Jump to content

Menu

Chickenpox, Vaccinations and Shingles - Correlation?


Recommended Posts

Those of you who are well versed in this whole vaccination deal: I had my son vaccinated against chickenpox many years ago. Is it true that people who got the vax instead of the actual illness are more prone to developing shingles later in life or is it actually the opposite?

 

I really want to know so I can either beat myself up over a choice I made 15 years ago or congratulate myself. :glare:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

anyone who has had the virus (through vax or naturally contracting the disease) can get shingles.

 

I'm not aware of the vax making it more likely an individual will develop shingles than someone with naturally obtained immunity.

 

There have been some studies suggesting that on a population level, exposure to natural chicken pox circulating in the community provided a natural boost to adults who already had chicken pox. This possibly made them less likely to develop shingles.

 

The only thing I am aware of is the theory that it may have an impact on a population level

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12057605

 

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18419401, but studies on that have been mixed.

 

I had the varicella vax back in 1996 but have not vaccinated my children for chicken pox at this point.

Edited by Momof3littles
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The weaker one's immune response, the higher the likelihood of shingles later on. The vax contains a weakened virus, so obviously the immune response is muted as well.

 

Also, the relative rarity of the virus in natural circulation (due to the prevalence of the vax) means that people are no longer exposed to virus regularly. This means they aren't getting the regular, asymptomatic "boosters" they used to get.

 

Varicella vax = More shingles for all

 

Yet another example of the law of unintended consequences.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

There have been some studies suggesting that on a population level, exposure to natural chicken pox circulating in the community provided a natural boost to adults who already had chicken pox. This possibly made them less likely to develop shingles.

.

 

This is what our pediatrician believes. He against the chicken pox vaccine.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

There have been some studies suggesting that on a population level, exposure to natural chicken pox circulating in the community provided a natural boost to adults who already had chicken pox. This possibly made them less likely to develop shingles.

 

 

This is my understanding of the current science. If we'd just left well enough alone and let kids get chicken pox there would be many fewer occurrences of shingles.

 

I'm currently in the kick myself for going along with the vax when dd was little. I've not been exposed to chicken pox since 1975. I could come up with shingles any day now.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Same here. I honestly don't even remember if I ever had chickenpox, my mother does not remember either. Mysteriously, however, I was found to have antibodies for Rubella while I was pregnant and I cannot recall ever having come in contact with that illness either.

 

I knew my neighbor got chickenpox when her kids did and she suffered way more as an adult.

This is why I thought it would be clever to have ds not get it either and went along with the vax. :banghead:

Edited by Liz CA
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Those of you who are well versed in this whole vaccination deal:I had my son vaccinated against chickenpox many years ago. Is it true that people who got the vax instead of the actual illness are more prone to developing shingles later in life or is it actually the opposite?

 

I really want to know so I can either beat myself up over a choice I made 15 years ago or congratulate myself. :glare:

 

That has not been the case with the younger people I've known who had shingles. None of them were vax.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Same here. I honestly don't even remember if I ever had chickenpox, my mother does not remember either. Mysteriously, however, I was found to have antibodies for Rubella while I was pregnant and I cannot recall ever having come in contact with that illness either.

 

This is true of my mother. Her mother told her she never had the Chicken Pox as a child. When I got the CP there was a lot of worry my mom would catch them from me, but she never did. When my dd was six Mom was living with us and she got Shingles. Then my dd got the Chicken Pox from my mom's Shingles. Mom did not catch the CP from my dd.

 

My theory is that Mom *did* catch the Chicken Pox as a child and it was a mild case that no one noticed.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've had several friends develop shingles in their early thirties and they had CP as children and were never vaccinated. I'm curious about that.

I had CP as a child. I had shingles as a 40-ish adult. Ditto for my mother, although she was in her 50s when she had shingles.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My dd16 received the chicken pox vaccine. She developed shingles when she was very young. I cannot remember the exact age (bad mommy), but it was very early elementary. My mother is an RN and she found it bizarre that dd had that happen at that extremely young age. I do believe it is because of the vaccine.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I had chickenpox as a child, and I had shingles at 16 and again at 20. My shingles episodes were right at the beginning of the push to vaccinate for chicken pox, and my doctors said that they had been seeing shingles more frequently in young, healthy individuals at that time. That group that I was in had chicken pox before the vaccine was available. I'm not sure if the trend has continued now that many people in that age range were vaccinated for chicken pox.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

One of my dc's docs did say that they had seen more instances of teen shingles since starting the chickenpox vax.

 

Our doc said the same. He said that about ten years ago they only saw shingles in patients middle age or older but now they are seeing more and more teens with shingles. My 16 year had them this year.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have had CP twice, once as an adult. The adult case was pretty severe. On the good side, my doc says that I am unlikely to ever get shingles. I have a 13 year old who has never had CP and I would really like for her to get them because she has eczema as well and the doc says that could make CP worse especially the older she gets. I also worry about her getting them before she ever gets pregnant. All of my other kids have had CP.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

All my kids had the chicken pox naturally (no vaccine) when they were little and the vaccination was starting to become popular (er, mandatory for public school). Two have already had the shingles: one was 10 or 11 years old, and the other was about 12. It sounds like maybe it's due to them not being re-exposed to chicken pox due to all the vaccinations?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I had chicken pox, a decently bad bout of them. In my thirties, before I knew I was hypoglycemic, I got so run down with having small children and low sugar that I got shingles.

 

I vaccinated all my children (wished I hadn't).

 

When does the vacc run out? 10 years?

 

I have this real FEAR that when our children are in college, they will all get VERY sick from the chicken pox.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

for those of you that wish you had not vaxed, what if your kids were never exposed to CP naturally though? then as an adult they contracted it, would that be just as severe as a vaxed child?

I never had it as a child, and that was confirmed via a titer. We thought maybe I had had a mild case that went undetected, but I had no antibodies.

 

I had the vax at age 16 when it first came out. Back then the recommendation was one dose. Years later the two dose recommendation came out and I was working with immune compromised people (worked in medical field), which would have complicated getting a 2nd dose. That was about 8 years after the one dose I had, and my titer confirmed I still had antibodies.

 

I have not exposed my kids yet. I have no idea what I'm going to do, because as an adult, I don't particularly like relying on my vaccine induced immunity (hard to know when immunity will wear off without titers every few years, will vax strain protect against a wild strain many years later, etc.). I have talked with my physician about possibly looking into valtrex or another antiviral *if* I know I was exposed. There are some antivirals that are thought to possibly lower the severity or complications in an adult.

 

I think it is a tough call because I can tell you I don't really like being reliant upon vaccine induced immunity as an adult. I don't feel confident in it working when I need it to.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

for those of you that wish you had not vaxed, what if your kids were never exposed to CP naturally though? then as an adult they contracted it, would that be just as severe as a vaxed child?

 

This is why the pox parties. Also, I think that most people who would prefer the natural immunities would get their kids vaxed by puberty; that was my plan. You really don't want it as an adult. I think we're seeing lots of cp among vaxed kids; I think it's unclear what cp would look like in a vaxed adult whose immunity wore off. I think we'll find out, though.

 

I'm not anti the vax altogether. I just think it should be given for the first time at 10-12 years old, to give the kids enough time to acquire natural immunity, and then if they don't, vax.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I never had it as a child, and that was confirmed via a titer. We thought maybe I had had a mild case that went undetected, but I had no antibodies.

 

I had the vax at age 16 when it first came out. Back then the recommendation was one dose. Years later the two dose recommendation came out and I was working with immune compromised people (worked in medical field), which would have complicated getting a 2nd dose. That was about 8 years after the one dose I had, and my titer confirmed I still had antibodies.

 

I have not exposed my kids yet. I have no idea what I'm going to do, because as an adult, I don't particularly like relying on my vaccine induced immunity (hard to know when immunity will wear off without titers every few years, will vax strain protect against a wild strain many years later, etc.). I have talked with my physician about possibly looking into valtrex or another antiviral *if* I know I was exposed. There are some antivirals that are thought to possibly lower the severity or complications in an adult.

 

I think it is a tough call because I can tell you I don't really like being reliant upon vaccine induced immunity as an adult. I don't feel confident in it working when I need it to.

 

thank you. i ask because neither of my children have ever had a CP vaccine (or been exposed) & we only do select vaccines here. my daughter is 11 though now & i had always told myself that at 11 or 12, she would receive the vaccine to protect her from CP or shingles as an adult (because it is much worse the older you get so i read). i am honestly really torn about this decision still though, and then i read this thread -- so it made me curious.

 

normally i don't post about vaccines or discuss them in real life. but this thread seemed like a good opportunity to ask:)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm not anti the vax altogether. I just think it should be given for the first time at 10-12 years old, to give the kids enough time to acquire natural immunity, and then if they don't, vax.

:iagree:

This was the stance of my kids' doctor as well.

 

I took my kids to a pox party - I didn't even know the host, but she was friends with one of my neighbors. Most of the kids in the neighborhood contacted cp that spring, including my three kids.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was one of those children who was sent to a "chicken pox party" back in the mid-60's, because that was often done back then. I also had Shingles 4 years ago.

 

I have a pretty high tolerance for pain and fashion myself a pretty tough guy, but the pain of Shingles was intense. I would not wish it on my worst enemy.

 

Bill

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I had cp as a child and shingles when I was pregnant with Sweet-Pea. It was horrible both times. My kids are vaxed because if I can save them from either, I am taking the opportunity to try. I realize it is no guarantee but that is how I feel about it. I have permanent nerve damage on my back because of the shingles. Horrible.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Isn't there a shingles vaccine or immunization you can get once you turn 60?

 

A lady at church was telling me about it just last week.

Yes, but not overwhelmingly efficacy compared to other vaccinations. The older people are, the poorer immune response they tend to mount. My understanding is that the older folks in the targeted range don't always get a great response from it as a result. http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd-vac/shingles/hcp-vaccination.htm

 

Lots of people under 60 are getting it now.

Edited by Momof3littles
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Those of you who are well versed in this whole vaccination deal: I had my son vaccinated against chickenpox many years ago. Is it true that people who got the vax instead of the actual illness are more prone to developing shingles later in life or is it actually the opposite?

 

I really want to know so I can either beat myself up over a choice I made 15 years ago or congratulate myself. :glare:

 

 

No one can answer this yet. The verdict is still out. Not enough time has passed since a significant number of children were immunized.

 

There was a study in southern California which found that children who were immunized were much less likely to get shingles as CHILDREN. But that's a fairly low risk anyway.

 

Before immunizations, people with one exposure to chicken pox were immune for approximately 10 years. But because chicken pox was so prevalent, those people got automatic "boosters" each time they were exposed to another child with chicken pox. This made it appear that the immunity was life long.

 

Now that so many people have the vaccination, we will most likely see the same thing happen as with other diseases for which there is widespread vaccination. Since the vaccination gives one 75% immunity for 5 to 20 years, then boosters will be required to keep people immune. Since not many people contract the actual disease anymore, then the booster will have to be in the form of another immunization.

 

Don't forget there is an immunization for shingles also to those over age 60. That injection serves the same purpose, and that is to keep people with enough antibody titers to ward off a reinfection from the virus which continue to live within our immune systems.

 

While chicken pox does seem like a harmless childhood infection to most, it can be life threatening to a few. Severe dehydration, pneumonia, meningitis, severe pain and discomfort requiring narcotic medicine, and fetal demise to pregnant women can occur. These are rare and should be weighed against the risks of the immunization. Nonetheless, one trip to the ER can financially devastate some families for years to come.

 

Bottom line, the verdict is still out.

 

:)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...