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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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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:

FrostyFruit · 30/05/2021 03:25

In Australia it's part of the regular vaccine schedule. They have it with their 18 month jabs. All 3 of my boys have had theirs done and had no side effects at all. I would definitely do it if I were you.

DramaAlpaca · 30/05/2021 03:29

All my DC had CP in early childhood and it was a mild, if itchy, illness. I had it as a 9 year old and it was unpleasant. My friend caught it as an adult from her child and was very unwell for weeks. If the option had been available to vaccinate when my DC were small I'd have taken it. My vote is to do it.

Beseigedbykillersquirrels · 30/05/2021 03:31

Definitely vaccinate if you can. To me it is a no brainer. We shouldn't be volunteering our children to get a nasty virus with potentially life-long lasting effects just to boost adults' immunity to it. There is a shingles vaccination programme but surely if children were routinely vaccinated against CP this would negate the need for the shingles vaccine? As for protection potentially wearing off, that really isn't a good argument against having the vaccine. We had ours done as soon as they were old enough (13 months, had to leave it a month after routine 12 month jabs).

sunlight81 · 30/05/2021 03:38

If mine haven't had it by the time they reach high school I will get the vaccine. My sister had it in year 10 which wasn't great as she missed loads of important gcse stuff

Southwestrunningmum · 30/05/2021 03:58

I just don’t understand why if you could afford it you wouldn’t. I’d pay the world not to see my children ill and upset. Even a mild dose is pretty unpleasant, at the other end it can be really dangerous, why take the risk.

thegreatporkchop · 30/05/2021 04:12

I had the CP in my 20s. Not recommended. I was literally like one big walking pox. I had spots everywhere - in my ears, my head, on the inside lid of my eyes so bad that every time I blinked pus would roll down my face. I still have little scars on my inner eye lids many years later. And I had them up my fanny and down my throat. I was covered. It was brutal and it is the sickest I have ever been. If I had known that there was a CP vaccine I would of got it done.

PrimeraVez · 30/05/2021 04:13

We are not in the Uk and my two were vaccinated as infants as part of the regular vaccination schedule. I had no idea it wasn’t standard in the Uk!!

DifficultBloodyWoman · 30/05/2021 04:16

Despite my mum’s best efforts to send me to chicken pax parties as a child, I had it as an adult. I would vaccinate my kids.

jollyho · 30/05/2021 04:32

I'd vaccinate. Here it's part of standard childhood vaccinations done for free.

Pongo101 · 30/05/2021 04:52

As an adult I still have a massive scar in the middle of my forehead from cp. it completely changes the look of my face and it isn't easily hidden by makeup as it is a hole - so foundation covers it but you still see the big dip in the skin.

I had my daughter vaccinated because why would you risk scars for life like that?

TheHoneyFactory · 30/05/2021 06:08

Am in Aus so all my kids have been vaxxed at 18months. I had chicken pox as a 14 year teen (this was before it was on immi schedule). It was a horrible experience and now have bad facial scarring ( we even did the oven gloved hands but it was soooo itchy!). Personally if my kids weren't already vaxed and hadn't had it by 7 or 8 I would be getting them vaxxed asap.

andivfmakes3 · 30/05/2021 06:22

Out of interest how much is it for a CP vaccine privately? My DD hasn't had it either and she seemed to miss the recent outbreak at primary school a few weeks ago

Wobbitcatcher · 30/05/2021 06:26

My husband has never had it and we have 2 young Dcs, I’m planning to get the 3 of them vaccinated as soon as the youngest is old enough.

mogsrus · 30/05/2021 06:27

On for goodness sake,just get it done, rather not get it,than wait to see if he does get it,it's not very nice,having had it,

whataballbag · 30/05/2021 06:28

Id definitely get it.

Mine caught CP when the eldest was 4, DS2 was 6 months. He had them everywhere, including down his throat, his actual eyeballs it was horrendous. Ended up on very strong antibiotics and almost admitted.

I had to drive round aimlessly in the car every night to get him to sleep as he just couldn't. Bloody awful it was

Peppapeg · 30/05/2021 06:41

Yeah DS has had it, wasn't too expensive either.

JackANackAnoreeee · 30/05/2021 06:45

I would. It's a standard vaccination in lots of countries. It saves the hassle of an uncomfortable week of feeling awful and some scarring. It also saves the unlikely possibility of complications or unwittingly passing it on to a pregnant friend etc.

MySocalledLoaf · 30/05/2021 06:47

Mine both had theirs aged two. I don’t know why you wouldn’t vaccinate against a disease that can be fatal, even if it’s very rare for it to be. Two weeks is a long time to be ill even if they don’t get it so badly.
The NHS is a bare bones service compared with other countries and I wouldn’t base my decision on what they offer at all. The shingles argument isn’t convincing given that shingles can also be vaccinated against.
I gave every available vaccine privately if it wasn’t free. I wouldn’t want to live with my child being affected by an illness I could have prevented.

andivfmakes3 · 30/05/2021 06:49

Just googled it and you can actually pay to get them done at Boots - £140 for the 2 doses

BikeRunSki · 30/05/2021 06:59

My dc were 3.6 and 9 months when they hit it. They both got bronchitis straight after, apparently this is not uncommon. My 9 month old has a temp of over 40o for 4 days and was very ill for over a week. I would have definitely look into the CP vaccine if I’d had another child.

peanutbutterandfluff · 30/05/2021 07:01

I had it age 8 and it was awful. My whole body was like one big pox they were so dense. They were in my ears, eyelids, throat. I still have lots of scars on my face from particularly bad ones I just couldn’t help but scratch.

I had DS vaccinated as soon as he was old enough (4 weeks after his MMR etc) and will do it again for any future children.

ShinyGreenElephant · 30/05/2021 07:08

I would definitely do it if they haven't had it by the end of primary. Maybe earlier tbh. My cousin had it as an adult and has terrible scarring

mynameiscalypso · 30/05/2021 07:14

@andivfmakes3

Out of interest how much is it for a CP vaccine privately? My DD hasn't had it either and she seemed to miss the recent outbreak at primary school a few weeks ago

My NHS GP will do them privately for £200 (for both).

Garman · 30/05/2021 07:20

I wish i had vaccinated my dc, although when they caught it one was only 9 months so I probably wouldn't have had it done by then anyway. It was the most miserable month of their/my lives and both have facial scars from it, which particularly break my heart on the little one, very noticeable and big.

hangryeyes · 30/05/2021 07:23

When I got my eldest vaccinated privately for meningitis a few years ago, we enquired about CP at the same time and the nurse doing the injection really tried to put us off. She said it could wear off later and then have the risk of getting it in adulthood and it was more for fulfilling visa requirements for countries which provide it as standard... now rethinking as my children have never caught it yet after a number of exposures.

I caught it when I was 11, so quite late on, although it was a very mild case.

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