OT: Chicken Pox strikes again

Lynne.....so sorry to hear that DD now has the Chicken Pox :o( I am 50+ = and wasn't aware that there was a CP vaccine and I haven't heard of it = here in the UK. I am wondering if it is a US things, as my grandchildren = haven't been vaccinated against it either......MMR yes.....CP no! =20

Frankly, I am a great believer in letting them come into contact with = everything when they are young or they don't build a strong immune = system. I think that this is why you are now seeing so many older = children and adults taking so-called childhood illnesses. Yes...there = can be complications in a minority of children but these are extremely = rare! It is better for them long-term to have the illness and develop = antibodies against it. Vaccines don't necessarily do the job or they = need boosting regularly, which people seldom remember to do it. Hope DD = has a quick recovery and that you can get some crafting done the week = she is home :o)

The vaccine was new when my daughter was born, so both kids had it at the same time 9 1/2 years ago. The thought behind preventing Chicken Pox is to prevent the Shingles, which is far worse than the chicken pox, but adults get it when they are older. It's related to having had the chicken pox. It's a good theory, but obviously needs my work. I've had two family members, who have had Shingles and the thought of stopping my kids from getting them sounded like a great idea. Now I've felt like I'm been sold a bill of goods. But you know when I think of "modern" science and the drugs and vaccines that have gone wrong over the years I'm thanking my lucky stars that they only have gotten chicken pox.

Lynne

Frankly, I am a great believer in letting them come into contact with everything when they are young or they don't build a strong immune system. I think that this is why you are now seeing so many older children and adults taking so-called childhood illnesses. Yes...there can be complications in a minority of children but these are extremely rare! It is better for them long-term to have the illness and develop antibodies against it. Vaccines don't necessarily do the job or they need boosting regularly, which people seldom remember to do it. Hope DD has a quick recovery and that you can get some crafting done the week she is home :o)

Sorry to hear about that Lynne, I feel for your kids. I have mixed feelings about the vaccine, I don't know what to think. I know 2 children who have had severe complications with gettting the chickenpox (not vaccinated). I do know that after you get the chickenpox you have the possibility of developing shingles (usually in your elder years)...my father had painful shingles. I would hate to get it as a teen or an adult though. My children have been vaccinated and I plan on getting boosters for them. At our school they are now *requiring* them to get the varicella vaccine.

Sorry to hear about your daughter with the chicken pox - can't be much fun at all. But congratulations to her on making the honour roll, that's great! Hopefully you 2 will still have fun scrapping away!

I talked to the school about requiring kids to get the chicken pox vaccine and let them know how disturbing it was that they did this with "A" it should be up to the parents and "B" is didn't work in my kid's case. The secretary said the parents can get a waver signed by the doctor and not have their kids vaccinated against chicken pox. I wonder though if parents know this is an option.

Lynne

Here in Ontario, all school aged children MUST have the vaccine to be accepted into any school.

They vaccinate our kids like crazy here in the states. We get measles, = mumps, rubella, polio, diptheria, pertussis, tetunus, hepatitus b, and = now chicken pox. I am sure I might have missed something somewhere, = maybe. I had chicken pox as a child and was miserable it is true, but I have = seen more harmful effects of many other things on children that are not = so strictly enforced. Here in Georgia it is car seats

I'm sorry for your dd. I had my kids vaccinated and wasn't informed that they would need a booster for follow up! Thanks for the info! Barb:o)

Lynne....Shingles can also affect small children! My friend in Australia = had a terrible time with her 3 year old son...who had Chickenpox, which = turned into Shingles. It is the same virus that is responsible for both = and the latter took months to heal! Calamine and Witch-Hazel were the = doctor's recommendation and boy was he a "crotchety" little soul for a = while.

In my lifetime the only vaccination I have had is for Smallpox...had = everything while growing up. I truly think that is the best way and you = build up true immunity to the actual bug/virus, not a facsimile! In = fact, when it was known that someone in the community had a childhood = ailment in the household....all the Mums sent the kids over to play, so = they could get them over and done with....ROFL Seemed to work!!!!

They vaccinate our kids like crazy here in the states. We get = measles, mumps, rubella, polio, diptheria, pertussis, tetunus, hepatitus = b, and now chicken pox. I am sure I might have missed something = somewhere, maybe. I had chicken pox as a child and was miserable it is true, but I have = seen more harmful effects of many other things on children that are not = so strictly enforced. Here in Georgia it is car seats

Marilyn, It was the same for me. I had the smallpox vaccination, resulting in the big pox on my arm and the scar, that is still quite visible. I also got chicken pox when I was five..my brother brought them home with him from school. I can still remember how they itched ! Miserable. All of my kids had them and all of them had the small pox vaccine. The chicken pox vaccine was not discovered at that time. I think that CP ,being of the herpes strain, would be the same as that aggravating bacteria...it remains in the body dormant. I had a break out of shingles about 15 years ago...they erupt along nerve endings and are quite painful. Usually these break outs occur under stress or illness. My Doc at the time injected cortisone just under the skin into the area and it cleared up quickly. He also recommended that I leave the job I had at the time and I did!! LOL Haven't had any more eruptions since !

Hugs, Sabrina in Kentucky

a good friend is a life long treasure

I also had the small pox vaccination. My mom had them do it to my brother's and my hips not our arms, so neither of us can even find a scar. Why she thought to do that I don't know, but it was very smart. I was thought of as odd sometimes, because I didn't have the big round scar on my upper arm.

Lynne

That's a good warning to mom's. My DR. was going to talk to us about getting vaccinated against chicken pox at the annual checkup that occured just *after* they both had CP, so we didn't have to make the decision. But I had done some looking into it and found out that in the US where it has been available longer they are finding it lasts at most

10 years before needing a booster. It seems it is a relativly new vaccine and only recently have been seeing a large increase in delayed cases. In my case I would have considered it for my 2nd DD because she is at higher risk for complications due to her asthma and had actually just finished a prednisone (?sp) treatment less than a month before she broke out. We had to moniter her very closely because the interaction between that drug and the virus can be quite serious for at least a year after having the drug. She came through fine and two weeks later my other DD woke up to find an extra Christmas present -- spots. Within a month all of their cousins had had it. My sister was not impressed that we still came to the gathering. My answer they were all hugging and kissing on the weekend and she was already contagious then, so she doesn't have to miss this.

Glad your DD does not have to miss the honour roll swim. ANd congratulations to her for her hard work.

Smart Mom Lynne :o)

Marilyn

Lynne

Marilyn, It was the same for me. I had the smallpox vaccination, resulting in the big pox on my arm and the scar, that is still quite visible. I also got chicken pox when I was five..my brother brought = them home with him from school. I can still remember how they itched ! Miserable. All of my kids had them and all of them had the small pox vaccine. = The chicken pox vaccine was not discovered at that time. I think that CP ,being of the herpes strain, would be the same as that aggravating bacteria...it remains in the body dormant. I had a break out of shingles about 15 years ago...they erupt along nerve endings and are quite painful. Usually these break outs occur under stress or illness. My Doc at the time injected cortisone just under the skin into the area and it cleared up quickly. He also recommended that I leave the job I had at the time and I did!! LOL Haven't had any more eruptions since !

Hugs, Sabrina in Kentucky

a good friend is a life long treasure

Here in Indiana it is required to attend school - unless your child already had the chicken pox, then they don't have to have the vaccine. It's also required for attendance at a licensed child care facility. I can't allow a child to attend here unless all shots are up to date and a special form is signed by the doctor or health department stating they are current. It gets to be a pain as they gave us a form which has to be updated annually. I think it is a waste of time for school age children as they have all of their shots now by the time they start school and don't need any more until they are seniors in High school or going to college. But the parents have to go get the form filled out every year anyway. So far the booster for chicken pox is not on the required list here. When the state inspector comes and check the records, if I let anyone slip through without the form I get a write-up. Sandy

They vaccinate our kids like crazy here in the states. We get = measles, mumps, rubella, polio, diptheria, pertussis, tetunus, hepatitus = b, and now chicken pox. I am sure I might have missed something = somewhere, maybe. I had chicken pox as a child and was miserable it is true, but I have = seen more harmful effects of many other things on children that are not = so strictly enforced. Here in Georgia it is car seats