To be in two minds about the chicken pox vaccine

[trippingovertoysinthedark]

I’m really on the fence with this one.

On the one hand, I have two preschool children in full time childcare and a SE partner. Financially, we could be in trouble if we had to take time off work to look after them if/when they get chicken pox. Also, I don’t want them to be unwell.

However, on the other hand, them being unwell now might set them up for lifetime immunity and that would probably be ultimately better than the vaccine when it wanes - I’m also not a fan of vaccinating children when it isn’t needed, as vaccine damage can happen and yes tiny chance blah blah but why take that chance if you don’t have to? Although I haven’t read of any adverse reactions to the pox vaccine but then would I be likely to?

So I’m dithering here

I would worry about your mortgage then, what is going to cost you more having to take time off to care for. Sick child ( they won’t let them back unless they have scabbed over and are well) or the cost of the injections.

If you have someone willing to care for children if they get ill and you can still work don’t get the vaccines.

If you don’t have that luxury get them vaccinated!

I'm in 2 minds too but this thread is making me lean towards getting the vaccine. DD is under 1 anyway so I can't do it yet

My dh didn't have chicken pox until his late 30s. It was very bad and he was off work for weeks. My dd caught chicken pox off him and barely had more than a week's problem. But one of her classmates got it at the same time and was also off weeks because it was so bad. Unpredictable how bad it will be or how long it goes on for.
My US family are horrified that we don't routinely vaccinate against it.

I'm considering getting it as I personally have enough health issues and a couple of nights of extreme lack of sleep can really affect me.

If it was potentially going to cause massive financial issues re work I'd definitely get it; as it is I'm half considering it due to the massive knock on impact of various things at work.

My children are boys; a Gp friend said she was glad her daughter had had the illness as she understood there were doubts about efficacy of the vaccine.

If you don't want to be labelled as part of the anti-vax brigade, stop talking about "vaccine damage" (not a thing) and "children you know who have been vaccine damaged" (they haven't).

Read up about ACTUAL possible side effects, and weigh those up against the effects of contracting the disease.

There is a shingles vaccine for adults now but I think you have to be 60. I had the disease itself before the vaccine existed, so I am at risk. Definitely going to look into the shingles vaccine when I'm old enough, privately if needs be.

It's really difficult as all the gps I've spoken to and a consultant pead and a consultant dermatologist haven't given the vaccine bar one couple I know of who I haven't been able to speak to about it yet.

Doctors’ children in Australia are vaccinated, though. Granted it’s on the schedule but people who vaccinate aren’t particularly averse to this particular vaccine.

There are two issues for the OP:

1. are the risks associated with the vaccine less those associated with getting CP in the community?
   (To which the answer is yes, of course, given rare but horrible CP related neurological damage in particular).

2. is the financial hit of paying for vaccines greater of less than the financial hit of being off work for weeks?

If things are financially tight, even if it seems counterintuitive it may be better to fork out for the vaccine - which seems effective - to avoid time off work.

We all have different experiences of chickenpox, in the same way people used to have different experiences of measles.

My girls had it pretty mildly.
Ds had the vaccine (due to underlying health conditions) and then had a very mild case (6 spots, mild temperature....but still had to have a week off school)
I had it at 15 and was very ill and have quite a lot of scars
Dh caught it when he was 40 and it was like having flu

However I also have a friend whose child (with no underlying conditions) died from complications as a result of chickenpox. In my work with preschool age children, have come across families where children have had it fairly mildly and several who have been hospitalised with complications (including sepsis, infections in the lungs, infected eczema and strep A)

My gp and ds's paediatrician are both of the mind that it should be part of the vaccine schedule in this country.

You can label me if you want to sar, but it doesn’t change the fact that the thread is what it is - as I’ve said, I do believe the parents who state their children were permanently damaged by vaccines and there are payouts for this.

Bald statements like ‘no such thing’ do nothing to alleviate concerns and actually exacerbate them in many cases.

With that being said it’s obviously enormously, hugely rare - my dilemma as a parent is what risk is greatest to my children.

My US family are horrified that we don't routinely vaccinate against it.

Chicken pox just doesn’t seem to happen in Australian children any more. When you’re used to seeing children who are seriously sick from CP -related complications it’s hard to see that as anything other than a positive public health move.

At any rate, I am leaning towards getting it done - like any other parent, I want to protect not harm my children.

But we sometimes disagree or take different things from the table if you like as to how best to do this.

My DD had chickenpox really bad, absolutely smothered in spots, she was in agony for days. I was off work for a week.

This was back in the 90s pre vaccine but if it was available I would have bitten the doctor's hand off for it.

My elderly mother suffered from shingles and she has never recovered fully.

Your child could choke, run into the road and get hit by a car, they could react to a vaccine, they could have severe case of CP and become deaf. No one knows, you look at probabilities and not the froth of both anti-vaccine brigade.

If my child reacted to a vaccine I don’t think I would dissuade others from having the vaccine, because it is unlikely it will happen to their child and that vaccine might save a life.

I remember when chickenpox parties were a 'thing' back in the 90s/early 2000s. My own mother bought me to one

Yeah much prefer the vaccine for herd immunity...

I understand your feelings op. I was in 2 mins but then my twins got it just before they turned 1 (so too early for the vaccine anyway) which took the decision out of my hands. Luckily it was pretty mild compared to some cases on here but dd has a few scars.

It's up to you at the end of the day. I was not in a financial position to even consider it when my children were young and most people dont do it. All of mine had it and whilst they suffered at the time they had no complications.

However, I work in a small primary school and a handful of children have had CP in the past few weeks. All have really suffered with an intense and prolonged bout, with one child being hospitalised for 2 nights and returning to school on strong antibiotics for seriously infected spots.

No one is looking at ‘froth’ Fucket

It’s really simple: vaccinations are great IF they benefit the child.

If they DON’T, and there is a risk, no matter how teeny tiny it is - we don’t take that risk, because there is no benefit.

I'm not understanding why time of work is a reason not to get it. You can't go to work if you're at home looking after a kid with chicken pox

Is reading comprehension not a strong point, great?

A few people on here have said that the vaccine protects against shingles too. How is that? I would have thought that once the disease is latent in your body, whether that be by virtue of having had the illness or the vaccine, you then have the risk of getting shingles. But that is just an uneducated guess, hence the question.

DD has been vaccinated. I still have a few scars from childhood CP and had shingles when I was about 10. If the vaccine means DD won't get shingles either that's a bonus I didn't even know about.

It's part of the standard vaccination schedule here in Australia, mine had all had it by the time we moved here which means they are classified as "not fully vaccinated" which is annoying.

DH got it as an adult, he caught it from DS who was mildly unwell for a few days. It was horrible for DH - he was off work for a week. Not everyone catches it as a child so I would vaccinate if I were you to be sure.

Vaccines do not cause autism

Firstly, your attitude is an absolute insult to people living with the condition, whether mild or severe. And you are entirely missing the point of it being a spectrum disorder! There are masses of people with autism who function just fine. In cases like these, there is absolutely nothing wrong with being a bit different.

Even severe cases where there is significant developmental delay, do not mean that a person will be in 'babyhood' for the rest of their lives. It is possible for them to learn and develop their skills with a high quality education experience.

Anti-vaxxers are utterly selfish human beings. People would rather accept the prevalent consequences of non-action by not vaccinating instead of the minute risk that vaccines come with. You are relying on herd immunity to protect your kids.

You clearly aren't on any fence as the only response you seem to have is for the people who disagree with your dithering.

I'm not attempting to alleviate your concerns - you've basically said that you "believe" that vaccines can cause autism. I am very aware that I won't be able to change your mind, because arguing against myths and beliefs is hard. Really hard. They're not based on scientific facts that one can prove or disprove for example.

But you made a face earlier in the thread, and couldn't understand why people were comparing you to an anti vaxxer. Well, it's being said because you're using their terminology and sharing their beliefs as scientific fact.

Sorry, where did I say ‘Vaccines cause autism.’

Genuinely, what the hell are you on about ‘my attitude to people living with it’

Living with WHAT? Autism? No one mentioned autism until you did!

Vaccine damage goes way above and beyond autism. It has in extremely rare cases caused paralysis, incontinence, and verbal regression to approximately the leave of a one year old.

That is not a spectrum disorder, that is a serious and life changing disability for the child and her entire family.

No I haven’t sars

Reading comprehension really isn’t a strong point here, is it!