Has anyone had their child vaccinated for chickenpox?

[Tryingandhoping2020]

Pros and cons? If it works well I'd be happy to shell out to save my DD some suffering but I don't want to make it more likely she'll get it when she's older? Does it work for life?

One of my step kids was sooo sick with chicken pox and scarred all over, that when my 2 came along, I flew back to the USA to get them vaccinated as at the time it wasn't even available privately in the UK. I've been in the USA for many years now and I'm appalled to hear that it's still not standard in the UK and that they make people pay to do it privately.

The adults should just get the shingles vaccination to protect against shingles and not make children suffer.

dd is 8 and still not had cp. I'm going to get her booked in asap

Yes with my first and will get my baby his too when he's one. No issues (uk)

It's part of the normal vaccine schedule in usa and Canada so both my kids have had it. DB and I both had CP as children and even though both cases were mild, his lasted over a week and he still has scars on his face from it.

There is a shingles vaccine as well for older people. I don't know how effective it is but I'll likely get it if recommended to.

Yes. No side effects.

It's part of the childhood vaccination schedule in Australia. Even if it wasn't, I would. Very little cons for some big pros. I once heard Brendan Hall a Paralympic swimmer talk about how he went partially deaf and lost his lower leg to chicken pox. It's not always just an inconvenience
"Brenden Hall - Wikipedia" en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brenden_Hall

@kokoalemon

I have the same question as the OP, does this make the vaccine more or less lifelong? I know this is a really specific question, but does it make a difference for pregnant women compared with having had the illness as a child?

Been thinking of this for years, but older DSs then got it as toddlers which was younger than I expected (not sure why I thought they’d be older!) so that was that. Was particularly horrible for DC2 but thankfully all fine in the end.

Now have younger DDs and thinking about it for them, other countries do it so can’t see why not, but just wondering if there is any kind of drawback for them. I just remember being asked about whether I had chicken pox as a child at all of my booking appointments.

It's fine - they can do a blood test to see if you still have antibodies and if necessary you just get a booster as an adult.

Complications from chickenpox are rare but can be serious - brain damage, death. My nephew in the UK was hospitalised with it.

Also if you've ever had the virus it can reactivate and cause shingles as an adult.

The vaccination offers excellent protection from all this. I really don't know why the NHS doesn't provide it.

All of my three have. So far, so good 🤞🏻🤞🏻

My eldest (in early 2000s) had it very badly at 18 months old and was in hospital for two weeks; it was touch and go at one point.

The consultant said that previously healthy children can and do die of CP every year in the UK, which was a huge shock to us.

She mentioned a vaccine (which we knew nothing about) and said paediatricians wanted it introduced, but public confidence in childhood vaccines had taken such a knock, thanks to Wakefield, that they hesitated to introduce it. It would seem, sadly, this is still the case.

One thing I’d like to mention, which I think is better known about nowadays than 15/20 years ago: if your child has CP you must not give them ibuprofen or other NSAIDs. They can make symptoms worse and cause a serious skin infections e.g. necrotising fasciitis.

Please vaccinate.

It’s a standard vaccine in a lot of European countries and you don’t have to pay for it. My friend’s son had it at 9months, he was very poorly and she had to take 3 weeks unpaid leave to look after him. We paid for DC1 to have it, no side effects. Had it done at local Boots. Will pay for Dc2 too when he is about 10 months.

To add my MIL was severely ill with lifelong consequences from shingles contracted by a child with CP. so you are not only protecting your child but also the grandparents.

I'm going to get mine done when he's closer to two because apparently the incidence of toddler shingles is higher with the vaccine than with chickenpox before age 2, but after age 2 there's no increased risk of toddler shingles so it's well worth doing .

I had chickenpox twice as a small child and as I understand it, it means I am more susceptible to shingles. My poor mum had shingles a few years ago and it was very painful and debilitating. So if there is a vaccine available, it sounds good to me! But given how expensive it is to get privately and that it’s not available on the NHS, so many people will be unable to get it for the kids, if they wanted to do so. Feels unfair.

I definitely want to get this for my DD, who is 10 months. Does anyone know what age is recommended? I know they have to have a gap with their one year jabs, so is after that best? For those PPs abroad who have had the jab, when do the country’s who include this on their vaccine programme do it?

@canyoutoleratethis

I definitely want to get this for my DD, who is 10 months. Does anyone know what age is recommended? I know they have to have a gap with their one year jabs, so is after that best? For those PPs abroad who have had the jab, when do the country’s who include this on their vaccine programme do it?

Other countries do it as part of the MMR- they have the MMRV instead and do it aged one. I'm leaving mine until two because before then there's a slightly increased risk of toddler shingles if you get them vaccinated against chickenpox. The increased risk disappears aged two.

@canyoutoleratethis

I definitely want to get this for my DD, who is 10 months. Does anyone know what age is recommended? I know they have to have a gap with their one year jabs, so is after that best? For those PPs abroad who have had the jab, when do the country’s who include this on their vaccine programme do it?

In Italy they do it around age 1. In Germany it’s at 11 and 14 months. If your DC goes to a nursery I would book it already.

@AdriannaP

To add my MIL was severely ill with lifelong consequences from shingles contracted by a child with CP. so you are not only protecting your child but also the grandparents.

No, I don't think this is right. Older people don't catch shingles from children with chickenpox (though the opposite can happen where someone picks up chickenpox from someone with shingles.) Shingles is a reinactivation of the chickenpox virus, you don't catch it as such. I am very sorry to hear your MIL had such a bad dose of shingles, but is it possible she passed chickenpox to the child rather than the other way round?

The fact is, being exposed to cases of chickenpox throughout life (after the first illness) can boost immunity, thus preventing shingles. It may be one reason there isn't a vaccination programme for chickenpox, but it doesn't seem very fair on children if so, particularly as there is also a shingles vaccine available.

@AdriannaP
What I mean is, vaccinating children doesn't protect their grandparents from shingles. On the contrary.

When my DD was 3 my mum got shingles. The doctor suggested that as 3 years old was a good age for chicken pox perhaps my mum should visit my daughter.
I was so horrified by the suggestion that I went and got my daughter vaccinated.
(My mum wasn't seriously thinking of taking the doctor's advice. She thought the suggestion was funny. I didn't. )
When my daughter was 5 chicken pox did the rounds of her school. The children that weren't vaccinated had to take a week or two off school. The children that were vaccinated were either entirely unaffected or, like my daughter, got it so mildly it was over one weekend.

@canyoutoleratethis

I definitely want to get this for my DD, who is 10 months. Does anyone know what age is recommended? I know they have to have a gap with their one year jabs, so is after that best? For those PPs abroad who have had the jab, when do the country’s who include this on their vaccine programme do it?

It's 18 months in QLD Australia as part of the MMRV

Mine! Got it done, two doses around one or two, after MMR anyway. Never had the dreaded thing. No cons in my experience.

I was only saying the other day my middle son is 6 and not had it yet (I suppose the last 2 years has been limiting for exposure to it) and I will look into vaccinating this year. Then he was exposed 2 days ago so I'm hoping he gets it (and my younger dd) so they're all out the way. If not, I will be vaccinating. My eldest had it aged 2.

@MsEmmeline

Is there an advantage to children who have only had very mild chicken pox of being vaccinated?

This may have been answered already (if so, I apologise, I've been skimming the thread), but yes I would say it's worth it. My oldest has had chickenpox twice, mildly. My youngest is now sick for the second time with it, and it is not mild this time around. The last two nights have been awful- we've had to stay up with her, reading stories to try to distract her as she thrashed around in agony. Calpol did very little, and we discovered too late that we were out of Piriton: worst timing ever. Honestly, if I could turn the clock back a month and get her jabbed I would. At least we are on annual leave anyway- but we can't actually do anything until they go back to school now, even if she feels well enough.

Vaccinated all three of ours. Three reasons (a) main one being we had seen some of our friends kids be left seriously unwell and with scars (b) our three are close in age so would likely all catch it in succession, not something I wish to live through (c) it's a common and well tested vaccine used in many countries

Shingles is a reinactivation of the chickenpox virus, you don't catch it as such.

@AdriannaP

I'm sorry, I meant to say that shingles is a reactivation of the virus that causes chickenpox, not a reinactivation. Apologies for the typo.