Chickenpox risks?? not sure what to do about 18mo

[havalina1]

There's a post trending on CP and a party and it's making me freak out. If Chickenpox is so dangerous why the hell isn't it part of the vaccine program??

My elder has just come through it and back in action this week, really mild dose of it and she barely spiked a temperature though I kept her home from nursery for the week. She's 3.

My worry is her little brother, 17 months, who gets knocked sideways by a cold, chest viruses, has already had a Strep A skin infection and been hospitalised 4 times this winter.

It's probably too late to privately vaccinate him now as he'll have been exposed to it from her.. I read it takes about 11 - 16 days to manifest, is that about right?

... just as i'm due to travel for work.. I already feel on skid row taking time off to mind him with all the other things.

Not to mention how worried I am about him catching it.

Wondering if I should ring the GP and ask if he should start Acyclovir? He already had a 5 day IV course of it at christmas and regular ABs to fight the skin infection. I am so worried about him, everything seems to knock him over.

Well another tumbleweed experience for me.

if anyone does teadd this, we ended up in hospital for 5 days and his CP was handled with a 5 day cycle of Acyclovir.

Oh no!

I had mine vaccinated privately. It is part of he vaccination schedule in other developed countries (USA, Germany etc) but isn't here because it isn't cost effective. Plus it would go in with the MMR and there are so many idiots people declining that at the moment they don't want to give people more reason to do so. They also want to have the shingles vaccine in full swing first which is already being rolled out.

I saw that post too and I was shocked by it. What I try to remember is that most people with negative experiences will speak up first. My little one hasn't had it yet and she's 6 and after seeing that post I'm now worried to death about it. But in perspective I've seen lots of children with it and no serious complications. Just different strengths of it. X

Sorry to hear that. I read your orignal post but didn't respond because I didn't know what to say. Maybe you are posting with stuff people don't know thr answer to.
Thanks for update and hope your lo better.

Mummytron just get vaccinated - you can do it privately

Sorry that nobody responded first time around. I've had that experience on a couple of boards where there isn't much traffic so tend to post everything in Chat now.
Your poor little one. It makes me really cross that people play down CP and that the government won't vaccinate because it can be such a horrible illness. Hope your little one is better now.

I had to have DS vaccinated (US school) but would have preferred him to have have CP.
for what it's worth, I had CP as I child, and shingles in my late teens, and I have a reasonable levels of antibodies now (I work for a health group that requires certain vaccinations).

I personally think that CP as kids is better than having the vaccination but if they haven't had it by the time they become teenagers they should be vaccinated.

I will never forget the lady who posted on here about her Ds as he had a fever etc and suddenly she couldn't rouse him. She took him to a&e (on the advice of other posters) and when she got there they found swelling in his brain. After a full body search a nurse found one pox on his foot. Her Ds was left brain damaged. I think the poster is still on here actually but her Ds had to learn to walk again etc and I'm not sure of the long term effects he has suffered but it was permanent.

This is why I chose to vaccinate.

Exactly Wreck. I've known children who have lost their hearing because of CP. It can be a really awful illness.

Thanks for the replies! Yeah I don't get why they are not vaccinated either, especially in our case where he is more vulnerable.

The acyclovir made his dose really mild. He has less than 10 or 12 spots. his breathing was so bad he was on oxygen for three days and steroids,(and other stuff) but steroids and CP are not compatible so he'd had to go on acyclovir to 'dampen it'.

If I'd thought about it in advance I'd have certainly vaccinated against. Although we were warned lightly that because he's had such a low strain of it now, he could get singles when he's older.

Yep, it's scary enough.

Gosh I didn't see this at the time! My response would have been to be very frightened for you with him having suffered with Strep A skin issues!

Sorry he was so very ill, glad he is okay now.

The big risk with non-verbal DC is that CP can mask other illnesses - you assume they are unwell with CP meanwhile they have a raging infection somewhere, can't breath properly etc.