Urgent we need your thoughts on chickenpox

[OliviaMumsnet]

We've been asked to appear on News 24 about the Chickenpox vaccine today and we just want to hear your thoughts on this.

What was your experience with chickenpox? Have you had extreme experiences with it?
We'd love to know your thoughts as always (and preferably before 2pm!)
Thanks as ever
MNHQ

I had chicken pox as a child and can remember vividly wanting to scratch the whole time. My dd had it aged 3 and didn't seem to want to scratch at all, although was quite unwell with it, flu like symptoms, persistent cough and very very tired. Her skin has also scarred even though she did not pick the spots. I am not sure what I think about the vaccine. I think I would want to see more evidence. I understood that you had to have several boosters?

I am very skeptacle as to how much imunity a vaxine would provide, because if you get chicken pocks mildly then it is possible to get it again.

I've had chicken pocks twice.

Once when I was 7, and once when I was 14. Although i had loads of spots the first time and it was really ichy and I had them everywhere, when I was 14 I caught it again, very mildly, but none the less...

So I don't believe that vaxination would really provide long-lasting imunity, and the idea of having to keep giving boosters is madness.

My ds has had mmr etc, but I think that we're going way too far with reference to vaxinating against anything and everything.

I wouldn't have my ds vaxinated.

yes, they had hep B combined int ehHexavalent vaccine.

Interestingly, there's not nearly such a fuss made about vaccines in Belgium as there is in the UK.

Having said that, I remember parents being jailed for refusing to get their children vaccinated against polio, iirc. It's the only vaccine that you have to get by law. Very extreme case.

DS had chickenpox very mildly - DD had it very badly (in terms of spots but was alright "in herself") and has some visible scars on her body. I think a chickenpox vaccine is one too many - they are now giving more vaccinations at a younger age than when my DC were small and no cohort has yet grown up with the new regime so I think we should wait to see if there are any long term implications to hitting a young immune system with so many vaccinations before adding another.

My prem twins had chicken pox at 8 months, one sailed through and the other was horrendous - he ended up in hosp 3 weeks after it cleared up with some sort of infection on his chest (osti summut??), needing IV anti-biotics....quite scary, would have been nice not to go through it as he has many scars and now has molloscum contagiosum very badly so even more scars.....

I am sorry, but whilst I acknowledge that there are risks during pregnany they are not actually that bad. In fact if you did the stats eating soft whip ice cream (which is probably occurs more often than a woman coming into contact with a pox infected person) may well come out as statistically more dangerous.

IF a woman catches chicken pox up to 20wks there is a small (2% max) chance baby will be affected. If a woman catches chicken pox between 20-38ish weeks there is apparently NO risk.
The biggest risk occurs IF a woman catches chicken pox in last couple of weeks.

Overall combining the frequency with which chicken pox in pregnancy does occur with the low frequency of complications I would say that IMO prevention of chicken pox in pregnancy is not an argument for vaccinating.

Not commenting on other reasons to/not to vaccintate.

here is my source.

Belgo - thanks. My daughter is in the process of having Hepatitis B vaccination (three shots, one and six months apart), which is highly recommended here in France.

I agree, there doesn't seem to be nearly as much fuss about vaccination here in France as there is in the UK.

In any case, I am pretty pro vaccination. Any risks far outweigh the potential benefits.

Sorry, mean any benefits outweight the potential risks.

my dc had the hep B vaccines as babies, before the age of one.

Haven't read the whole thread, but agree with ChubbyScotsBurd that as chicken pox can have devastating effects if contracted during pregnancy, I would be supportive of a vaccination programme.

I also had to pay for the new mengigitis vaccine Prevenar - It cost in the region of 400 euros (more then £250) - but I certainly felt it was worth it as I know of someone who has lost your dd to the pneumoccocal menigitis.

their not your

I think it depends what you're vaxinating against though. apparently 6 children died from chicken pox related illness in the past 13 months. How many children actually contracted chicken pox and were absolutely fine?

More children die from Asthma than chicken pox - what is being done about that?

You simply cannot throw vaxination at every illness in the hopes of iradicating disease, because the more diseases you iradicate, the less imunity children grow up with because they have nothing to fight. To a point where soon the common cold will be considered life-threatening because our children's imune systems just aren't capable of fighting any more.

anna, this vaccine does not provide lifelong immunity, so at some point, you'll need to booster those who have been vaccinated.

i will add some pics of my LO with chicken pox to my profile - i was very scared at one point when his temp rocketed.......

I have a few American friends whose dc have been vaccinated agianst chicken pox. They didn't know that their children would require a booster until I told them.

Awwww look at them being eaten by their clothes on their first outing Loving mummy's new specs too

for pox pic (wasn't there when I posted the last message)

Thing is WannaBe - You can only vaccinate against an infection. Asthma is not an infection. Scientist are working very hard at trying to treat the symptoms and causes of Asthma - but you well never be able to vaccinate.

the point of vaccination is to create herd immunity - the virus therefore has no available hosts and should die out - that therefore renders the point about boosting no longer relvant - we no longer vaccinate against smallpox becuase it died out as a result of mass vaccination and herd immunity.

that's nasty. Do they have scars now Meeely, from so many spots?

y
shrinkingsagpuss - yes, but the problem is when you move from a country where there is 'herd immunity' to a country without herd immunity, which is why my American friends should be aware of this, as that's what they've done.

the vaccinations against small pox were world wide.

It is not necessarily about herd immunity...unless you are aiming for erradication.

I have an HepB vaccination because there is a risk of me catching HepB from my job. There will be no herd immunity there because most of the public are immune to HepB...but it is given for my personal protection.

he does yes cos many of the spots joined to form one big scab and you can't stop an 8month old scratching or rubbing them off in the night.

It was 3 weeks later that was scary - 3 doctors told me to stop fussing it wasn't until his actual paed saw him for routine check that he was admitted.