, she had blisters in her mouth, ears and groin that all got infected and she couldn't feed or wee/poo without screaming her lungs out. There wasn't a single cm of her body that didn't have a blister on it. Even our GP had tears in her eyes when she saw her. She ended up being sedated, treated with antivirals and was horrifically ill for nearly 2 weeks. It took months for her to get back on her centile line for weight as she was so very poorly. She was a very healthy baby apart from being born a few weeks early, and I honestly thought a few times we were going to lose her. It was terrifying and I get very agitated when people are so dismissive of the effects it can have on some kids.

However, my son had it as a child- he got infected with impetigo which he passed on to a friend's son who nearly died of septicaemia...

If you don't want your kid to have chicken pox then decline, doesn't matter what the other mother thinks, you're the one that's going to have to look after your children when they have the pox.

I've never had it, is the vaccine available if i'm 27 or only for children/under a certain age?

Well at lest i'm assuming i've never had it, i know my sister did but i'm not sure at what age (shes 2 1/2 years older but i THINK i had already been born when she got it) and i don't recall ant of my classmates ever having it.

its available for everyone, but make sure you get the 2 dose vaccine - it provides lifelong immunity which the single dose occasionally doesn't

Don't go, when younger my two girls had chicken pox at the same time, one had around a dozen spots, but has never had it 'bad' enough to be immune, she's actually had it around 5 or 6 times. Each time it has been very mild.

The younger one, on the other hand, had it really really bad, she had chicken pox spots on her eyes, in her ears and every other place imaginable. High temperature and constantly cried. She was coated in creams, and ended up on antibiotics. The Doctors and practice nurse each came out several times a week on different days for the two weeks she was ill to check on her, it was touch and go if they would have her admitted.

I would not risk it, you just don't know how bad a dose of chicken pox they might get. Bad enough kids get it anyway without someone intentionally putting children invited to the party at risk.

Chicken pox parties? Hmmmm

Chicken pox is horrible. I've had it twice and now I get shingles. Avoid the party at all costs. Your friend really should postpone.

My lovely previously healthy son had a stroke following chickenpox. He collapsed at home. It was the worst day of my life.

He now has a deficit on his left side and continues to require a neurologist, paediatrician, OT and a physiotherapist. He requires medication every day.

Before it happened I was probably in the brigade that said 'better that he gets it young'. I was wrong. I should have had him vaccinated.

I had no idea that a stroke was possible following CP. Now I do. Don't go to the party. It's not worth the risk. Trust me.

almost it's never been available on the NHS-your parents would have paid privately for it rather than you having it as part of the regular schedule. I don't think it's been available all that long. I doubt you've had the vaccine from what you've said.

I think she meant she's never had chicken pox, rather than never had the vaccine.

Your friend is definitely out of order if she would 'get funny' for not deliberately exposing your child to a disease. Yes, it is typically mild, but even that is unpleasant and there are risks of a more serious infection.

My DD had chicken pox this winter - I had intended to get her the vaccine, but just never got around to it, and I had fleeting feelings of guilt of 'what if' she was one of the bad cases. Luckily, she was very mildly affected (couldn't have been more than 30 spots, if that), but was still weeping and distressed by them. And the discomfort lasts for quite a few days.

A friend got a second case of chicken pox as adult. She had no clue - she'd had it as a kid, and has no children, so wasn't exactly up on the signs. She went to the GP with a 'weird rash' and the GP told her to go home immediately and not go out again until they'd crusted over.

Honestly if you can afford it pay for your child to get vaccinated. In fact I'd go as far as to say get your child as many vaccinations going.

Some people (my father) think it's weak to be vaccinated against every disease and kids should get immunity the proper way. I've literally no idea why he would wish that on his grandkids especially as his partner is deaf from childhood measles.

Anyway I had s fairly bog standard case of CP as a kid, the bout of Shingles in my 20s on the other hand. It's very common to get shingles on your eyeball and in your mouth, it can leave facial nerves feeling "funny" and weak for months after.

One day we'll have it in the vaccination program like more progressive nations. But I'm not waiting until then.

Sorry almost that went right over my head. Re reading your post it's obvious you were talking about the disease

Completely irresponsible. Yes chicken pox is for the most a mild illness. However you have absolutely no way of knowing if 1. Your child will contract it at the party(one would hope all of those children are then isolated whilst in the incubation period?!

1. No idea if it will be a mild illness or if your child will need hospital treatment (and still be under ophthalmologist as in DDs case)
2. You have no idea if your child will get immunity from first exposure (these incidents are increasing) in which case you've deliberately chosen to give your child an illness without considering points 1 &2.

Can you also be assured you won't come into contact with any immune compromised children ? Last year I saw a 5 year old chemo patient ending up on iTu with chicken pox , caught from a child at nursery who had been exposed . im amazed that someone can be so ignorant to the potential consequences. Yanbu!!!

Bubble, I'm so so sorry. I'm hoping that hearing your story first hand will make someone else think twice.

I've just googled. There's 20 deaths a year from chicken pox. Not a risk any sensible parent would take.

20 deaths ... in how large a population?

Around 120 women a year are killed by men in the UK alone; you don't keep your daughters away from boys, do you?

And I believe the deaths from car accidents are even more numerous.

If you'd rather vaccinate, then do that, but 20 deaths a year per country is not someting I'd consider high risk.

Jules, from my own observation I've seen an increase in those people not gaining immunity from first exposure and in those needing hospital treatment from chicken pox . I'm sure most of my colleagues in paediatrics would agree. Anecdotal as I've not looked up the figures to support my observations.

Virgin do you understand mortality and morbidity rates? 20 deaths per year doesn't take into account those very personal accounts on this thread who have had very sick children from chicken pox , some with life long disabilities. What an odd thing to say.