Ugh. Chickenpox?

[HomeOnTheRanch]

Son #3 showed DH a rash on his stomach last night. DH asked me if he'd ever been vax'd for chickenpox. I got out the shot records and he has had all his shots. DH isn't 100% sure it is chickenpox (he is an MD), but said it does look like the beginning of it.

 

All the older kids have been vax'd, so hopefully it will be mild if they do get it. 2yo ds has only had tetanus vax due to his extensive allergy issues. I think 12 day old baby should be ok with her immunity from me, right?

 

Ugh. NOT what I want to deal with at the moment! DS16 is supposed to take the PSAT this week and..and...and...too many other things to do!

[Holly]

My oldest had the CP at 11mo, then a vaccine later on because the dr. insisted. Last October, she had a rash on her leg in one spot that looked a lot like CP...I wondered if it was Shingles, but I don't know for sure. A few weeks later, my 3yo came down with what we think was CP and that's the only way I can think of that she got it. We hadn't vaccinated her for CP.

 

My youngest DD was only a few weeks old and she never got it.

[Luckymama]

My now-17yo son had chicken pox at 22 months. His then-3 mo sister did NOT get cp as she was still carrying my immunity.

[TKDmom]

I remember reading somewhere that the CP vaccine doesn't totally protect you from CP, but that it will significantly reduce the severity and duration. But hopefully it's not CP...

 

:grouphug:

[Guest ME-Mommy]

It is possible to contract chicken pox after being vaccinated...it's also possible that it could be shingles.

 

Breastfeeding may/may not protect your youngest from contracting chicken pox -- if that's what it is.

 

Shingles are NOT contagious...

[rootsnwings]

I think after 8 weeks they don't worry about babies with cp as much as those under 8 wks. One of my local mama friends had all three of hers, including her 3mo old get cp at the same time. That baby was literally COVERED in pox but she was the least irritable/itchy of them all. She also got over them the fastest.

 

HTH!! :D

[Perry]

It is possible to contract chicken pox after being vaccinated...it's also possible that it could be shingles.

 

Breastfeeding may/may not protect your youngest from contracting chicken pox -- if that's what it is.

 

Shingles are NOT contagious...

 

 

 

CDC

Is Shingles Contagious?

 

Shingles cannot be passed from one person to another. However, a person with active shingles can transmit the virus that causes shingles, VZV, to a person who has never had chickenpox – but only through direct contact with the shingles rash. If a person who has never had chickenpox is infected with VZV, he or she will develop chickenpox, not shingles.

 

[rootsnwings]

O, I thought for surely my ds (3) had cp just a couple weeks ago--turns out it was just a bad case of hives from his new, unwashed soccer jersey. A couple doses of benadryl & he was just fine. HTH

[Pamela H in Texas]

I have not met ONE single child IRL who was vaxed and did not get the chickenpox. I also have not seen any evidence that getting the vaccination changes the severity of them.

 

 

Of course, regardless of all that, I hope that your kids get it mildly, if at all, and recover quickly!

Edited October 11, 2010 by 2J5M9K

[Old Dominion Heather]

My one who was vaxed had the mildest case. Poor kid who wasn't had a terrible case and gave it to me. Again. I've had two mildish cases. Apparently, there are some people who can't develop an immunity and I am one of them. I'd LOVE to get the vaccine, but I'm allergic to eggs.

[juelle]

O, I thought for surely my ds (3) had cp just a couple weeks ago--turns out it was just a bad case of hives from his new, unwashed soccer jersey. A couple doses of benadryl & he was just fine. HTH

 

This happened to us this year! Ds9 was diagnosed with CP by our family practitioner. No exposure that we know of. 9 months later he gets the same rash. And it's from his UnderArm*ur not being washed before each practice. Now do really think he had CP the first time? Never looked like it to me.

 

 

My sister was born while I had CP. No problem, and she never did get CP.

 

Sorry you're having to deal with this. All the best to your son. Mine's doing the PSAT this Sat, too.

:grouphug::grouphug:

[Mejane]

I remember reading somewhere that the CP vaccine doesn't totally protect you from CP, but that it will significantly reduce the severity and duration. But hopefully it's not CP...

 

 

 

Yes. My son was vac'ed as an infant, and came down with them at 6. His case was mild, but he generously passed them along to my husband - talk about sick, wow.

[Jann in TX]

a few years ago I visited with a Pediatric Pulmonologist at the Children's Hospital in Austin.

 

Since the CP vax came out the number of children admitted to the hospital for CP complications has DRAMATICALLY reduced... in Austin the cases traditionally seen before the vax were 12-15 per year... after the vax became 'routine' the numbers have gone down to 1-2 per year. This is in just one city...

 

So the 'vax' is saving lives even though it does not offer full immunity.

 

My middle dd had RAD (reactive airway disease) since she was a preemie and got RSV (critically ill with it) at 8 weeks.. her lung damage was extensive. Our orders were to IMMEDIATELY take her to the hospital (preferably Children's) if she contracted Chicken Pox... as RAD is a sensitivity to viruses and children with RAD who get CP tend to get it BAD (as in inside their airway!). Two days after dd received the vax (she was 3 when it came out and she was one of the first to get it) my dd was exposed to a very ACTIVE case of CP at church... the teachers/parents thought it was good timing to spread it around!!!!!:mad: It could have killed my daughter!

 

They learned a lot that day.

[Hillary in KS]

OK, I have 2 dc that have never had chicken pox because I can't find anyone IRL who has it. How much trouble would it be to have your child suck on a lollipop for a while, wrap it in a ziploc bag and mail it to me?:001_smile:

 

(Only slightly kidding.) :glare:

 

I wish we could find someone around here, but it's been YEARS since I met anyone with a live case. :(

[Carol in Cal.]

I have a friend who caught chicken pox as an adult from someone who had shingles. She was extremely ill for at least 3-4 weeks. It's much better to get it as a child than to go through that.

[DianeW88]

My youngest, who is vaxed, has been exposed multiple times and has not come down with it yet. Just an FYI...it is usually the subsequent children in the family who seem to get the worst outbreaks...not the one who caught it first. I don't know if there is any scientific evidence to support this, but as a peds nurse, it's what we saw in our practice...unfailingly.

 

Hope your kiddo feels better soon!

 

Diane W.

married for 22 years

homeschooling 3 kiddos for 16 years

[Susan in KY]

Where are you and can I bring my kids over? :)

[JeneralMom]

My one who was vaxed had the mildest case. Poor kid who wasn't had a terrible case and gave it to me. Again. I've had two mildish cases. Apparently, there are some people who can't develop an immunity and I am one of them. I'd LOVE to get the vaccine, but I'm allergic to eggs.

 

 

I have no immunity either - I have CP 3 times diagnosed, and probably at least 5 other times not diagnosed.

[Pamela H in Texas]

in Austin the cases traditionally seen before the vax were 12-15 per year... after the vax became 'routine' the numbers have gone down to 1-2 per year.

 

Glad to see there is SOME positive since people are doing it despite the issues and obvious general ineffectiveness.

Edited October 12, 2010 by 2J5M9K

[Perry]

Glad to see there is SOME positive since people are doing it despite the issues and obvious general ineffectiveness.

I disagree that it is not effective.

Medical News Today

 

The CDC and Tufts researchers reviewed the relevant published evidence on "varicella," "varicella vaccine," and "herpes zoster" (commonly known as "shingles") and found that for the period 1995 to 2006:

• The single dose chickenpox vaccine was 80 to 85 per cent effective at preventing the disease, whether mild or severe, and over 95 per cent effective at preventing the severe form.
  
• The single dose vaccination had an excellent safety profile.
  
• The single dose vaccination program reduced disease incidence by 90 per cent, hospitalizations by 88 per cent, and deaths by over 74 per cent.
  
• The effect on costs was equally dramatic, showing a 74 per cent reduction in direct inpatient and outpatient medical expenditures over the period.
  
• The rapid decline in cases plateaued from 2003 to 2006, and outbreaks still occurred, even among school populations with a high percentage of vaccinations.
  
• Clinical trial evidence showed that compared with children given the single dose, those who received 2 doses developed higher immunity to the disease (as measured by antibody titers).
  
• The figures showed the 2 dose children had a 3.3 lower risk of breakthrough disease.
  
• The evidence for herpes zoster was not so clear cut, with 2 studies showing there was no overall increase in incidence and two studies showing there was.
  

The authors concluded that:

 

"A decade of varicella [chickenpox] prevention in the United States has resulted in a dramatic decline in disease; however, even with high vaccination coverage, the effectiveness of 1 dose of vaccine did not generate sufficient population immunity to prevent community transmission. "

[TheCoffeeChick]

My ds had cp (a pretty bad case, even in his mouth) when he was 5 - he was not vaccinated, but dd who was 2 1/2 at the time did not get them - she was vaccinated. I'm certain if she had not been vaccinated, she would have gotten them.

[Pamela H in Texas]

I wonder what could account for what I have seen vs the CDC's numbers. What issue could cause the vaccination to have has much failure as they claim it has success?

 

Again, I'm really glad that severe issues have been drastically cut (though I wonder how true that is since I can't trust the other numbers). That is why I appreciated the other poster's hospital's experience.