Chicken Pox Vaccine?

[goldilocksandmylittlebear]

Has anyone had their child vaccinated against Chicken pox?

Any problems?

I haven't but my ds has excema and took chicken pox quite hard. I think in his case it could have been a good thing.

They vaccinate in the states, maybe you could try an American board.

I've seen a few details about uk private clinics, which is fine but I was wondering if my GP would do it?

afaik it isn't available on the NHS, you would have to get it privately.

tbh CP really isn't a big deal though

It's a big deal when you're an adult, I was soooooo very ill with it at 30ish

"not a big deal"

I think in some cases it can be! Its not nice, it can scar, and my little one has had such a hard start I really want to avoid him getting it.

yes, as an adult it can be unpleasant, which is why it's best had as a child.

what I would worry about re the vaccine is that they don't guarantee lifelong immunity. which means you may end up more at risk of it when you are older.

My American pal has had both her LOs vaccinated - she thinks we're nuts and cheapskates in this country for not adding CP to the imms schedule. Neither of her LOs had any probs with the vax.

My GP practice will do it but they charge iirc it was around £90

We have not gone ahead though

Hi my brother's kids also had in the US and echo bluestocking's pal. Think we are nuts too. I think it is about £75, shouldn't be hard to sort out.

Commonly given in the USA, have to go privately here I believe - I know one mother who did have private jabs but her 2nd caught chickenpox between injections.

Ds1 had it pretty mildly and you would not have known he was ill especially with baking soda baths and piriton (& he gets eczema). I don't know of any complications and am quite happy for dcs to get it.

I suspect it's a routine vax in the US as it means you don't have to take time off work

Theblonde and scifinerd, sounds good, i'd rather go via my gp than a private clinic. Why did you not get it done Theblonde?

baking soda baths! Please explain!! I guess piriton helps them sleep?

ditto Heated. ds1 had it at 10 months and was absolutely fine.

agree vax may wear off and you get it older.

My dss both had chickenpox mildly and were fine.

I think the reason my ds2's excema was a problem is that he's such a professional scratcher. I never knew if it was the pox or the excema making him scratch but it was awful.
He has a fair few scars. I'm just hoping they'll fade.

On the other hand my ds1 and dd each had a few spots, no bother, weren't even poorly. You'd wonder what the fuss was.

baking soda in the bath helps relieve itching. as does the piriton.
also porridge oats in the bath.

My MIL is a pediatrician (sp?) in the US so we asked her about getting it on our next US trip as my DC have eczema but I also asked my GP (to compare the price!)

But MIL seems to think they will be fine if they get CPox and possibly said something about getting stronger immunity

Are you sure vax wears off? Genuinely asking. I would check that with the GP as it is quite a serious thing to have as an adult. But not sure if that is correct.

I can't recall exactly how many tablespoons, (at least 4, may have been 6) of baking soda in the bath really soothes the itch, as does Piriton. DS had a bath morning and night, never scratched or scarred. Have yet to try it out on dd who won't oblige by catching chickenpox. It is rare for adults to get it, even if they have never had chickenpox, they will have been exposed to the virus and have immunity (4% of adults do not have immunity)

I never had it as a child and promptly caught it from my dd and ds at age 32

It is a fairly new vaccine so they can't tell how long it is effective for yet
"The length of protection/immunity from any new vaccine is never known when it is first introduced. However, available information collected from persons vaccinated in Japan in the United States show that protection has lasted for as long as the vaccinated persons have been followed (25 years in Japan and more than 10 years in the U.S.)."

scifinerd, nearly all vaccines will not provide lifelong immunity.
that goes for baby jabs and the MMR.

hence why there have been large measles outbreaks in Universities where most cases are in vaccinated students.
unless children are given a booster much later on in life all we are doing is pushing the age at which they are going to catch the disease up. to when they are more at risk from it

Thank god I never got it while pregnant as very dangerous during pregnancy. Total headache worrying about it when I was pregnant and had a hotline to hospital as my dd's friends were all coming down with it then. Wished I had had the foresight to have vaccination but you don't think about chicken pox when you don't have kids.

must have been really worrying for you! I wonder why the govt don't introduce tests for immunity for girls who are approaching childbearing age? for rubella and chickenpox and stuff