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Original poster

Can I ask about the chicken pox vaccine?

43 replies

QueenofmyPrinces · 19/08/2019 10:10

How many of you have paid for your children to have it?

I have a 5 year old and a 2 year old, neither of whom have had chickenpox.

Both of them have been exposed to the virus during the incubation period (on two occasions) but they still didn’t catch it.

Someone told me that if a child hasn’t had it naturally by the age of 7 then it’s best to vaccinate them as CP can be quite serious from the age of 7 onwards.

I was just wondering what others peoples thoughts and decisions were?

OP posts:

Bumpandtoddler · 20/08/2019 12:16

You can't get shingles unless you have had the chicken pox. Shingles is the reactivation of the chicken pox virus (it lies dormant in nerve cells which is why shingles is nerve related) so vaccination will prevent you catching the virus so no virus equals no shingles :)

tenbob · 20/08/2019 12:24

I got it done at SuperDrug, where it was £130 for the 2 doses. The nurse was amazing, and it isn't a painful jab.
DS barely noticed the needle, and didn't cry for either injection, and we had no side effects at all.

I've had 2 friends with DCs hospitalised due to 'normal' chicken pox. It wasn't worth the risk to not get the vaccination done

MyReadingChallenge · 20/08/2019 12:24

I got my son vaccinated when he was around 18 months at Boots and other than screaming for the actual jab no side effects.

I was considering it anyway then a friend of his got it so bad he had to be hospitalised, couldn't eat or drink as pox in his mouth, walk as pox on his feet or go to the toilet as pox all over willy/bum. I know most cases aren’t that bad but for £140, didn’t want to take the risk.

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NaiceHamPlease · 20/08/2019 12:41

I hadn't had DS, 20 months, vaccinated and he caught it just over six weeks ago. The pox it's self wasn't too bad, he wasn't poorly, just very uncomfortable, and he had a couple of nights of poor sleep. He's still got quite a few scars though.

I though that was it and was pleased we'd got it over with but four weeks to the day DS was sent home from nursery with a high temp. He went on to have quite a nasty fibrile convulsion which required paramedics and was absolutely terrifying. We were kept in hospital over night for observation as the paediatric doctors were concerned about possible meningitis. I didn't know that a dose of chicken pox within 6 week massively increased his risk of this and it made a scary situation even worse. He's just had another illness, which worried me much more than it usually would and again I've been told it's probably because he's still run down from chicken pox.

If I had my chance again I'd deffinately have him vaccinated. I had no idea there were any complications post recovery. I'm very grateful he's in the mend now but it's been a long and worrying couple of months.

SalrycLuxx · 20/08/2019 12:50

We paid to have bothDC immunised. £280 total.

surreygirl1987 · 20/08/2019 13:56

I'm going to get my son vaccinated. He's only 10 months old and I don't think they do it til they're 1 but we're going to take him for it when he is.

timeforawine · 20/08/2019 14:01

We had it done at Superdrug as soon as she was old enough, £60 per dose i think, or £65, 2 needed i think 6 weeks apart.
No adverse effects from it, she has since been exposed to CP 4 times and hasn't caught anything (just after she had it done 10 children at nursery caught it and one poor girl's got infected and she was off for nearly a month)

Sicktobloodydeath · 20/08/2019 14:29

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Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

HeroicMissHoney · 20/08/2019 15:02

Considering getting DD(2) done. However, her older brother (7) has had it but REALLY mildly. So mildly I almost missed it and only looked twice as it was going around his nursery at the time. He really wasn't ill at all.

So should I get him done too?!

Out of interest, do some children have a natural immunity? As I say, DS was exposed on several occasions but when he did catch it, it was super mild. DD also been exposed but so far, hasn't caught it.

LemonPrism · 20/08/2019 18:24

I had it last year aged 23. I don't want to die of chicken pox basically and my bloods said I had not had it. It was very simple.

I got it for free though due to preparing for immunosuppressive drugs (which I ended up not going on). I had no side effects.

loveautum · 20/08/2019 20:20

@NaiceHamPlease glad to hear little one is ok in the end, how very scary for you all xxx

99problemsandjust1appt · 20/08/2019 20:27

Chickenpox can be a nasty dangerous illness and just as dangerous if not more so to those who are frail or immunocompromised it’s ridiculous it’s not on the vaccine schedule !!

My eldest was very ill with it so we vaccinated all subsequent dc. We had no idea when dc1 got it that there even was a vaccine

99problemsandjust1appt · 20/08/2019 20:28

Just as dangerous of not more so than measles I was meant to say

Dorsetcamping · 20/08/2019 20:32

Neither of my DC (14 and 11) have had chicken pox. Can't quite believe it!
Is it too late to bother getting them vaccinated?

justilou1 · 21/08/2019 01:20

I don’t think anyone has a “natural immunity” to it. Some kids get it really mildly and tolerate the symptoms so easily that it slips pass their parents. I didn’t know that I had had the chicken pox until I had shingles later in life. Looking back now, I have one pretty obvious pox scar on my foot. (My mother wasn’t the most observant person, and I obviously didn’t kick up a fuss. I probably had a few more pox, but not in obvious places and maybe she thought they were mosquito bites.)

justilou1 · 21/08/2019 01:21

Btw - I would get your kids vaccinated. As I said, the bigger they are, the harder they fall is an adage that applies true with chicken pox!!!

LifeOfLimes · 21/08/2019 01:48

Mine had chicken pox this year and I wish I had vaccinated them. Apart from how poorly they were, they had it one after the other, that adds up to 5 weeks off work for a parent.

13 year old was very poorly (as expected), 10 year old was a little bit unwell, 1 year old was worst of them all despite being youngest!
Before this I considered it to be a minor illness and was shocked at how very poorly two of them actually were.

ErrolTheDragon · 21/08/2019 01:59

Neither of my DC (14 and 11) have had chicken pox. Can't quite believe it! Is it too late to bother getting them vaccinated?*

Of course not! My DD was about 14 when she was vacc'd.

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