Chicken Pox vaccination

Matryoshka · February 14th, 2008, 12:16 PM

I'm wanting to know from those who support vaccination and/or fully vaccinate did you get the chicken pox vaccination for your toddler?

I ask because my Dr told me it was optional... obviously i realise the entire schedule is optional, but i've just received the immunisation payment and my son has had all but the chicken pox vax. It is nothing to do with the money but i though you received that on completion of the schedule which suggests to me that the chicken pox is not considered essential. (we viewed the others as essential by the way however did delay them).

DH had chicken pox as an adult and i had it as a teen and both found it awful and based on that were thinking perhaps go ahead with that vax but i've also heard that since its a fairly harmless disease that some people just don't give that one.

So if you gave all the other vax did you give the chicken pox?

**Indadhanu** · February 14th, 2008, 12:21 PM

Mumma... I support vaccination, though I'm not a Mama yet, I will vaccinate to the schedule but probably not the chicken pox one... mainly because I have seen that it actually doesn't stop kids from getting the chicken pox. My bro (who is 7yo) had it, and got them a year and a half later (though mum reckons not as bad as my sis or i without the vac.) but I personally think its a waste when chances are they'll end up getting them anyway...

**Rach75** · February 14th, 2008, 12:23 PM

I support vac but Jack didn't have the rota-virus one and he wont be having the chicken pox, I just dont feel there is enough evidence of the side effect and long term effects of either of these ones

Matryoshka · February 14th, 2008, 12:26 PM

Thanks guys!

When i was about 4 years old our neighbours had chicken pox, my mum sent me to live with them for a week to try and get me to get it (thats what they did in the 80s!) anyway believe it or not despite full on contact (they were my best mates) i didn't get it! It was years later when i was about 13 that i got it and i was bed ridden for over 2 weeks... i know its worse when you are older.

**Trillian** · February 14th, 2008, 12:43 PM

MummaB, the Varilrix (chicken Pox) vaccine wasn't on the schedule when my first three were old enough to have it but that was the one I really wanted them to have in preference to the meningococcal and phneumococcal vacc's - which I chose not to give as these weren't on the schedule for them either. I had it when I was 10 and it was the worst 2 weeks of my life I think, I was sick as a dog from them, and when my sister got it at 2yo (the 4 of us all got it one afte the other, so mum had 3mths of it all up by the time it finally went) she had them inside her nose, ears, mouth and vagina and she was really quite ill from them. Seeing how bad she got them really spurred me on to get my children done as chicken pox is quite common when you think about it and it can be prevented, so why wouldnt you do it kwim? Now it is on the schedule anyway I think isn't it? If it isn't I will still be getting Alister done for it.

And its actually not a 'harmless' disease either. The effects of having chicken pox can vary greatly from one person to another, and can even lead to serious illness in some cases (apparently children of Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander heritage can suffer terribly from it and it has been part of the schedule for this group of children for years before it was for all other children)

it is also true that even having had the vaccine, you can still get chicken pox, but usually the illness isn't as bad as it would be without it. And if your child is at school and not vacc'd for it, then if it 'goes around' your child will be excluded from school for the duration of the outbreak too. I suppose that depends though on how rigid your child's school would be with excluding children who aren't vaccinated - when you think about it, there aren't many children over the age of 7 (when the vacc first came out) who would be done for it.

As with any vaccination it is up to us as the parents to research it and decide if it is the best thing for our children and our situations.

**Hoody** · February 14th, 2008, 12:56 PM

My MIL had it as an adult too and was soooooo sick like sheries mum so it inspired me to get DD to have hers.

I agree its up to the individual but i have vaccinated for everything and IMO what's one more.

**{sarah}** · February 14th, 2008, 01:05 PM

I had the chicken pox when I was three or four years old & was deathly ill from it, to the point where I could barely breathe or move for three weeks and I lost a very dangerous amount of weight. It took me seriously about 10 years to recover from it & be able to put weight on properly as it had damaged my immune system so much. As a result I decided to immunise my children against it. I know it's not a guarantee that they won't get it, but they would get it to a lesser extent than if they didn't have the vaccination.

**Liz** · February 14th, 2008, 01:10 PM

Yeah, we did the chicken pox vaccination. My nephew had it recently and had it in his eyelids.. ended up in hospital and there was concern it might get in his lungs. So it can be serious.. it's not just an itchy rash. I'd rather if DS was going to get chicken pox that it be a milder case because of the vax.

**River** · February 14th, 2008, 01:26 PM

.....

Matryoshka · February 14th, 2008, 01:28 PM

Wow thank you! i didn't realise it wasn't that harmless.... as i said in the 80s lots of people sent there kids to get it on purpose and i've even been told to do that with DS. So this information has been invaluable!

**Ozziehoffy** · February 14th, 2008, 02:54 PM

Oskar will be getting it. Joshua had it and did get chicken pox when he was 5 but not as severe as might have been. It's can be a very nasty illness which can kill them as they can also get it internally if they get a very severe dose of it.

**MantaRay** · February 14th, 2008, 03:47 PM

MummaB, Jack had it and Tom will too in a couple of months. I asked my trusted GP about whether it was necessary and he said that there are some very nasty complications of cp so he recommends it. I am not totally convinced that vaxing is the right thing to do, but we did the others so I did this one too.

BTW the reason it is not part of the payment is because the schedule has changed. CP was not on the schedule when the payment was brought in for 18 months. It isn't anything to do with "necessity" of the vax.

**nay23** · February 14th, 2008, 05:05 PM

Just to add my 2 cents.... When we were in hospital the paediatrician told us not to get the cp vaccine cos they dont know enough about it. He said that often its not that bad if you get chicken pox when your young. He reccomended that my DH get the vaccine because he has never had it and it can be bad when you are an adult!
I think that i will see if DS gets it and if he doesn't then when he gets a bit older we might get the vaccine. There are no age restrictions!
Just my opinion!
Good luck
xox

**ShootingStar** · February 14th, 2008, 05:49 PM

I will be getting the vaccination for DS next month for chicken pox. Big and main reason is DH has never had chicken pox. Now if he gets it, it can turn him sterile. I want to prevent this perhaps happening in the future for DS. If he doesnt have the vacination, is to never get chicken pox while younger and gets it when he's older, he may not be able to have children if he chooses to. I would hate for that to happen to anyone especially if i could have prevented it.

**Schmickers** · February 14th, 2008, 10:32 PM

I will be getting the vaccination for DS next month for chicken pox. Big and main reason is DH has never had chicken pox. Now if he gets it, it can turn him sterile.

Actually, Kellxx, I'm note sure who has given you this information, but it is untrue. Varicella does not cause sterility in males. It is possible that it may have been confused with the parvovirus that causes mumps, which can cause damage to the male reproductive tract if it is contracted after puberty.

Varicella is not on the immunisation schedule because it is not considered sufficiently "cost-effective". In other words, the costs associated with subsidising the cost of the vaccine are not really outweighed by the health-care costs of treating people who contract the disease. Some of the stories here are horror stories, but they are thankfully quite rare. Compared to many of the other vaccine-preventable diseases, chicken pox is quite mild.

I do agree, though, that teens and adults who have not had the vaccine should consider getting it. As has been pointed out by the experiences of others in this thread, chicken pox is worse as a teen/adult, so I think it is reasonable to offer it to teens and adults who have not previously had chicken pox.

**Boo Boo** · February 14th, 2008, 06:55 PM

I have had DD vaccinated against everything so far...I have been living in South Africa and they give the CP at 12 months so she has already had it even though in Australia I think it is on for 18 months...

**Janie** · February 14th, 2008, 07:07 PM

I keep thinking though, vaccines do not necessarily last a lifetime (and don't immunise for some people at all), so immunising against CP as a child, doesn't necessarily prevent someone from getting it as an adult. In fact, it may prevent them from getting it as a child, which could lead to them contracting it as an adult, and be very, very sick from it.

Does that convoluted rambling make any sense LOL?

I'm not against the vaccine BTW, it's just one of those things I've been pondering in the 'do I, don't I?' debate