chicken pox immunisation

[margobambino]

Has anybody here vaccinated their children against chickenpox? I am thinking about it because I feel that my DS has a tendency for scarring. So I don't want him to get chickenpox if possible. Is there any adverse effect of this vaccine, do they have mild chickenpox or something avter the immunisation?

[Cloudspotter]

Seeker, although I respect your views, I don't understand your reluctance to get the vaccine. Medical science has made some incredible advances against diseases, most of which involve introducing an 'unnatural' substance into the body (antibiotics? Paracetemol?).

I think it is quite unusual to be so suspicious of any medical intervention. I don't mean to criticise because you are completely entitled to feel that way. I just think that if you look at the bigger picture of society as a whole, it seems to me that medical technology is overwhelmingly a positive thing rather than negative.

And yes, I would get this vaccine. In fact I wish I had, and didn't realise there was one available privately. DD2 now has the illness, and is in agony. Although it isn't life threatening in many cases, it is extremely unpleasant for the child.

Why anyone would choose to go through it when it can be avoided is a mystery to me. Dd1 had it when she was 8 months old. She had the 'mother' spot (as someone brilliantly described it) on the bridge of her nose. It took a long long time to heal and she was left with an awful scar. Because she was only 8mo at the time, it has grown with her and is now huge. I wish to God she hadn't got it. It's not the end of the world, but I do feel sad about it at times.

[vesela]

I decided to give it to my DD - she had it together with her MMR in GlaxoSmithKline's tetra vaccine. I couldn't tell you how to go about getting it in the UK, though, because we live in the Czech Republic (where it's optional, but you get it through your usual doctor).

[margobambino]

Thanks AnnaBananas. You are right, there will be unavidable scars probably due to accidents. But what's wrong with trying to prevent avoidable ones or reduce the risk if there is a possibility.

[AnnasBananas]

I believe there is a test you can get which would show chicken pox immunity. My friend had this test when she was pregnant and came into contact with a child with chicken pox as she'd never had the virus as a child. It's these sort of situations they would recommend a test like this.

Are you really so concerned about chicken pox scarring? What about the years ahead of childhood bumps, scrapes, skinned knees and general accidents which will invariably happen which will all leave marks/scars on your child and that are unavoidable?

If you are weighing up having the vaccination I would do your research.

[littlefrog]

No, nothing. I can't be sure it's the same thing (never occured to me to take it to a dr!) but say I scratch myself on a bramble or get some other minor graze, it heals fine, but often leaves the mark of the cuts showing white on my skin (particularly obvious in the summer!) But it's always gone by the next year - just fades away.
I'm with seeker on this - I'd think hard about vaccinating just to avoid the small possibility of scars that will in any case almost certainly fade away (I can't find my own cp scars now, though I could when I was a child!)

[margobambino]

Littlefrog,
Do you put anything on the white hypopigmentations when you have them? Any cream, etc?

[seeker]

I would weigh the very slight risk of a few chicken pox scars(I have never met anyone badly scarred) which fade with time against introducing even more artificial agents into a small child's body. There is no long term analysis of chicken pox vaccine - we don't know how long it remains effective, we don't know whether there are any long term side effects..And chicken pox is almost invariably a mild, if terdious illness that children recover from completely and quickly.

[margobambino]

Hi littlefrog, My DS is 19 and a half months old now. Also it is very good to know that someone else having this same hypopigmentation thing. So you say they go away. It's relieving.
Is there any tests to know whether they had CP naturally? I read somewhere that it can be unnoticable in some cases.
When DS was 1 year old, he contacted a babygirl with some spots (probably chicken pox)in the sign language group. Then he had a high temparature and after the temparature developed some rash. It didn't fit any illnesses much, they said may be it was 6th disease but lasted longer than that. There were no pimples though. It was just a bit atypical rash. I wouldn't want to vaccinate him if he had the disease mildly and I didn't realise. My mum said I had very unnoticable one either that she is still not 100% sure it was chicken pox.
So do you know any tests?

[littlefrog]

How old is your DS, margobambino?
Could you not just hold off on making a decision for a while, as if he's little he'll probably get it more mildly (DS, unvaccinated, had 5 big spots and maybe 10 other much littler ones - pimples rather than mosquito bites, if you see what I mean).
I've always had a tendency to end up with white lines after scratches, which take a year or so to go, but they do...

[madwomanintheattic]

his spots scabbed and disappeared much faster, too. he was only off school for 3 days lol

[madwomanintheattic]

ds1 had about 20 -30 spots tbh, so maybe 5 is a bit hopeful (although this was the case for dd1), but dd2 unvacc was completely covered. milder, without a doubt.

[margobambino]

Tyhanks madwomanintheattic, this is what I heard and read that when they are vaccinated they still may have it but usually it is milder than normal (upto 5 spots). It seems Your experience confirmes this.

[madwomanintheattic]

two of my dcs were vaccinated against chicken pox (we were living in canada and it is part of the routine immunisation programme - has been for years) and one wasn't as she was born when we got back.

all 3 dcs got the pox in spetember lol - the two who had been vacc were very mild (in fact dd1 had about 4 spots and we didn't even realise what they were -assumed insect bites until the other two got them...) dd2 who had not been vacc was much poorlier, and does have some scarring (at least 3 on forehead and some on trunk). dd2 isn't a scratcher either - she has brain damage and some problematic neural issues, so doesn't itch lol... i think scarring is inevitable tbh.

if we had been living in canada still, she would have been vacc too.

that's probably not helpful, but thought you would like to know that my two who had been vacc both had it after all x

[margobambino]

AnnaBanana, I think everybody has different skin type. Being a bit clumsy I have had loads of minor injuries and usually do not have nasty scars. However, My DS's skin is really has a tendency to scar easily. For example, last summer, his arm was abit scratched accidentally by his granddad's fingernail and it left a white hypopigmentation which they call post inflammatory hypopigmentation even though I had looked after it very well and had put antibacterial cream and calendula etc afterwards. One more similar but milder hypopigmentation on his forearm due to a very mild scratch with a pencil is still there for almost a year.
I am almost sure that his skin has a very severe tendency to develop postinflammatory hypopigmentation and white scars. This is why I am worried about any skin lesions.

[littlefrog]

DS has just had it (mildly); other children I know have had a much nastier time. However a consultant microbiologist friend said, on hearing that DS had it: congratulations, now you won't need to even think about vaccination, which (for cp, specifically) is by no means as straightforward a decision as some make it out to be.

[AnnasBananas]

Chicken pox only tends to leave permanent scars if they become infected.

There is usually one 'mother pox' the biggest one which is the last to heal. That's the one which has scarred my daughter but it's fading as she grows.

I had chicken pox at age 15 so remember it well. And I was naughty and picked/itched the scabs and I scarred but that has all but faded and you would have to look very hard to see the scars now.

Childrens skin is very forgiving and heals beautifully!

I personally wouldn't bother with the vaccine as it is a minor childhood illness, although I accept that there can be complications this wasn't my experience when dd 2 and dd 4 had chicken pox this summer.

[christywhisty]

A little friend of ours had leukhemia and we bumped into them the day before DS's spots came out and she had to go up to GO to get that emergency injection. I think it only lasts for 2 weeks and this was the 4th time she had to have it.
Chicken pox may be a mild disease, but as I said previously in my experience it is not always and badly effected 2 and possible a 3rd person. My other concern is shingles which is caused by the cp virus lying dormant and can be again very unpleasant. I had it mildly and was ill for 2 weeks.
If you have the normal vaccince can you still get shingles?

[MsBrandybuck]

Thanks chegirl, I think that must have been what it was. Have googled it and come up with 'Zig' being Varicella-Zoster Immunoglobulin.

Margo, please ignore my earlier witterings, hope you manage to get the vaccine for your DS.

[margobambino]

Thank you very much Chegirl, for your answer.
So it seems, in the NHS, it is difficult to have CP vaccine without a good reason.
Anybody had it done in private sector?

[chegirl]

msbrandybuck I could be wrong but it sounds like you had something called 'the Zig'. Thats not its offical name but thats what it was called on the kids oncolgy ward. I am not sure this is the same as the vaccination (again, I could be wrong).

This was given if any of the kids (with cancer) were exposed to the chickenpox virus. It was an emergency thing.

My DS2 had the vaccination and it wasnt particularly painful (well I dont think so).

[chegirl]

Hi,

Yes we had it done in the UK. We had it done because my DD had luekemia and chicken pox couldve been fatal. DD didnt go out much but I was still trying to take DS2 to playgroups etc. It was possible he could have got it and it wouldve been a couple of (infectious) weeks before we wouldve known. We just couldnt take the risk really.

He didnt have any side effects after the jab. TBH I didnt look into it at all. I didnt have time to think about it and just went ahead. I remember being so relieved when he had it.

I dont think I would have gotten it done in normal circumstances but I believe it is commonly done in the USA.

I should think it quite easy to get in UK but only privately. We didnt have to wait for it so I think its pretty easy to obtain.

[margobambino]

Chegirl, thanks for your answer. Did your DS2 have it done in UK? Was there a reason or was it in your request?

[chegirl]

My DS2 had it done. He was 1yr old. I think my DD's consultant did it. If not it would have been my GP.

He hasnt caught CP yet (now nearly 6) but it took ages for my DD and DS1 to get it. They eventually got it 2 weeks before my wedding!

[margobambino]

Scienceteacher, please please please tell me where did you have it done? GP? Private? Where? I would really appreciate it if you could answer. It seems nobody knows.

[scienceteacher]

My youngest two have had the vaccination. There were no side-effects, and they haven't caught chickenpox in the 6+ years since they had it.