To want dh to get the chickenpox vaccine before dc is born?

[OlgaPolga45]

We’re currently expecting our first dc.

Dh has never had chickenpox. I want him to get the vaccine before dc is born; he thinks I’m being over dramatic.

My reasoning - chickenpox in adults is usually a much more severe illness, and his chance of catching it will surely increase once we have a child of our own (given the rate it spreads at among children).

Even if we vaccinate our own dc against chickenpox - which I will do as soon as they are old enough - his chance of coming into contact with a contagious child will surely be higher as a parent. E.g. soft play centres, class parties, play dates etc...

He thinks that if he hasn’t caught it yet, he must already have ‘sufficient immunity’. He has two siblings, both of whom had chickenpox at the same time, and he didn’t catch it from either of them (despite MIL’s best efforts), so reckons he’s already immune. I’d rather be safe and make sure.

AIBU?

@ChilledBee

I get that from my PIL. However, even in the UK CP causes 20 deaths a year so I have read. I guess the generations prior may have not had any statistics to hand when making those decisions. I have several relatives with severe disabilities due to ‘harmless’ childhood illnesses back in the 60s and 70s.

And there is then of course the effectiveness of vaccination programmes completely undermined by low vaccine rates.

@WonderWomansSpin

That's what I meant earlier! Attitudes to CP have changed greatly. I noticed it in Aus years ago but now it is here too. What happened to "CP parties"?!

@Winesalot

But are those 20 deaths otherwise healthy people?

Bear in mind that if he's not immune and is exposed to it in the run up to your due date (does he encounter any other children regularly?) he might not be allowed to come into hospital with you if he's potentially infected as he'd be a risk to newborns. This happened to a friend of mine.

@WonderWomansSpin - doctors from the US / Canada / India / Southeast Asia / China / parts of Europe recommend the CP vaccine to anyone who hasn’t had the disease and this includes adults who haven’t had the disease yet. The UK is part of the very few countries that prefer people catch it and risk complications instead.

I've never had chickenpox and when I was pregnant came into contact with it which was obviously worrying. My midwife did a blood test to check if I was immune. Evidently I am very immune! What if he got a blood test to put your mind at rest if he is opposed to the vaccine?

I think I'd see if he was immune first. I walked around for years thinking that I was immune rubella having had the MMR vaccine. Although I had the thought that I'd be really unlucky to catch it given how long I'd been non immune I still had the vaccines again as it would be sod's law to catch it at a highly inconvenient time. Also worth noting though that it's probably best for your children to actually catch chickenpox rather than have the vaccine as otherwise they may be left non immune when they are adults.

@ChilledBee

Of course I have not found that out and I am not in the science or medical profession. But who is to say that even if they had underlying health issues that a vaccine would not help immunity against that particular disease that they reportedly died from. As I said, I have a sister and a brother in law with significant disabilities left over from ‘childhood’ illnesses that vaccines now prevent. Of course, Vaccines don’t just protect people from death. I am sure that my S and BiL would prefer not to have these disabilities.

My DH is partially deaf due to childhood chicken pox.

I think the posters suggesting testing for immunity are sensible, it would reassure you both if he is immune. If he is not immune the GP will doubtless suggest vaccination, and hopefully GP will be listened to!

My sister had it as I child and I didn't catch it so assumed I was immune. Then my oldest child got it at 3, passed it to my 1 year old and then I got it. It was pretty horrible but the worst thing was that it lead to shingles in my jaw which was very painful and I got it again when I run down and stressed a few years later. If it could have been avoided it would have been better. I was shocked in hindsight, that I wasn't checked for immunity in pregnancy as if I had been pregnant it could have been devastating.

One hospital I worked with we had a lady ion her 70s admitted very ill, her pox came out the next day.

It can happen at any age OP I'm with you

I wouldn’t advise getting the vaccination without checking if he is actually immune. If he has antibodies but has never been exposed to the virus he doesn’t need it. The vaccine contains live virus which though rare can reactivate and cause shingles later in which can be incredibly painful.

@Winesalot

Well not knowing the demographic of who died renders the information pretty useless. People with pre existing illnesses that compromise immunity die of all sorts of mild illnesses. And as for vaccinating these groups, some of them can't have the vaccine.

I was tested in pregnancy because I've never knowingly had it and told my midwife as much so she ordered the test when I had my initial routine blood tests.

@ChilledBee

I was merely refuting the fact that illness such as CP and Measles did not warrant vaccinating now because you did not know anyone who had complications from them in the previous generations. Let's not hijack OlgaPolga45's thread where there is plenty of great advice being given.

I think you are being overdramatic and I say this as someone who caught chicken pox an adult from DS. He is also wrong in assuming he is immune. The likelyhood of picking it up from a random child at soft play or parties is very low as you have to be quite close to the child for it to spread. However you are likely to catch it from your own child, but if you are having yours vaccinated, that is no longer likely.

Get him the blood test, if he's immune then great. If he isn't then he should have the vaccine. It's NASTY in adults (and I do know adults who have had the vaccine - after a blood test). In Norway they do the blood test anyway before the vaccine, with kids too.

That's what I meant earlier! Attitudes to CP have changed greatly. I noticed it in Aus years ago but now it is here too. What happened to "CP parties"?!

We created a vaccine so people could become immune without risking complications.

Cp parties was a crude measure to try to get immunity. People used to stick the crusts of smallpox sufferer's pox up their noses to try to gain immunity.

Just asked DM the point of "CP parties" and she said it was to make sure your kids got it young and altogether to reduce the inconvenience and potential scarring as they usually fade by their old enough to care much about it. It wasn't to achieve some sort of herd immunity.

ChilledBee Mon 23-Sep-19 09:35:18
I reckon he's probably immune.

I'm pro vaccine and both myself and DC have had all the recommended vaccines for here and where we have travelled abroad. DH didn't have many as a child but has caught up now. However, I don't get why the chicken pox vaccine is becoming more routine. My mother sees Measles similarly to how I see CP. Most kids she knew (including her) had it and got over it just fine. Now people (particularly in Aus and the US) see CP how we see measles now: a potential killer for even the healthy. It doesn't make me feel differently about
vaccination but it does make me think not all anti-vaxxers are completely mad.
I don't get why the chicken pox vaccine is becoming more routine.

Because it is a potential killer !!!

I caught it as an adult nearly 2 years after my DC had it - late 70's early 80's as a kid sent to play with others who had it and never caught it.First week after spots came out (covered head to toe including soles of my feet!) Iwas fine pottering around until one morning I got up and was too dizzy to stand and then started vomiting. Ended up ambulanced to hospital where I was in isolation for a 6 day stay hardly remember the first two days. I ended up off work for a month in total as GP was concerned about postviral fatigue, still took a good 4 months to get back to normal.

DoctorAllcome exposure to CP does not trigger shingles in people who have already had CP - if anything there is some evidence to show that exposure to the CP virus if you've previously had it can reduce your risk of shingles emerging.

Shingles can also be a serious condition so to say it is like mild CP is misleading.

Shingles is less likely if you have the vaccine rather than catch wild CP

I don't know any adult who has had the vaccine and the NHS doesn't recommend it unless there are special circumstances so I'm very surprised at the responses on this thread.

I had to have the vaccine to be allowed to emigrate to the US, as I had no evidence to show I'd had chickenpox as a child. They gave me the MMRV - one shot, very simple.

Every virus and infection is a potential killer. Literally everyone I know has had CP (unlike measles) and I've never know anyone to go to hospital for it bar a young baby and that's because they had a fever with no cause (until nurse saw spots at A+E). And that includes the 17 years I've taught too. Nobody has ever been seriously ill.

He should do it. Yes it’s his body and his choice like a PP said but on the other hand he needs to be more responsible when he has a child and a family. If he did finally catch it, it would be MUCH more serious for him now and the last thing you need is to have to take over everything while he’s recovering.