Chickenpox after Vaccination?

[thessa516]

My DH came down with shingles approximately 10 days ago. This morning one of my boys has woken up with itchy bumps, fever, and headache. It sure looks like chickenpox to me. However, he's received both doses of Varivax. I've read that about 2% of vaccinated children will still get chickenpox, but it will be a milder form. I don't think I need to do anything other than keep the boy comfortable, but I wanted the input of some other Moms. I appreciate any advice. Thanks!

[wendy not in HI]

Yep, it's possible.  My daughter had a pretty good case of chickenpox in 6th grade, though she had the vax as a toddler. 

 

She has a few scars because of it. I'm not sure what we could have done differently about that - she was careful not to scratch off scabs, etc...

[East Coast Sue]

My son had something similar happen while we were on an extended stay at a hotel away from home. We had traveled with my dh for a 3 month business assignment. At first I thought it was bedbugs, but then I realized it was a mild case of chicken pox. We were at the end of the trip when it happened and he had a well child checkup up a few days after we returned. I had almost forgotten about it but our pediatrician noticed it right away and confirmed chicken pox (on a vaccinated kid.) She did put something in his records about it since at that point he had only had one dose of the vaccine and she didn't want him to get the other dose. We avoided exposing him to others, but that wasn't hard since we spent a lot of time outside and not in crowds.

[wintermom]

According to this website (https://www.zocdoc.com/answers/3353/why-do-some-people-get-chicken-pox-twice), people can't get chicken pox twice. Rather the virus remains dormant in the body, and chicken pox or shingles can occur again. Sometimes it can be that the body's immune system is low. Sometimes people just get it twice. If you have reason to believe your dc's immune system may be low, or are worried, then seek medical advice.

 

 

[Anne in CA]

Both of my younger children got chicken pox after being vaccinated. I have no faith in the vaccine, lol.

[EndOfOrdinary]

This is rather common. It is the reason we skipped that vax. I have a friend who is a pediatrican and sees it quite regularly. Nothing dangerous or to worry about unless the pox appear to affect breathing, look like they ight spread to genitals, or be near the eyes.

[kroe1]

Yep, DD15 got it after being immunized. Her class of twelve had 9 kids come down with chicken pox. All had been previously vaccinated. None had more than a handful of the vesicles, however. DS did not get immunized and he was covered head to toe.

[redsquirrel]

yeah, we have a family friend who is a GP, and she has very little faith in the vaccine. The good news is that your son will prob have a milder case than if he had no vaccine. But CP in a typically healthy kid is usually not that big a deal.

 

CP is a weird virus.  All my siblings had it when I was about 11. I didn't get it but was assured that I had been exposed and so could consider myself immune.  Until I had a full fledged case of it when I was 17....

[Junie]

I had originally passed on the chicken pox vaccine.  Our pediatrician told me that if my kids got chicken pox they would likely infect each other and have more severe cases because of the amount of exposure.

 

I realized that this is not what I wanted, so I had all of them vaccinated.  Fast forward a year or so, one of the older dc came down with chicken pox.

 

I was told that the fail rate of the vaccine was 20 percent.  One of my five vaccinated children got chicken pox.  We proved the statistic.

 

Her chicken pox were very mild and were only on one half of her body.  So, apparently the vaccine worked halfway on her. ;)

[kewb]

Yep, my ds had a lovely case of chicken pox when he was in 2nd grade. Oatmeal baths helped with the itching.

[Rachel]

My kids all got the chicken pox after my youngest was vaccinated. It was an extremely mild for all of them.

 

I was extremely sick when I got chicken pox as a kid so it was a relief it didn't bother them much.

[Vida Winter]

My dad got a mild case immediately after the vaccine. She was a toddler at the time.

[J-rap]

Only one of my children had the vaccine, because by the time the vaccine came out, my other children had had the chicken pox.  About two years later, she came down with a mild case of the chicken pox.  I had a doctor verify it, so yes, that does happen!

[FaithManor]

My brother in laws four children ALL got chicken pox after being properly vaccinated. They also do not develop measles titers very easily either so my guess is they have a genetic immune system issue.

 

The fail rate of the vaccine itself could be more like that of MMR for measles or roughly 20%. Since a very mild case of the chicken pox does not send experienced mothers running to the doctor, I think it is entirely possible that there is under-documentation of the incidence. Still, I think that even for that group, the cases are likely much milder for the group due to getting at least some immune assistance from the vaccinations.

[PinkyandtheBrains.]

 

 

One of my kids still got a very mild case of chicken pox.

[Crimson Wife]

I've heard it is very, very common and that's one reason we hold off on the vaccine until closer to puberty.

[Bluegoat]

It seems like it is common, but my GP step-dad has also told me that chicken pox is pretty frequently misdiagnosed, especially in mild cases.  I guess a lot of rashes that are never really identified get called chicken-pox.

[trulycrabby]

DS12 had the vaccine, but got chicken pox from our pediatrician's son. It was a mild case; both kids had been vaccinated. :zombie:

Edited April 18, 2016 by trulycrabby

[HS Mom in NC]

The year after the vaccine came out I helped at music camp at church.  We had an outbreak of chickenpox among the vaccinated kids.

[JumpyTheFrog]

Is the chicken pox vaccine given in multiple doses? If the failure rate is that high and it is only one dose, perhaps multiple doses would be more effective.

[TechWife]

Yes, my son got the vaccine and came down with the chicken pox shortly afterward. 

 

OP, do call the doctor, they can prescribe something that will help keep the pox at a minimum and cut down on itching (at least that was the case ten years ago). 

[TechWife]

dp

Edited April 19, 2016 by TechWife

[freesia]

I nannied for a family of 3 girls, all vaccinated, who came down with chicken pox.

 

My kids weren't vaccinated and all got chicken pox in varying degrees--2 fairly mild-so I don't really agree with the doctor about needing more exposure to have mild cases. In my family it more correlated with age, the toddler who had it had only a few spots ( but it *took* as he is he one who had shingles and gave it to the youngest.)

[rdj2027]

My oldest was vaccinated and then brought chickenpox home from school, his was pretty severe in spite of the vaccine.  His two younger brothers contracted it from him and had only a few marks and almost no itching. They still have high immunity more than a decade later (I get titers done when I need to prove immunity for organizations and such).

[thessa516]

Is the chicken pox vaccine given in multiple doses? If the failure rate is that high and it is only one dose, perhaps multiple doses would be more effective.

 

It's given in 2 doses. There is supposed to be 75% immunity with just one dose, and 98% with two doses.

[Katy]

You definitely can get chicken pox multiple times after being exposed to it, but it's because your antibodies don't stay for some strange, probably genetic reason.

 

(One of my oldest friends took part in a study after being diagnosed with it 7 or 8 times throughout her life.  First in the record at 3 months old.  Caught it again at 2 when her brother got it, and again from me when we were 6, and again from each of her kids).

[Tsuga]

Both of my younger children got chicken pox after being vaccinated. I have no faith in the vaccine, lol.

 

It probably doesn't work for you. I think some vaccines just don't work on certain people. If only people could get beyond the ideological debate and consider this possibility, maybe we could develop some better adjuvants so kids didn't have to get the shot and the illness, particularly the pertussis one! I've never gotten the flu shot and not gotten the flu. I don't care if it's "impossible" according to science, it happened to me every time. Someday they will spend millions to discover this amazing fact.

 

And to OP, same thing. Some people just don't get immune from the shot and others don't get immune even from the sickness! :( I am sorry. And your poor DH. Take care.  :grouphug:

[thessa516]

Thank you everyone. DH is almost back to 100%. DS, well, put him the group that didn't get immunity from both doses of the vaccine. :( The good news is that it doesn't seem to be very severe. He's over his fever and just in the itchy stage.

[Stratford]

Our youngest had a mild case after getting the vaccine; however, I had been diagnosed with shingles the same week he had the vaccine.  So who knows.  He had a few dozen vesicles, mostly on his legs and torso.  The only really unfortunate part of the whole adventure was that he developed the fever and rash while we were on vacation. 

[AmyontheFarm]

A few years back, all the boys in the 2 grade 8 classes ended up at home with CP over the course of 3 months.  All had their vaccinations.  Not a single girl in the class came down with them.  Parents talked about it for the rest of the year.  One poor boy ended up hospitalized.  I've wondered if it will affect him having kids in the future.  All four of my kids caught the CP so there have been no vax for that here.

[scoutingmom]

yeah, we have a family friend who is a GP, and she has very little faith in the vaccine. The good news is that your son will prob have a milder case than if he had no vaccine. But CP in a typically healthy kid is usually not that big a deal.

 

CP is a weird virus. All my siblings had it when I was about 11. I didn't get it but was assured that I had been exposed and so could consider myself immune. Until I had a full fledged case of it when I was 17....

Sounds like me. All my siblings got it while we were on vacation when I was 3 or 4. It was a travelling in the car type of vacation, so it was felt that I had gotten immunity. Then, at age 17 I got it (my mom had shingles and this was when they thought you couldn't get CP from shingles...). I had pox in some uncomfortable spots, including the inside of my eyelids. (Yes, we saw a doctor!)

 

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[Seasider]

Is the chicken pox vaccine given in multiple doses? If the failure rate is that high and it is only one dose, perhaps multiple doses would be more effective.

I guess it depends on when your kids were born, but mine got varivax boosters in their teens. One of them had the first inoculation and continued to react with a mild rash upon exposure; the booster ended that.

 

We vaccinate because two of my kids deal with eczema and that combined with pox can increase succeptibility to strep B infections.