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?

[seeker]

doesn't anyone think that introducing even more chemicals into a child's sstem is a bad idea? I don't know anyone who was badly scarred by chickenpox, does anyone else? And as far as I know no child with a normal immune system has ever had a serious problem with chicken pox. So why immunize?

[MsBrandybuck]

I'm guessing this is what I had 3 years ago when I was 6 months pregnant and my DH got chickenpox. I'd never had it and was tested and found to have no immunity. It involved two large painful injections. One reason I can't see this vaccine being given on the NHS unless there is a very good reason, is that apparently I had 500 pounds' worth in each butt cheek . Not nice and I didn't even gain any immunity anyway, although luckily I didn't catch cpox off DH either. I'm now waiting to get it off DS instead.

[margobambino]

In some other countries it has been routine since 1995 and most of them has not seen very severe adverse effect. For example, as far as I know, Japan has been doing it for approximatelly 20 years.
Almost all children in this country have been immunised for Rubella in MMR, Rubella is a much milder ilnness.
Why insist on having CP rather than immunisation?
For me, it has been a difficult decision anyway.

[margobambino]

My previous post was to Seeker.

[christywhisty]

Seeker a perfectly healthy child in my son's class had a stroke from chicken pox when he was 6, poor child was paralyzed down his left side. There is a very strong link between childhood stroke and chicken pox.
Also a father of child at my childrens nursery died of chicken pox, he was healthy as well.

[WinkyWinkola]

Yep, children die of all sorts. All the time.

But death or major affliction from CP is extremely rare.

I just don't want to vaccinate against a generally mild illness.

I'm not convinced it's all such an exact science, this vaccination business.

I'm not saying there is no place for vaccination in our modern world but I also there is a lot of hysteria about if we don't vaccinate.

[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.

[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.

[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]

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

[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.

[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).

[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?

[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.

[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?

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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]

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]

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.

[madwomanintheattic]

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

[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...

[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?

[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.