Chicken pox

[Species8472]

Had a blood test today to see if I have immunity to chicken pox, as I was sure I'd never had it and the older I get the more I worry about getting it. Turns out I'm not immune. I have an 11m DD now so she will obviously get it sometime and I'm bound to get it. We were recently in contact with a baby who got it a few days later, and now I'm crapping myself that both DD and me will get it at the same time (I'm 40). There's nothing I can do is there?? . Can't get jab as not immuno-compromised or pregnant.

could you pay for the jab privately?

hmm, to be honest if you've already been exposed then I don't think there is much you can do right now except hope for the best!

However, if you're planning on having any more children it might be worth talking to the GP about it.... they may be willing to do it before you get pregnant again

Yes, am hoping for the best this time round! Am not planning any more children tbh but would certainly talk to GP about jab if I was. I might investigate private jab, the GP made it sound like even that wouldn't be possible. I don't mind paying, would take a load of my mind for the future.

off my mind.

I know loads of people who were around a presumably contagious person 1-2 days before spots came out, and then never got it themselves.

I had CP as an adult and it was a breeze; I didn't feel in the least bit ill. I've always assumed that it was a 2nd bout, maybe you'll be lucky too.

Thanks Cantsupinate - the exposure was about 3-4 days before the baby's spots appeared, so we may be lucky and avoid it. Glad you had a mild case, I have heard and read lots of horror stories about pneumonia, scarring etc. Found out yesterday that my Dad had it aged 43 ( I wasn't living with him at the time) and he wasn't very ill, but passed it on to my 3 half-siblings.

well... the GP needn't know you aren't planning on getting pregnant soon

i caught chicken pox from my son when i was 2 months pregnant......i had the immunoglubulin injection to try to stave off an attack.
Even though i was adamant i had not had the pox as a child i was made to have a blood test to prove i had no immunity (suspect at this stage they test you are pregant also and in need of the immunoglobulin).
I still developed the pox and felt completely lousy for approx 2 weeks, spots didn't really itch though.
I looked like an extra from a horror movie.....like really bad acne, however unlike real acne you could see the spots healing, each day they receeded and looked better. I never scarred.
Also more importantly my daughter (now 3 months) has no adverse effects of being exposed in utero.
I will however be prompting her to get her chicken pox immunity prior to her ever having kids.

sonsmum that must have been awful, glad it was all ok in the end.

I wish that the UK routinely vaccinated here, like they do in the States, or at least tested at say, 12 or 13 and then you could get jab if not immune by then.

MintHumbug thanks, that sounds very different to what my GP told me yesterday. Have you had the jab because of this, and was it before you were actually pregnant?

Thanks a lot for that. I will definitely go back, and probably see another doctor if that is the case. I don't think we're having any more DCs but that isn't set in stone yet, so I don't see any harm in saying that I'm planning another pregnancy at some point.

Did it take some badgering to get them to give it to you? When I saw my GP yesterday, before I went for the test, she said that only immuno-compromised people, pregnant women and non-immune health workers could be helped and that I couldn't get it at all. She also said that the jab didn't give life-long immunity and was only for specific instances when an at-risk person might have been exposed to the pox.

Maybe the policy differs in different regional areas? She was not all concerned that I could easily be planning another baby, or that my DD is clearly going to coming into contact with ch pox a lot.

Thanks MintHumbug it's really helpful to see all that put down in black and white and it makes perfect sense. I'll get another GP appt. with a different doctor and see if I can argue all that. Yes, I think the GP was talking about immunoglobulin.