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Original poster

Ds (8 going on 9) has never had chickenpox. What should I do?

20 replies

tigermoth · 13/04/2008 10:31

ds2 will be 9 in August. He has been exposed to chickenpox many times but has never caught it. He gets ill rarely so seems to have a strong immunity system.

In an ideal world, I want him to get it well before his exams in year 6 and certainly before he is a teenager. AFAIK, chickenpox is far worse for adults.

What should I do - and incidently, have most 8 or 9 year olds had chickenpox already?

OP posts:

GrapefruitMoon · 13/04/2008 10:36

I didn't get I until I was 14 and I would agree it is worse the older you are.

AFAIK, you can get vaccinated against it in the US - would it be worth exploring if you can get it done here? You might have to get it done privately but at least you would know he is unlikely to catch it when he is older - or have you asked your doctor if they can test for immunity? Maybe the fact he has been exposed to it already means he is immune although he didn't appear to catch it?

3littlefrogs · 13/04/2008 10:36

Isn't there a vaccine available now?

Do you think he might have had it at some point, but so mildly you didn't notice?

popsycal · 13/04/2008 10:38

I didnt get it until I was 10. I was fine.

DS1 is almost 6 and has never had it despite being exposed over and over again.

An ex of mine had it as an adult and was REALLY poorly

Psychomum5 · 13/04/2008 10:38

I never got it as a child, even tho I was exposed many many times!!

I then came into contact with it while pregnant with DD3 and it caused many probems for us both (I was 38wks, and altho I was then vaccinated DD3 was born with it and was very ill......effecting her immune system).

thankfully, being a boy, your DS will not have that issue to worry about, but yes, you are right in that it can be worse for and adult to catch it.

he may be one of those individuals tho who will just never get it......has one of those weird immunity things meaning he is naturally immune....it does and can happen.

if he has come into contact tho, and you still try to ensure he does, there isn;t really anything else you can do, bar actually arranging for him to have the vaccine once he hits his late teens to try n make sure he doesn;t then get it as an adult.

not sure if that is possible, but no harm in enquiring I guess in the future.....

OhYouBadBadKitten · 13/04/2008 10:39

My dd is the same. 8 and never had it despite numerous exposures. I've decided that I'll wait til shes around 15 and then offer her the option of being vaccinated to try and cover her through child bearing years as the the vaccine is thought not to be lifelong.

stonedout · 13/04/2008 12:38

def vaccinate. my dh spent time in itu with chickenpox pneumonia - alomost did not pull through after he went in multiorgan failure

iloatheironing · 13/04/2008 13:25

My ds was 9 when he had it even though he had been repeatedly exposed to it before then. It is possible for him to have had it and you didn't notice. I had it as a child but only ever had 3 or 4 spots and wasn't particularly unwell either. The only reason my mum knows I had it was because she was looking out for it because my brother had had it. Spent two glorious weeks off school with my best friend who was absolutely covered in spots from head to foot!!

PerkinWarbeck · 13/04/2008 13:47

chicken pox is not always worse in adults.

I had it in my 20s, and spent just a day feeling headachy and feverish before the spots appeared. From then on I was fine, but obviously was off sick for 2 weeks because I was contagious.

Thus commenced a fortnight off work, feeling perfectly well, watching Wimbledon and having long baths.

Troutpout · 13/04/2008 13:55

i've never had it. Was exposed many times as a child with siblings and then neices and nephews...then as an adult whilst teaching and having my son who had it at 2.
I also failed to catch measles, german measles and mumps (which my 4 siblings all got)
dd is 5 and has never had it either despite exposure. I would like her to have it before she gets much older...but then again ..perhaps she also will never have it.

i do wonder if i just had to sooo mildly as a child (say one spot) that it was never noticed (7 kids ...quite possible!)

Paddlechick666 · 13/04/2008 13:55

I had it when I was 14 and it was pretty awful.

My mother also had it when she was 14 and remembers it being horrid.

Funnily enough my father caught it at my christening as did the majority of the other kids there. Including my brother and sister I think. They definately had it at around the "normal" time.

DD is now 2.5 and been exposed a few times to CP. She even went to a CP party as I would prefer her to get it early.

Seems she might be destined to follow family tradition tho as, so far, she's resisted it!

I don't think I'd go as far as vaccinating but I would prefer she get it before her teens.

fizzbuzz · 13/04/2008 14:02

Ds 14 has never had it. Can you vacinate against it in UK?

Original poster

tigermoth · 13/04/2008 18:35

Thanks! I didn't realise you could vaccinate against it. I wonder if ds has had it in the past - any way of finding out?

OP posts:

Anna8888 · 13/04/2008 18:36

Vaccinate.

All our children have been vaccinated against chickenpox. Completely easy, painless, single jab.

skifreak · 13/04/2008 18:43

I would vaccinate - it is available privately in the UK - probably will be eventually on the NHS. My own dd's (8 and 5) were exposed loads of times and never caught it. Vaccination also means they can't get shingles when they are older, which can also be nasty.

Original poster

tigermoth · 13/04/2008 19:09

Is there any downside to vaccinating for chickenpox? (thinking of all the furore over the measels vaccination).

OP posts:

msappropriate · 13/04/2008 19:48

you can get a blood test to find out if you have had it. They routinely did this at my maternity hospital. I found out I have never had it at the ripe old age of 40 and my Dad at 77 hasn't had it either. I was a primary teacher so feel I must have been exposed to it. My 5 yr old and 1 yr havn't had it etiher

I looked into vaccinations recently but I read something that contradicted a poster on this thread; it said the vaccination did not meant you couldn't get shingles.

fizzbuzz · 13/04/2008 20:34

But where do you get it from? Do you go and ask your gp?

msappropriate · 13/04/2008 20:54

I know they do them in private clinics cos I googled. You had to have 2 doses at £60 a go but they were for adults only.

skifreak · 14/04/2008 08:14

You can only get shingles if you have previously had chicken pox - shingles is caused by the chicken pox virus lying dormant in your body. So, providing the vaccine works and you don't catch chicken pox you will not get shingles.

You can, however catch chicken pox from someone who has shingles (all very confusing!). There are private peadeatricians who give the chicken pox jab to children (it is given to all children in the US as they now consider CP to have as many (possile) harmful side effects as Measles.

msappropriate · 14/04/2008 15:52

oops I got it wrong it was something different. I read this theory that fewer adults get shingles because they are exposed to the chicken pox vaccine through their children. If they were all vaccinated their would be more cases of shingles because no adults would be exposed to the chicken pox vaccine. Over time when all these children grew up it would cease to be a problem.

www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk/articles/article.aspx?ArticleId=1032

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