Chicken Pox Vaccination

[Miss.September]

TBH, I'm actually a bit scared to be posting about this, so I'm begging everyone who wants to reply to be nice to each other and remember the love.


DD is fully immunised to this point. She's now 18 months old and time to do the chicken pox vaccination. I believe in the benefits of immunisations, and she has no risk factors that we are aware of. But when I realised this was the next one, I feel like I want to ask questions. I never had it, but suffered badly with chicken pox as a 13 year old. It covered every inch of me, and even down my throat. I remember it vividly.

My concern is that if DD gets chicken pox, and it's bad, how am I going to feel. But if she has a reaction to the vaccination, how am I going to feel?

I guess I want to know why YOU PERSONALLY chose the way you did with this particular vaccination. And any tips on where I can research this further would be much appreciated. I've been searching on the web, but haven't found much, and google sometimes isn't my friend!!!!!!!!!

Also -- and please please note that this will NOT impact my decision in any way, do I have to get this vaccination to be eligable for the money given out for vaccinated kids? Quite simply, I don't want to be expecting money that isn't coming. I don't vaccinate for the money, just curious if the chicken pox vaccination is exempt from this.

[Beach Mama]

I will be interested to find out too hun because J is nearly 2 and hasn't had it yet. There are a few reasons why he hasn't mainly because both kids have been so sick since starting CC early this year that there is no way I want him having it if he even has a slight cold. I also am a bit like you though as I know I will beat myself up either way and just can't seem to decide. I've read pros and cons til the cows come home and I just don't know what to do.

Not much help am I sorry but Hope you can make a decision you are happy with - oh and FWIW I found reading the countless threads on here on BB to be pretty helpful, alot of stuff out there is US based.

[Rach75]

I vaccinate completelt but not rota virus or chicken pox, rota virus I dont beleive either of my children fall in too the risk catergroy no daycare etc

chicken pox itself is not a life threatening disease its the 2nd infections that can be such as phemonia (sp?) also the vacine only last a short time so hey would need to be done againcoem highschool or so....

the reason I chose mainly was I read about I think its japan (dont quote me) I read this 3 years ago, have been routinly vacinating for CP for 20 odd years the kids who were first vaccinated are now showing a massive increase in shingles, as you know you only get if you've had hcicken pox and is generally a older persons disease anyway kids in the late teens and early 20's are getting shingles...

[Trillian]

I actually paid for my first 3 to have this vaccination because it wasn't on the schedule or free so it was $60 a pop to have it done. Our rationale at the time was that when I was a kid, all 4 of us got CP one after the other. Mum had nearly 3 months of dealing with it. My brothers and I got a relatively mild dose but our 2yo sister got it terribly. She had them inside her mouth, nose and vagina and she was miserable. So we wanted to spare the kids from that. BUT then as it started to become more commonplace to have it done, it started emerging that the CP vaccine wasn't terribly effective at all, I just couldn't see the point in getting DS2 done, but we'd stopped vaccinating him at 6 months anyway.

It is on the schedule now though however, so if you decide to not do that one, you will have to have a CO form signed and lodged to still be eligible for the immunisation payment.

I suppose you have to weigh up your reasons for doing it, and then your reasons for NOT doing it and see what the middle ground is. Ask yourself things like what is the risk of her getting it? Does she go to childcare where she will be more likely to be exposed to it? Questions like that let you do a kind of risk assessment. The Vaccine is a 'live' vaccine. In America it is reported that only 79% of children will have immunity after their first vaccine and 99% will have immunity after their second vaccination (first dose at 12-15 months and second at 4-6 years) so that is a long time to not have full immunity from it kwim?

I am just reading the AVN website about it and varicella-vaccinated children are more likely to get shingles, which has longer lasting effects on you by way of neuralgia pain etc.

Good luck with your decision - it's not an easy one to make

[Miss.September]

Thank you for your honest replies. I still don't know what to do. Every time I think I won't do it, I remember how sick I was when I got it, and I don't want her to go through that. AHHHHHHHHHHHH. Maybe that is my answer. I don't know.

[CrazyLady]

Thank you for your honest replies. I still don't know what to do. Every time I think I won't do it, I remember how sick I was when I got it, and I don't want her to go through that. AHHHHHHHHHHHH. Maybe that is my answer. I don't know.

I'm the same but i HAVEN'T had chicken pox..... I was exposed to my sisters the whole time they had it but never got it for some reason, not a single spot...

I'm really worried about the shingles thing though, It made my mum not well and a lady in one of my classes had issues with motor skills and speech after shingles.

[BeautifulMadness]

Well i figure this if both my boys vaccines are up to date 4 yrs and 18 mths why would i stop now? chicken pox is not fun and i dont want my kids going through it to be honest.

I want to give them the best protection. My 18 mth old is getting his done this week.

MY MIL got shingles it was horrible.

[Ambah]

I had my DS vaxed with everything including CP.
But with DD I have done more research & decided that the CP vax wasn't necessary. I was going to withold the rota virus one too, but was basically railroaded by the GP into doing it (not that I think it helped-DD still comes down with horrific gastro viruses from daycare at least 4 times per year).
I am more concerned about DD developing a horrible case of shingles later in life due to being vaxed, than I am about her having chicken pox...

[Shanti]

DD is 21mths and hasn't been vax'd against this. I read about it and decided it wasn't worth the risk. Not sure if she'll ever get it TBH (the vax I mean). If she gets chicken pox while she's little I won't be too concerned as it will be over and done with and very rarely is it life threatening anyway.

Good luck deciding. It's so hard deciding what is right for your child

[Freya]

Im just curious as to what the vax shingles VS CP shingles rate is if anyone knows? Because I find it weird that people are avoiding the CP vax because of the risk of shingles yet CP is probably one of the most prevelent childhood diseases (a majority of us all have prob had it as kids) and also has a maturity occurance of shingles.

I also thought that CP could be life threatening?

[buliej]

This thread is very informative re: pro's/con's of the chicken pox vaccine (although I am confused now about whether to immunize against chicken pox as I believe in immunization/vaccinations generally but this thread has made me think twice about the CP vaccine). Many of the posters who generally vaccinate their children mention not vaccinating for rota virus - what are the pro's/con's to this one - for those of you who vax your children why put this in the exception pile?

[Fleur]

I'm finding this thread interesting, Pie is just past the 18mth mark & so far fully immunised; but I don't think we will be getting the CP vax. My older three kids have all had CP (the virus) - all one after the other over three weeks, at 7, 4 & 4mths. So it's just her we have to decide with.

We chose not to immunize against chicken pox as we felt that the vaccine has not seen sufficient testing, and that chicken pox, although unpleasant, was not life threatening.

This pretty much sums up my original thoughts on not wanting to vaccinate. And then the more we read about it, about the occurence of shingles, and the occurances or CP in vacced kids, I wonder why we would expose her to a relatively new vaccine, against a disease that is not life threatening, and may not offer full protection.

If we vaccinate now, she'll need a booster in high school anyway. So, I'm thinking we'll forgo the CP vaccine at 18 months and then reconsider it when she's older. The possibility of developing shingles later concerns me too.

And this is what I think too; if she doesn't contract it while she's young, she can have the vax later on.

Does anyone know, do we have to sign a CO form? What do we do if we don't want to get it? We usually get our vaccs through our GP, so I guess next time we go I will let him know we aren't getting it..and then what?