Bringing child with chickenpox to family party

[Eemamc]

Not sure if I am. LO cousin has just got chickenpox so still in infectious stage. MIL thinks it’s no problem if they come to family party tomorrow. We’re staying at IL until next Tues, so not a case of just staying home as party is here where we’re staying. She thinks it’s fine as all the adults have had chickenpox. My LO is 12 months, so I know unlikely to be dangerous, but it just doesn’t feel right to bring an infectious child to a family party. Will be no way of keeping the children separate at party or stop them sharing toys. Am I being unreasonably anxious? I know she will prob get it at some point, but I feel might be better if she were a little older? And an if she does it can’t be helped scenario, rather than basically guaranteeing it. Thoughts?

It does sound as though it might be worth young adults checking their immunity and considering vaccination if not - adult cp, and of course chickenpox in pregnancy, is as pps have said potentially very serious. Does anyone know if gps would do a blood test to check immunity on the nhs - or would there have to be a particular reason?

There's also a vaccine against shingles but I don't think it is particularly 'pushed' is it?

Sorry op, I am off thread. In your position I would also leave! Smile and wave at any 'drama queen' 'oh dc will be fine' type comments.

Shingles vaccine is for people in their 70s not for younger adults

I just asked for it to be tested when I was pregnant then had it comfirmed earlier this year when I asked them to check again to be sure. The GP was so skeptical that I wasn't immune that she didn't mind checking again.

The blood test earlier this year wasn't just for CP immunity by the way - it was blood tests for other things but I asked for that to be added on too.

Ah, I cross-posted - is cp vaccination not effective in adults then? I suppose it could at least mean that the cp is not as bad if you do get it though?

(Yes shingles vaccine on nhs is for 70s - do gps routinely mailshot patients and suggest it, I wonder? If one concern about routine cp vaccination was an increase in shingles (as per nhs website) then shingles vaccination could also be more widely publicised in 60-70 yrs time which might address that concern! )

Possible Increase in adult cp as a result of routine vaccination would be more concerning - it is interesting that other countries take a different approach though.

I remember that thread thegreylady, so scary.

My dc were 2 and 8 months when they got chicken pox, they were so so ill with it. Far too young to have to deal with it, poor things.

I wished I'd got them vaccinated but I didn't know about it then. I also thought it was just a mild childhood illness. They're covered in scars, it was horrendous!

I'd go. Even if they say she's not coming, they could just turn up which will make things very awkward...

I’ve done lots of research on the pros and cons of vaccination as I have an immunosuppressed family member.

Apparently the vaccination is not recommended as it increases the risk of adults getting shingles. Anytime someone has chickenpox, those around them get a boost in immunity to the disease and thus their risk of getting shingles is reduced. Given that shingles has greater risks than chickenpox, the need to safeguard the mass population from that is given precedence.

The shingles argument seems to be population based not individual based though, as I understand it. In that, there may be downsides to the population having a large number of vaccinated children as it reduces the amount of wild chicken pox, but no specific downside to the actual vaccinated child?

I would also be leaving rather than deliberately expose DC to chicken pox. My three all had it one after the other at 7, 3 and 2 and luckily it was very mild BUT it easily could have gone the other way. Not worth the risk IMO

The increased shingles risk is temporary though, it's just for the current population of adults that have caught chickenpox rather than being vaccinated. Longer term, shingles incidence would plummet as you're much less likely to get it after the vaccine, compared to a chickenpox infection.

Apparently the natural boosting against shingles following exposure to chickenpox is very short term anyway.
www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/08/150811103555.htm

It's unfair on the child first of all and also some people like me never had chicken pox.
I think it's completely irresponsible to take a sick child anywhere.
You baby is quite small too.

YANBU ; that's crackers and if I were you I would really resent my DM for not putting my feelings and my DC's health first; particularly if I were already staying there. Tell your mum there is now a vaccine and that many parents now give it as chicken pox is not always an annoying but benign disease.

MrsJane I think it’s very difficult to find anyone who will vaccinate against CP under 12 months in the U.K (American friend only found one private provider in whole of London) so even if you’d known about the vaccine it probably wouldn’t have helped with your little ones.

"Given that shingles has greater risks than chickenpox, the need to safeguard the mass population from that is given precedence."

That is fascinating, over, gently and utini (and anyone else I've forgotten re the cp vaccine pros and cons!). But as you can vaccinate against shingles wouldn't that address the increased risk to the mass population?

Over, did you discover why the risk of adult cp might be increased by childhood vaccination - does the vaccination immunity wear off while immunity from real cp is less likely to do so? Could the vac be 'boosted' at teenage yrs (like some of the existing vacs, can't remember which!)

We consider it a mild childhood illness in the NHS, but hey, MNers clearly know better! A common cold is a big deal if complications develop, or if you are immunocompromised. It is nonetheless a mild illness. The hystrionics on here incredible.

"Mild" doesn't mean discomfort or pain free though, does it? CP is a miserable, irritable experience for most children so I don't see why anyone would deliberately infect a child. Not to mention the gamble being taken as to whether your child with get a mild case, a bad case, mild complications, serious complications, or even die particularly when there is a way to massively reduce the risk anyway via the vaccine.

No it's just with this kind of thread the people who only had it mildly don't bother to post, so you only hear the more serious side.

Don't forget this is anecdotal evidence not medical research.

Bucket surely you're missing the point? If a child comes into contact unknowingly with CP and subsequently gets CP, theres not alot you can do as a parent, you just hope it is mild as you say and there wint be complications.

The OP was in a situation whether she could, essentially, choose whether she allowed her child to come into contact with CP.

Whether the NHS classes it as a mild childhood disease, there is a chance that a 12 month would be poorly and there is a chance of side effects. Why would any parent choose to expose their child to that if they didnt have to?

We consider it a mild childhood illness in the NHS, but hey, MNers clearly know better! A common cold is a big deal if complications develop, or if you are immunocompromised. It is nonetheless a mild illness. The hystrionics on here incredible

This. I do think the NHS knows better than a few parents on here.

And one of the reasons that a lot of kids have been hospitalised with chicken pox is because they've had high temperatures and been given iboprofen (I did it myself with ds who had cp at 16 months old but got away with it). I suspect as the message about iboprofen gets through, the number of hospitalisations will decrease.

As for going on about selfish parents taking out their kids with lurgies, you do know that the most infectious period with a lot of diseases is before you even know you have it?

However, I wouldn't knowingly expose my child to it especially (selfishly) as a working parent. I was "lucky" my ds had it over the Easter holidays and so I only missed a couple of days of work.

Thanks Gunpowder. :)

I never gave mine ibuprofen with it as I knew about the risks - although one doctor at the hospital suggested it!

My dc1 was smothered and had a high temperature that wouldn't come down with paracetamol. My dc2 got them all around his eyes (so they were worried about his eyesight) and mouth (he couldn't eat or drink) and struggled with his temperature too.

We're certainly in the minority though to be fair! Chicken pox in the extreme!! Most of my friends kids sailed through it. Still wouldn't knowingly expose children to it though and definitely not that young.

We consider it a mild childhood illness in the NHS, but hey, MNers clearly know better!

How you define mild is obviously subjective. Why would I deliberately allow my child to get sick if it's easily avoidable? Because the NHS defines it as mild and only 1 in 10,000 die from it? It's still potentially a week or more of my child being ill and miserable, plus a 1 in 10,000 chance of them DYING, which I could EASILY AVOID. If I could easily avoid a 1 in a ten billion chance of my child dying, I'd do it. I mean... why wouldn't I??

My 10 month old was hospitalised for 5 days with it.

It is hard to access gp services with chicken pox as receptionists hear chicken pox and turn you away, regardless of how young or unwell your kid is. Treatment sooner would have prevented the illness getting worse.

Wouldn't recommend it personally.

My DC had the vaccinations and I am so glad we did.

Two children we know were hospitalised with it. One of them nearly lost his eye.

I do think the NHS knows better than a few parents on here

And the other countries who do vaccinate, they don't know, but the NHS, that's on it's knees and looking to cut costs, does?

Riiight