Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To get DS vaccinated against chickenpox?

141 replies

HamCob · 29/05/2021 23:02

DS 6 hasn't had chickenpox and although there are some germs flying around school at the moment I haven't heard of anyone having chicken pox in a fairly long while.

I'm getting a bit anxious that he hasn't had it yet as I know it can be quite nasty at any age but particularly in teens/adulthood.

DH thinks along the lines of 'well catching it never did me any harm' but one of my secondary school friends was hospitalised when it went into her spinal cord and travelled to her brain so I admit to being a bit twitchy.

I'm not sure whether to wait and see if he catches it naturally or get the vaccination. I don't want to hang on too long though as the vaccination is more effective in children than teens or adults.

So AIBU to get him vaccinated or would you hold off?

OP posts:
NameyNameyNameChangey · 29/05/2021 23:08

For the vast majority of children, CP is mild but it's also pretty uncomfortable. And there are cases of rare complications.

NHS doesn't vaccinate, though, as far as I know.

I wouldn't be surprised if cases are very low at the moment anyway, with social distancing etc.

I'm not a medical professional, so I won't advise either way!

MaryShelley1818 · 29/05/2021 23:08

Chickenpox is mostly a mild childhood illness causing nothing more than discomfort.

However in some cases it can have serious and life threatening effects.
I had DS vaccinated as soon as I could and will be doing the same for DD. I wouldn't even think twice about protecting my children from something if it was in my power.

Anecdotally my DD had her 16 week immunisations this week and the nurse administrating them was taking her 7yr old for his Cpox vaccine this week due to the danger of contracting it as an older child.

osbertthesyrianhamster · 29/05/2021 23:10

I had my son vaccinated for it. It's private. I'd do it again.

SometimesMaybe · 29/05/2021 23:10

When DD was a similar age she seemed to be the only one of her friends that hadn’t got it. I remember having a conversation with DH that if she hasn’t had it by the end of primary school we would get her vaccinated. That seemed to work as she caught it a few weeks later! A mild dose luckily.
I’ve no idea about how the usual childhood virus spread had been affected by Covid but is it maybe that chicken pox hasn’t been circulating as much as possible over the last year or so when you might have expected you DC to catch it. So if you wait a year or so she might get it naturally before she gets too old? (I could be completely wrong about this).

FlyingPandas · 29/05/2021 23:11

Interested to hear the responses here OP. My 8yo has never had it either despite repeated exposure at school and I too worry about it being nastier, should he catch it, the older he gets. My other two DC both caught it naturally age 3. No idea how DS3 has managed to avoid it but here we are!

DH and I have decided that if he's not managed to get it by age 9 then we will vaccinate him. I would be so worried about him contracting it as a teen or young adult and being really seriously ill if we didn't. Tbh had it not been for lockdown we would probably have pushed for earlier vaccination. I don't think you're being at all unreasonable to consider for a 6yo.

dementedpixie · 29/05/2021 23:12

If you want to then do it
My dd had it age 3 and gave it to ds at 6 months old so it was all done and dusted at an early age

MatildaTheCat · 29/05/2021 23:13

Chicken pox is largely inconvenient so I would definitely consider vaccinating on those grounds. If you’ve booked a holiday (!) and DC comes down with it at the last minute you are scuppered.

On health grounds I’d be less convinced. He may already have had it so mildly you’re not even aware.

Original poster
HamCob · 29/05/2021 23:14

Phew! Thanks all, thought I was maybe being neurotic.
My eldest caught CP very young - the day of his first birthday! So I never really bothered about it with him but times ticking on and all of my friends children or similar ages seem to have had it by now.

OP posts:
Branleuse · 29/05/2021 23:15

Is there an antibody test available?
I 'think' mine had it really mildly, just one or two spots. Id love to know if they were immune as theyre teens and i do worry sometimes

Homehaircuts · 29/05/2021 23:20

My children age 8 and 5 also haven't had chicken pox. I've decided on a sort of dead line when each turn 13 if they haven't had it I'm going to get them vaccinated. I've heard the older they get the worse the symptoms are. Adults can be very poorly with it. I would especially get it done for a teenage girl as if they get pregnant when older (I would hope) if they haven't had chicken pox and catch it when pregnant it can be dangerous. Even if they left home and an adult I think I feel responsible for not offering them to get vaccinated as teenagers in my care.

KingdomScrolls · 29/05/2021 23:20

We vaccinated DS, it's part of the standard vaccination programme in a lot of countries, DH got it as a teenager and was very unwell and ended up in hospital. A friend's daughter had a very severe case at 3, with spots everywhere including inside her mouth and throat and also spent time in hospital. I had quite a mild case as a child according to my parents, I still have several scars, luckily not on my face. We arranged DS' through Boots it was very simple.

Myusername33 · 29/05/2021 23:21

I’ve 3 dc and they’ve all had cp, 2 have been ok with it just a general miserable few days. But dd2 was so ill, she has eczema and she scratched everything until it was all one big infected mess. She lay on the living room floor and cried for 3 days solid, refused to move or eat just cried and scratched. I wouldn’t put another child though that again for the sake of the cost of a vaccine.

PleaseReferToMeAsBritneySpears · 29/05/2021 23:23

A friend of mine paid privately to vaccinate her younger two after having a rough time with her eldest. It's quite common round here and widely accepted as a reasonable thing to do.

tunnocksreturns2019 · 29/05/2021 23:25

Yes do it, we vaccinated both of ours and we were glad we had done so as DH had unexpected cancer treatment a few years later and was immunocompromised; it would’ve been a pain if they’d given him shingles (he got it towards the end of his life anyway, but hey, he had a decent few years before that)

Myusername33 · 29/05/2021 23:27

I know people say it’s a mild illness but actually even if it’s not too bad theres still an horrible itchy rash and a high temperature and for a lot of kids it’s quite unpleasant. If we were guaranteed to get something like that as adults in the same way kids are expected to get cp I think we would mostly choose to get a vaccine.

AliMonkey · 29/05/2021 23:28

I got it in mid 20s (from a child at a group I used to volunteer at). Although the illness itself wasn’t too bad, it triggered an autoimmune condition I didn’t know I had that might otherwise have remained dormant. That illness has a significant effect on my life. So I’d say vaccinate or as a PP said set yourself a deadline beyond which you would vaccinate if not had by then.

Elouera · 29/05/2021 23:30

As others have said, CP in itself is bareable. If you discount the possible facial and other bodily scars from the incessant scratching!

What no one has mentioned, is that having CP virus in your body, can lead to shingles as an adult. This is a debilitating and painful illness!

Why wouldn't you get a child vaccinated against it and prevent pain, itching, possible scarring and being vulnerable to shingles when older???

FrangipaniDeLaSqueegeeMop · 29/05/2021 23:30

I believe the reason the NHS don't provide the vaccination is because if you don't get chicken pox at a young age, your chances of getting shingles as an adult (potentially hugely damaging and can even be life threatening) increase. The vaccine being administered as a child won't protect against shingles as an adult.

FrangipaniDeLaSqueegeeMop · 29/05/2021 23:31

www.nhs.uk/conditions/vaccinations/chickenpox-vaccine-questions-answers/

malikaqi · 29/05/2021 23:33

Our child had it at 6. Came very close to being admitted to hospital. It was horrid. The scars (100+) are still visible on her torso 7 years later. Fortunately she has far fewer scars on her face. If I'd have known it could be like that I would have vaccinated against chicken pox.

SummerInSun · 29/05/2021 23:35

My DH has never had chicken pox, and it can be really nasty as an adult. So he and my DS were vaccinated together when DS was 2.

littlepattilou · 29/05/2021 23:37

@HamCob I never even knew there was a vaccination against chickenpox!

Misses point of thread...........

BootsScootsAndToots · 29/05/2021 23:37

Absolutely do it.

Both mine have been vaccinated against chickenpox as I know I would have felt pretty crap if they had caught it when they didn't have to.

anahwb · 29/05/2021 23:41

I've got both of mine vaccinated. Can pay for it privately, somewhere like Boots etc. Seems silly to me that we don't vaccinate for it and I don't want them to get it later on when the effects could be much worse.

N0tfinished · 29/05/2021 23:46

I would if it was available. My DS's got it within 2 weeks of each other. DS1 had a really mild case, few spots and mild temperatures. DS2 was very badly afflicted. Spots everywhere- soles of feet, rims of eyes etc. when he started gagging I knew they were down his throat. I brought him to GP & he was prescribed an anti viral which thankfully worked quickly. Otherwise he would have needed to go to hospital. It was probably the worst week of my life, he was so sick & upset. Why would you risk that if a safe vaccine existed ' was available? It's routinely vaccinated against in many other countries