In thinking you should vaccinate against Chicken Pox if you can afford it?

[shutyourlittleface]

I just don't see the downside.

I currently have two mum mates moaning about their nurseries having confirmed chicken pox cases. They could just have their kids vaccinated to alleviate the worry surely?

Plus we cant afford to vaccinate atm
Then that is enough reason. It is an expensive vaccine.
The question I guess was, if you can afford it, would you?

I wish I had been immunised - I caught it when I was 23 and have never been so ill - didnt help that I was breastfeeding DD at the time so was limited to what medication I could take.

Both DD and DS had it at the same time (they were 5 months and 16 months old.at the time) and honestly between the 3 of us it was the shittest 6 weeks - pure misery 😳🙄

I think some anti-vaxers need to take a walk around the average Victorian grave yard and have a look at the ages on many headstones. Why would anyone want to re-visit those times? All because of unfounded stories they read on FB articles!

Oh @GoldenPlatitudes I can't even imagine!
I was very ill once when DS was little and then DH caught it and it was hell so how did you survive that😭

I vaccinated my son and will vaccinate the new baby. For most illnesses such as chicken pox, mumps etc are horrible but not ‘serious’ for a percentage however it is serious. Why would I risk my child when I know I can protect against it.

I think some anti-vaxers need to take a walk around the average Victorian grave yard and have a look at the ages on many headstones. Why would anyone want to re-visit those times? All because of unfounded stories they read on FB articles! 
The issue is that you can always lie to yourself and justify any decision.
My SIL is antivaxer and she would do that. Say there is always a risk, that it was probably pesticides on the salad that triggered a reaction... It would not matter to her at all.

Two of mine had it when they were 18 months and 3. Within a week of each other so I felt like I’d been trapped in the house for days. Despite that it was ok and although they had a lot of spots it was manageable. But when the youngest caught it a few years later she was 9 months and it was awful. She was covered in spots and utterly miserable. She had so many in her throat they became infected and she needed antibiotics.
I really think it’s hard to tell what is the right thing to do. On the evidence of the first two I wouldn’t do it but on the youngest I possibly would.
But at £150 x 3 I wonder if there are other things I could spend it on which would be more beneficial to them.

Yes! I have zero tolerance for parents who complain about how awful it is their kids have chickenpox. Well bloody vaccinate them then you dummies!!

If I had the cash spare I'd take my dd to be vaccinated asap yes
She has had all the NHS vaccines
She is in part time nursery so I'm shocked she hasn't picked it up yet tbh

Yes! My DD is vaccinated (I had her done at age 1) and my baby will be being vaccinated as soon as she's old enough.

Chicken pox is at best unpleasant and at worst fatal. If you can prevent it, why wouldn't you? No brainier to me.

I strongly believe in the next ten years it'll be part of the standard vaccination schedule, just like it is in many countries over the world. It should be.

My oldest 2 had the pox together, one just turned 3 and the other 18 months. I am seriously considering the vaccine for my youngest as she has chronic eczema and quite literally rips her own skin at times.

The idea of her having an illness, quite apart from the 'feeling rubbish' bit is anything that would make her itch on top of horrendous skin breaks my heart.

She will be starting school this summer, turning 5 shortly after doing so and she has already had several days off preschool due to no sleep and bleeding skin. The financial cost for me pails in significance to her general well-being.

I'd love to vaccinate DD. Unfortunately we just don't have that kind of money going spare.

I ‘may’ vaccinate. Only because he has got to 4.5 years and never had it.

My eldest had it and it was a little inconvenient but she got over it quickly and was not particularly poorly.

I will vaccinate next year if he still hasn’t had it because we are planning a big holiday and I would hate for it to be disrupted due to chickenpox.

Also with him starting school, I would rather he didn’t miss a week.

I did it, partly because I thought it was an unpleasant illness for my DS to get (when it is preventable) and partly because I would lose more financially than the cost of the vaccine if I had to take 1-2 weeks off work and he couldn't go to nursery. However I agree it's a personal choice unlike the scheduled vaccines (which I think should be mandatory before putting a child into nursery/school etc although appreciate not everyone feels the same way).

I was looking into it when my older two were small - money was tight so it was going to be difficult - we were told it was only 2-3 years off being added to NHS vaccine list then. They are both now at secondary 12- 13.

We were still looking when eldest started nursery and they both had it. Some mild facial scaring that at time felt awful.

Youngest still hasn't had it despite being in nursery and schools with it - MIL is 65 and never had it the medical advice she's is she probably did but extremely mild.

I do know one child who had twice over decade agao– the medical advice then was it was extremely rare and they could and same GP diagnose both – that they been unlucky to come into contact with two different strains.

I also knew a very young third child in house hold to get it who was so bad they were admitted into hospital – awful scaring it was girl and the mother already with pnd was pretty devastated at the time.

I wish they'd add it to NHS vaccine schedule - though I assume there must be good reasons why it's not.

Just to clarify the vaccine cost is £75 per dose for two doses but Boots offer both doses at £140 if paid for at once together.

To balance the worst case scenarios here, my children had chicken pox in infant school. If you'd met them then you wouldn't have guessed they were ill.
There were very very few spots. One of my children was quiet and weary for a day. Otherwise, nothing.

If I went back in time I still wouldn't have them immunised.

"was skightly worried re the spray flu one. I decided to go for it but id be happier if it be injection. The reason my dmil is immune compressed and looks after her".

Did your mother-in-law know about your decision and the potential risk of the spray, londonrach?

I wouldn't have done this, mine weren't bothered too much by it tbh, we had chicken pox party as did the other kids. They'd all had it before juniors. I've never known anyone be really ill with it, in 30 years of school runs

I had both mine done. Ds had a single dose, no booster offered and hah a very mild infection of CP a few years later. DD had vaccination and a booster.
My DD was premature, my son has had a few health issues. If I can avoid it I would not want them to catch a usually mild but occasionally devastating disease that can be vaccinated against. I want them to contribute to herd immunity and in the long term reduce their risk of shingles.
Part of my job as a parent is weighing up the pros and cons and aiming to act in the best for them.

I was vaccinated on the NHS after having DS, when they tested and found I wasn't immune. Then we paid to get DS vaccinated when he was 1. DD unfortunately caught chicken pox at 9 months, so didn't vaccinate her, but then she caught it again at 14 months, I guess she was too young to keep her immunity. Would have vaccinated her if she hadn't already caught it, especially knowing now how miserable she was second time round, would definitely avoid that if possible!

I agree with you. I was waiting for my youngest to turn one and have them both immunised together. Unfortunately my 5yo caught it and passed it to her 6mo brother. Luckily they were both fine and I am on maternity leave so could look after them myself. However I still kick myself for not having the eldest immunised.

I didn't do it for mine, mainly because I wasn't even aware there was a vaccine (I'm not British) here when my kids were small. It's weird, actually, that I wasn't informed when the dcs had their other injections. Luckily, they only had mild cases and weren't too poorly or spotty, but I probably would have had them vaccinated if I had known.

Can dc be sick after the vaccine, wondering if ok to get it just before a holiday?

@Mayday19 I would leave it a week. My son got a slightly elevated temp for two days about 7-10 days after the vaccine