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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

AIBU to consider the chicken pox vaccine?

119 replies

PassiveAggressivePamela · 23/02/2018 10:34

Reposting from children’s health as no replies....anyone’s DC had the CP vaccine? I have a DS who is 3.5 and has avoided every bout of it at his nursery, and a baby DD.

DH isn’t sure if he’s ever had it. Just wondering if it’s worth getting the DC the vaccine privately...no health issues, I know for some it’s mild and for a few it isn’t.

OP posts:
JeffJarrett · 23/02/2018 22:32

I had it a few years ago courtesy of occ health at work (NHS). They tested me for immunity beforehand and I had the two doses of vaccine.

DS got chickenpox last month and low and behold, I got it soon after, the vaccine is only 70-90% effective.

To be fair I only had a mild case but then so did DS with no vaccine. Neither of us was ill, just a bit spotty and tired. I wouldn't bother tbh.

Wonkydonkey44 · 23/02/2018 22:45

My youngest had the chicken pox vaccine 2 doses last summer . Paid for it privately approx £85 a time and was told it would last a life time . No reactions at all what so ever and def no regrets

SunnyCoco · 23/02/2018 22:51

@passiveagressivepamela apologies I must have missed the age of the baby - yes you should be fine to go ahead 👍 x

Shadow1986 · 23/02/2018 22:55

All 3 of my children have had the vaccine. So worth doing in my opinion for them not to go through it.

olivesnutsandcheese · 23/02/2018 23:06

We got DS done when he was 2. We had an expensive holiday booked for a friend's wedding and didn't want to jeopardize that if he caught it just before. Also one of his little friends was undergoing chemo and was immunosuppressed so it just made sense to get him vaccinated. If I'm really honest as well I just couldn't face being cooped up at home with him. He was hard work at 2 Smile. I thoroughly recommend it.

BootsAndCatsAndBootsAndCats · 23/02/2018 23:18

We got Dd vaccinated. Both dh and I had cp in our teens and we both vividly remember how bad it was. So vaccinating Dd was a no brainer. No side effects at all and no regrets.

BananaInPyjama · 24/02/2018 05:02

I'm in Aus.
Child no 1 caught chickenpox before she was old enough for the vaccine (its given at 18mths). I think she caught it from a child who had been given the vaccine (and is momentarily a carrier). Child 1 then also developed shingles aged 9.
Child 2 vaccinated. No problems and no pox.

goingagain · 24/02/2018 05:22

My older two had it and a few weeks later got chickenpox, I guess it must have been already incubating. The then 2 yr old had it quite badly but only on his face (poor love) and the then 4yr old only had a couple of tiny pimples which you wouldn’t necessarily have identified straight away as pox. Hopefully that’s them done, though I need to get the current 2 yr old vaccinated now, especially as we have a newborn in the house.

Johnnycomelately1 · 24/02/2018 05:34

I live in HK where it's a standard vaccination (many doctors combine it with the MMR- enough to give anti-vaxxers a coronary).

My understanding is that they don't have a data set to show that the immunity is life long but there is an assumption that it will be- i.e. there's no schedule for a booster.

I'm glad I got mine done as their cousins got it at Christmas and 3 weeks of CP on top of 3 weeks of Australian flu might have just about finished me off.

Shutupanddance1 · 24/02/2018 05:46

I live somewhere were it is compulsory in the vaccine schedule. If they don’t have an up to date vaccine schedule they can’t start school

My DD has hers at 18 months - no isssues.

gastropod · 24/02/2018 07:42

My otherwise healthy daughter become life threateningly ill due to complications from chickenpox.
The specialists that treated her were all unanimous that we (I mean on a national level) should be vaccinating against this, and that complications are not uncommon.

The hard part for me was that before she contracted chickenpox I'd asked our doctor if we could vaccinate and he said there was no need, as healthy children didn't suffer complications. Obviously, this is bollocks.

howthelightgetsin · 24/02/2018 07:43

We did it, so glad we did it.

TheBlindspot · 24/02/2018 08:05

We had my DD vaccinated (both jabs) at 18 months. I have lost count of the number of people who've been a bit sneery, implying I've been really precious getting her done. 'Ridiculous waste of money' was what one woman said! It's just ignorance, lost people think it's a mild thing - almost a rite of passage. Stupid.

I don't regret it, there have been several nasty bouts his winter and DD has been fine. My friends newborn is currently covered in it, you can't get a finger between his spots bless him. I'm pregnant (I've had it - badly - as a child so I should be immune) and once this baby is old enough it'll be vaccinated too.

I struggle to understand why parents who can afford to get this, wouldn't. At best it's an inconvenient and unpleasant illness and at worst, deadly.

DrunkOnTheMOON · 24/02/2018 08:12

Hahaha Johnny, same here! I am a staunch pro-vaxer, but even I told our paed that we would pop back following month for the varicella vaccination.

We are on the continent, it's part of vaccine schedule here as well.

Horrible disease for the most part. There was a thread about someone not vaccinating on here recently, and there was one poster who kept insisting CP is harmless. It is NOT, and that is before looking at the fallout CP causes - time off work for parents/guardians, time off school, extra pressure on NHS, unnecessary suffering for babies and children above all!!

If you can vaccinate against chicken pox. It is money well spent.

Willyoujustbequiet · 24/02/2018 10:03

Didn't work for me!

I had the 2 doses but still caught chicken pox 2 years later. Not a mild case either.

Just bear that in mind. It's not a fail safe.

BootsAndCatsAndBootsAndCats · 24/02/2018 17:13

@Willyoujustbequiet I had heard about people who just don't seem to develop immunity to certain viruses. Do you know if you're immune to cp now?

PilatesSuck · 24/02/2018 17:57

Its totally up to you OP. If your dh isnt sure he has had it perhaps he should be vaccinated as well as your child abd baby? Assuming he wants to. It is far worse for adults to catch it then school aged kids.

Naty1 · 24/02/2018 19:06

Some of the people who got it twice/anyway after vax may have had hfm as that is very similar just more in the mouth/hands/bum/knees.
Dd1 had hfm badly soon after having mnr booster thrn croup and her immune system hasnt been right since. So we vaxxed against CP especially as you cant use nurofen as both dc get high fevers and vomitting which wouldnt be controlable with just paracetamol. Plus dd1 gets ear infections and thayt is one of the possible complications.
They were both fine from the vax.

Rhayader · 24/02/2018 22:03

We've done it privately in London, not gone back for the second jab yet but will do. No side effects but he did have a lot of side effects from the standard vaccines, particularly men b.

First DC had CP and it was a massive pain, we were due to vaccinate her but she caught it a few days before!

It's not done at a population level because in some areas only 60-70% of kids get vaccinated for MMR -> if 30-40% of people are not protected for chicken pox, they are far more likely to get it as adults which is more dangerous. With the current system, almost everyone gets it as a kid.

On a personal level though, it makes sense to vaccinate.

Original poster
PassiveAggressivePamela · 25/02/2018 20:04

Yes pilates he doesn’t know if he’s had it, and MIL can’t remember! He has a tiny scar on his back that looks like the tiny CP scar I have on my back but obviously that’s not conclusive evidence.

OP posts:
NewBallsPlease00 · 25/02/2018 20:06

My youngest has had it after the oldest was fine with cp but then got shingles and was poorly
Family friend Dr said its a good shout and they would absolutely get their kids done when old enough- one its in you its there, and fine if you're well but the complications are truely awful
In other developed countries like NZ, oz and USA its standard and mandatory requirement pre primary entry

Stroller15 · 25/02/2018 20:12

My 18month old DS had chicken pox last week - 20 kids in his nursery had it apparently. I never had CP and am 12 weeks pregnant so the GP freaked out and gave me the immunoglobulin (which was good) but also said I should stay off work for 1 and a half weeks (which I didn't understand as I didnt have any sign of it, not feeling poorly or anything) so had to tell my boss I'm pregnant early to make sense of the drama. Would have happily paid to have all of us vaccined before even TTC. Terrible two weeks in this house, my boor boy was in a bad state!

beingsunny · 25/02/2018 22:09

This is given as part of the usual vaccinations in Australia at 18 months, no side effects, in shocked they don't do this in the UK

branstonbaby · 25/02/2018 22:14

My kids have had it. We always seemed to miss it when their friends had it.

mrsfuzzyboots · 25/02/2018 22:16

Anyone know why this isn’t part of the standard vaccine schedule in the U.K. when it is throughout practically the rest of the western world (USA, Australia, most of Europe etc.)? I wouldn’t hesitate to pay but not everyone can afford this and chicken pox can sometimes be very nasty. Presumably it’s the NHS being shit cheap as usual?