To pox or not to pox...

[WildAboutMyPlanet]

To those of you who have DC but didn’t have pox as a child, what did you do?

I haven’t had it and know it can potentially be very dangerous (even deadly) in adulthood...so do I make sure that DC gets it and put myself at risk? But I don’t want DC to then be in the same position, I would rather they were safe and I took the risk to be honest...

Anyone been in the same position?

YABU - Avoid like the plague just in case
YANBU - Go ahead and get itchymy friend!

Can you get the varicella vaccine privately?

It's possible to get it very mildly so you may have had it especially if you had a sibling with it or if it went round your class at school. I never knowingly had it but had shingles a couple of years ago so must have.

But don't purposely get your child infected. 2 of my children had it fine, lots of spots, lots of tv, few miserable days. The other was in hospital with it and very poorly.

You can get the chickenpox vaccine at boots! It’s brilliant

How could you assure you could avoid it though? I'm a little confused. My two had it out of the blue. No idea where they caught it from tbh. No cases within the school so just of caught it elsewhere. My son had it then my daughter 2 weeks later. Thankfully I'd had them so not a worry me so I understand your concern but wondering how you would avoid it?? Surely there's a risk at school etc and you cannot predict these things??

Also, I have relatives who had it in adulthood who were fine 🙂 I know there are more risks but they got over it fine!

Both of you could get vaccinated.

I did NOT know there was a vaccine!Thank you, I’m glad to hear that. Off to boots I shall be going!

Quick question @OakleyStreetisnotinChelsea why not get them purposely infected? Isnt that what people are encouraged to do? Genuinely no idea!

@bumble79 to be honest, no idea how I would avoid it actually, I hadn’t really thought that through! I think in my head I was thinking about these parties that people go to to spread it and my brain hadn’t gone much further than that!

You really shouldn't get your children infected deliberately. How would you feel if one of them ended up with terrible complications?

The vaccination is not on NHS schedule acc to them to protect adults from shingles. Doesn't explain to me why most other western countries have added it to their vaccine schedule so I suspect it is actually about cost - high cost for a vaccine against an illness that doesn't kill.

We had DD vaccinated when she was little - you need two doses and it isn't cheap! I figured even without advantage of avoiding the horrible illness it would be cheaper than having a week or two off work.

Vaccinate, no brainer.

My mum paid for my two to be vaccinated on the grounds that she didn't want to be on childcare duty if they couldn't go to nursery it was £140 per child and you need to go twice, think it's six weeks apart. You can pay per visit (£75 per child). Don't forget your Boots Advantage card.

Vaccine was about 120 or something so not too bad.

Definitely get vaccinated. It is quite pricy though - £95 per jab at our local private hospital, as Boots weren't doing them in July but I wanted my son to have it before he went back to nursery.

I had it aged 19 and it was horrible.

Vaccinate, no brainer

My kids all caught it really lightly I've never had it but I have antibodies as DS1 had it when I was pregnant and needed to have a test. Some of just have a natural immunity.

Vaccine. At Superdrug. When DD was 5.

2 injections a couple of weeks apart iirc. They were brilliant in there actually. Little clinic set up at the back very private and hi tech. The guy we had was an x A&E nurse and put DD so much at ease that she helped and watched as he gave her the jab. Usually she's terrified of needles.

It was pricey but so worth it. 2 of my older DDs had it so bad when they were little that they had spots even in their mouths and up their nose :( They were very ill. No vaccine back then (early 2000s).

Thank you everyone - genuinely didn’t know about the vaccine and I thought that it was recommended to get them infected, so very good education for me this evening!

Get vaccinated.

vaccine
you can get it privately for a reasonable price.
some pharmacies do them (did them pre-covid)

I had it at 18 when sitting my a-levels. I have no idea who I caught it from. They were in my throat, under my armpits, my vulva, inside my ears etc. I was thoroughly miserable - I’ve never felt so ill. Then I gave it my brother who was sitting his GCSEs. I’d vaccinate.

Get the vaccine

My ds has had the vaccine

Dd had it really badly and when ds came along I just though it wasn’t worth having another child go through that.

I think when mass vaccination is considered for chickenpox, it's usually for economic reasons (parents needing time off work) rather than health.

DH hadn't had chickenpox, and we hadn't got organised on a vaccine (harder to come by back then) by the time DD caught it. He talked to the doctor, who prescribed the antiretrovirals he'd need if he got it, so that there would be no delay in him taking them. As it happened, he didn't catch it - either he'd it too mildly to notice as a child, or his minimising of the time spent in the same room as poxy child worked. However it's worth knowing that doctors will do that precautionary prescribing.

Check out how long the vaccine lasts - I think when we were investigating it wasn't a permanent effect, but of course that may hve changed by now.

I had a child who was very ill for weeks, nearly hospitalised. It is never a good idea to deliberately infect your child, it's dangerous. Get the vaccine if you can afford it.

I would get the jab for yourself as an adult but not for your dc. The current jab lasts for about 12-20 years as do many childhood jabs, but chicken pox as an adult is quite serious particularly for women of childbearing age (due to effects on the foetus). I work in public health but I wouldn’t get the jab for my dc, the risks are much greater if they get it as adults. But I would absolutely get yourself vaccinated and do it again when you are pension age ish to protect you then too.

The vaccination is not on NHS schedule acc to them to protect adults from shingles. Doesn't explain to me why most other western countries have added it to their vaccine schedule so I suspect it is actually about cost - high cost for a vaccine against an illness that doesn't kill.

I've lived in a few countries, with and without. My take is that the varicella vaccine isn't very effective. DD has the vaccine and still (probably) got it. I have CP twice so I think it's just the nature of the disease. Plus expensive and generally mild.

It's a judgement call.