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Chicken Pox Opportunity--Yea or Nay?


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Well, were it me I'd JUMP at the chance. I have 2 boys who need to be exposed and can't find anyone whose children have it.

 

However, that would mean that I'd plan to stay home and away from other people. Chicken Pox is bad news for people with compromised immune systems.

 

For our family, that's a trade-off I'd be happily willing to make.

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Well, were it me I'd JUMP at the chance. I have 2 boys who need to be exposed and can't find anyone whose children have it.

 

However, that would mean that I'd plan to stay home and away from other people. Chicken Pox is bad news for people with compromised immune systems.

 

For our family, that's a trade-off I'd be happily willing to make.

 

Same here, except I don't have two boys. :)

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I would not, personally, voluntarily expose my children to any disease. I didn't even know people did that until I saw someone was having a "chicken pox party". Their child had it, and they were happily inviting all their friends over to get it. I was pretty dumbfounded.

 

I think I have a particular fear of chicken pox because I was TERRIBLY sick with it for weeks when I got it as a child.

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I would not, personally, voluntarily expose my children to any disease. I didn't even know people did that until I saw someone was having a "chicken pox party". Their child had it, and they were happily inviting all their friends over to get it. I was pretty dumbfounded.

 

I think I have a particular fear of chicken pox because I was TERRIBLY sick with it for weeks when I got it as a child.

:iagree:what she said. Right down to the "I was terribly sick with it..." No way would I expose my kids to that!

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I would not, personally, voluntarily expose my children to any disease. I didn't even know people did that until I saw someone was having a "chicken pox party". Their child had it, and they were happily inviting all their friends over to get it. I was pretty dumbfounded.

 

I think I have a particular fear of chicken pox because I was TERRIBLY sick with it for weeks when I got it as a child.

 

My oldest 3 got the chicken pox. I was OK with all my kids getting it. But then a family at church had a very serious hospitalization due to chicken pox. That was it for us. I'm not playing around with it.

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There is no way I'd willingly expose my kids to chicken pox. I had both mine vaccinated against it. At the time I asked my doctor if there were any benefits in vaccination over normal childhood exposure. She said the main benefit was that vaccination was meant to prevent the child from getting shingles in later life. Chicken pox is often a fairly mild childhood disease but the virus lays dormant in your spinal cord for life and can re-emerge as shingles when you are older. Shingles is a very painful and debilitating disease. My MIL has suffered from it and you wouldn't wish it on anyone.

 

FWIW I had chicken pox at age 13 and it was absolutely horrible. My younger sister and I still have the scars.

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I had shingles a couple of years ago. I would not have wished the pain on my worst enemy. It was horrible. I was a "chicken pox party" child, because that's what mothers did back in the day.

 

I don't know what the right answer is, as there are conflicting stories. But I vaccinated my son, and hope it was for the best because shingles is not a good time.

 

Bill

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There is no way I'd willingly expose my kids to chicken pox. I had both mine vaccinated against it. At the time I asked my doctor if there were any benefits in vaccination over normal childhood exposure. She said the main benefit was that vaccination was meant to prevent the child from getting shingles in later life. Chicken pox is often a fairly mild childhood disease but the virus lays dormant in your spinal cord for life and can re-emerge as shingles when you are older. Shingles is a very painful and debilitating disease. My MIL has suffered from it and you wouldn't wish it on anyone.

 

FWIW I had chicken pox at age 13 and it was absolutely horrible. My younger sister and I still have the scars.

 

I've never thought of the shingles aspect. My uncle currently has shingles on his face (which is rare) and it has travelled into his EYE. He may have permanant loss of sight in that eye.

 

Personally, there is NO WAY I would do that to my kids right before Christmas. I mean, talk about sucking the joy out of a kid's favorite time of year! Just wait.

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I would not, personally, voluntarily expose my children to any disease. I didn't even know people did that until I saw someone was having a "chicken pox party". Their child had it, and they were happily inviting all their friends over to get it. I was pretty dumbfounded.

 

I think I have a particular fear of chicken pox because I was TERRIBLY sick with it for weeks when I got it as a child.

 

Agreed. My mother never purposely exposed me to the pox when I was a kid. I never got it and I've survived into adulthood. I'll just take my chances I won't catch it as an adult. It's so rare nowadays anyway with most kids being vaccinated, I really doubt I'll catch it from someone when I'm 65.

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Chicken pox is often a fairly mild childhood disease but the virus lays dormant in your spinal cord for life and can re-emerge as shingles when you are older. Shingles is a very painful and debilitating disease.

 

About 18 months ago one of my former coworkers, a healthy 40 year old with no underlying conditions, died from complications arising from shingles.

 

I had forgotten about the horrors of shingles.

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I wouldn't intentionally expose mine, either, largely because chicken pox is unpredictable and can lead to shingles later.

I investigated the vaccine--it's not 100% protection, but if you do end up getting cp after, it's more likely to be mild. The vaccine does not contain thimirosal.

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I remember being sick on Christmas, twice. It was a terrible letdown. I wouldn't intentionally make my kids sick for Christmas.

 

I had chickenpox when I was three. I had them in my eyelids, in my vagina, in my throat, in my rectum ... everywhere. Even though I was only three, I still remember it. My sister, who had it at the same time, got a few on her tummy. That was it. You never know how bad it might be.

 

Even so, I wasn't going to vaccinate my kids. Then my mom got shingles. Wow. I vaccinated the two that hadn't had chicken pox yet (one got it in the orphanage).

 

Just yesterday I was at my son's specialist, and she mentioned (for the first time ever) that a possible reason for his hearing loss is ... you guessed it ... chickenpox. He had it in the orphanage and we have no idea how bad it was, but he does have scars all over his body. She said chickenpox could have been the cause of a chronically ruptured eardrum that took several surgeries to correct.

 

Tara

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I would not do it right before Christmas. I have been sick before at Christmas and it sucks all the joy right out of it. I imagine it would increase your stress levels as well. I know it would mine.

 

BTW- I have also had shingles when I was pregnant with my oldest. I have never experienced anything more painful (except childbirth). It also permanently damaged the nerve endings in my back so I still get flare-ups where I get the pain from it. I fall in the camp of those that would not infect my children on purpose.

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