chicken pox vax/natural exposure

[Ausmumof3]

3 hours ago, Spy Car said:

Thank you. It is on my radar to discuss this with my physician once I'm fully vaccinated for Covid.

Shingles is not a joke. I understand that it can strike people more than once. 

Bill

Yes someone close to me has had three rounds.  However they now know the early signs and apparently if you get the medication early it’s much less awful so they were able to treat it better the subsequent times.

[Arcadia]

3 hours ago, Not_a_Number said:

I’m surprised about that. Why do they limit it?

 

2 hours ago, BakersDozen said:

I have no clue. Maybe because she had the vaccination rather than natural exposure at her age? Her case was so incredibly mild, thank goodness!

It’s probably insurance. The recommended time frame is usually within 24hrs of spots appearing to be most effective. 

[Spy Car]

16 minutes ago, Ausmumof3 said:

Yes someone close to me has had three rounds.  However they now know the early signs and apparently if you get the medication early it’s much less awful so they were able to treat it better the subsequent times.

I've heard immediate treatment with antivirals mitigates the horrors of Shingles considerably. I didn't figure out what was going on in time.

I suffered. 

Bill

 

[Spy Car]

10 minutes ago, kand said:

I hope your mom didn’t beat herself up about that. There was no vaccine at the time you were a kid. The choice was to get cp young, or risk getting it later when it is more dangerous. It’s never really been an option to decide to just never get chickenpox until there was a vaccine. It makes sense that people would want to make sure their kids got it as children. Whatever age you got cp, you would still have been at risk of shingles. So, I don’t see any reason for your mom to blame herself or regret it for her whole life. 

I didn't realize that the chickenpox vaccine wasn't even released in the USA until 1995. Fortunately my mom had many other positives to focus on and one regret (that perhaps wasn't such a bad one) didn't spoil her life. She was a great mom.

Bill

[Spryte]

CP threads always make me nervous.  I never had CP, nor a vaccine.  I should probably get a vaccine, yikes.

[Not_a_Number]

10 minutes ago, kand said:

You should get a titer drawn. I “never had it,”, despite many chicken pox parties when I was little and my siblings all getting it, but I had a titer done in college and I’m immune. 

Hmmm, good point. I should also figure this out, because I really don't know what I've had and I hadn't -- comes of moving too much and not keeping good records 😕 .  

[livetoread]

Dh got shingles about six months ago, and he was told to get the vaccine, but I think he had to wait 2-3 months after to get it. It's a two dose thing, and he's had the first one. His arm was pretty sore, but he didn't have other symptoms. I read that about half the people who get shingles once get it again.

I got shingles too a few years ago, but mine was super mild. I knew it was shingles because it was a rash that followed the torso nerves and was only on one side, but it never really hurt and went away pretty quickly. I was very lucky. I plan on getting the vaccine but knew we were close to being able to get the covid vaccine and didn't want to mess that up (you can't have had another vaccine within two weeks). I've had my first covid now and plan on getting the shingles one in about two months after my second covid dose. Like covid, I've heard that the second dose of shingles vaccine can hit you hard, but I think it's still worth it.

[SeaConquest]

15 hours ago, vonfirmath said:

If it helps -- I had a nurse friend before I ever got married that guided my feel about chicken pox. She felt it was better for younger kids to get chicken pox itself. But to give the vaccination if they had not gotten the pox naturally by 11 or 12 because after that it became a more serious disease. So it sounds like you did exactly what she felt was best for the kids.  There are risks both ways. Being sick is never fun. But she felt there were definite advantages to having the pox naturally rather than through a vaccine.

 

That nurse was a moron and clearly was not practicing evidence-based medicine.

Bakers Dozen,

I am so sorry that you and your littles are going through this. It took courage to come here and post this. If it helps, I believe that sharing real-world experiences like this encourages others that are on the fence to get vaccinated. So, thank you for sharing this post. Sending you all love and prayers for a speedy recovery.❤️ 

Edited March 13, 2021 by SeaConquest

[SeaConquest]

2 hours ago, kand said:

You should get a titer drawn. I “never had it,”, despite many chicken pox parties when I was little and my siblings all getting it, but I had a titer done in college and I’m immune. 

I was the opposite. I was exposed numerous times as a child. Everyone had it, but neither my sister nor I ever did. Drew my titers when I had my first son. Negative. Got vaccinated. My DH had CP in his late teens and said it was torture.

[SeaConquest]

15 hours ago, klmama said:

I've read people can get shingles after having had  the cp vax, too.  

Yes, but getting inoculated with the CP vaccine substantially lowers your risk of contracting shingles down the road. Contracting wild CP doesn't do that. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/two-for-one-chickenpox-vaccine-lowers-shingles-risk-in-children/

[wathe]

9 hours ago, BakersDozen said:

I have no clue. Maybe because she had the vaccination rather than natural exposure at her age? Her case was so incredibly mild, thank goodness!

Because the drugs aren't risk free.  Antivirals reduce the risk of complications, but don't reduce the symptoms or duration of disease by very much.  For children for whom the risk of complications from CP is low, the risk/benefit analysis favours not taking antivirals.  For those with risk factors for complications, the risk/benefit balance shifts if favour of taking anitvirals.

Edited March 13, 2021 by wathe

[SeaConquest]

19 hours ago, Spy Car said:

I've heard that the shingles vaccine is not that much fun to have, but--take it from me--you do not want to get shingles!!!

I've always prided myself on being a big tough guy with a very high pain threshold. Shingles brought me to my knees.

The amount of nerve pain I endured is hard to describe without sounding hyperbolic. 

Bill

 

 

The vaccine is known to have high reactogenicity, particularly for the second shot, which IMO is all the more reason to get it at 50 while you are younger and healthier vs waiting on it. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41541-019-0132-6

When I had the Pfizer Covid vaccine, I was warned that it too had somewhat high reactogenicity (not as high as the shingles vax, but slightly higher than a flu shot). I only had pain at the injection site with both doses of the Pfizer vaccine and I hope that's because I am still relatively young and hopefully pretty healthy.

Edited March 13, 2021 by SeaConquest

[Drama Llama]

.

Edited May 8, 2021 by BaseballandHockey

[Not_a_Number]

6 hours ago, wathe said:

Because the drugs aren't risk free.  Antivirals reduce the risk of complications, but don't reduce the symptoms or duration of disease by very much.  For children for whom the risk of complications from CP is low, the risk/benefit analysis favours not taking antivirals.  For those with risk factors for complications, the risk/benefit balance shifts if favour of taking anitvirals.

Interesting. I’ve taken antivirals for cold sores... is that a bad idea? 

[lauraw4321]

I think it was Oprah who said "when you know better, you do better." That's just the truth of life. You can't do better until you know better.

Just last night, one of my DDs was hanging from a bar in our backyard, upside down. The connection on the bar broke, and she went down face first. She could have broken her neck. She could have died. She had mentioned that the bar's connection looked shaky. I'd told her not to hang upside down. What I should have done is take the d@mn thing down. I didn't. 

I know better now, so I'll do better.

CP is miserable, but it isn't forever. It will go away and they'll recover. And you have a better lens through which to evaluate vax now. Hugs, mama. Being able to admit mistakes and learn from them is a sure sign of a successful human. Model that for your kids. 

[lauraw4321]

A question about shingles: I've had it twice (and had natural CP as a kid, twice): can I get the vax or do I have to wait until I'm 50. That's 10 more years!

[J-rap]

3 hours ago, lauraw4321 said:

A question about shingles: I've had it twice (and had natural CP as a kid, twice): can I get the vax or do I have to wait until I'm 50. That's 10 more years!

I'm pretty sure it's insurance that defines that.  I tried to get the shingles vaccine AFTER I was 50, but at the time it wasn't covered by my insurance until I'd be 60.  I could still get the vaccine, but it would have been several hundred dollars out-of-pocket.  So I put it off.  I'm eligible now (I also have new insurance that DOES cover it starting at age 50), but I've decided to put it off until after my Covid-vaccine.  (I hope to get the shingles vaccine this summer though!)

[wathe]

4 hours ago, Not_a_Number said:

Interesting. I’ve taken antivirals for cold sores... is that a bad idea? 

In general, it depends on severity and how early you catch it.  Antivirals can reduce recurrent HSV duration of symptoms by about a day, if taken early enough (during the prodromal phase).  Recurrent HSV has a recognizable prodrome, so starting early enough for the drugs to actually be effective for symptom management is possible.  This isn't usually so for chickenpox - once it's identifed as CP, the horse is out of the barn, so to speak.   So for symptom management, AV often makes sense for HSV, but not usually for CP.

The role of AV for CP is risk reduction for complications.  Hence the R/B calculus.

[Halftime Hope]

On 3/12/2021 at 12:56 PM, BakersDozen said:

I hope so.

I was up until 4am with my 3yo. Movies, popsicles, lotions and meds today. I appreciate all of the comments, advice, and encouragement. I thought I was doing the right thing by finding a good balance of waiting for the "ideal" natural exposure or vaccinating if that didn't happen at some point.

The fact that my older girls, who were vaccinated, still got cp is what has taken me by surprise.

BakersDozen, my kids had chicken pox quite young, oldest was 8 and youngest a toddler.  We did all kinds of immune strengthening, anti-inflammatory, and anti-viral things, cuz I had a lot of nutritional/herbal/alternative medicine people around me in those years.  The one thing that dramatically helped--like night and day difference--was chamomile baths. They would go 8 hours without itching. 

I had to go to an herbal place to buy chamomile flowers by the pound (in a mylar bag from Frontier Herbs) but you can probably Amazon Prime them.  Put 1/2 cup of flowers in about 4 cups of boiling water.  Bring to a boil, turn off, and then steep for at least an hour. Pour the water through cotton cloth into a clean tub, then fill 1/2 way with tepid water.  I put a rubber band around the flower pulp in the cloth and let them use it to softly "scratch" or like a poultice in the tub, too.  After 10 or 15 minutes in the tub, they would have relief and be able to sleep.  The younger two would get in the tub together...shoot, they both had it.  Eldest needed his own space for misery and modesty's sake.  

I had tried oatmeal baths and that was awful again as soon as their skin dried. Chamomile was a game changer. 

Edited March 14, 2021 by Halftime Hope

[Wheres Toto]

My oldest missed getting the CP vaccine by 3 months.  She got chicken pox when she was 9 months old.    She was miserable for about a week, didn't have any severe reactions.   If I remember correctly breast milk was really good to stop the itching (not sure if that's a possibility for you).  My younger guys got the vaccine when it was scheduled. 

Dh had shingles a few years ago.  He came up to me one day because he had a strange, slightly painful rash.  I told him it looked like shingles and he needed to call his doctor.    What's funny is I actually had no idea what shingles looks like, don't know why that popped into my head, had no direct experience with anyone having it before.   He ended up getting it treated very early so didn't have a bad case.   I didn't realize he now had a better chance of getting it again so I'm going to tell him to see about the vaccine maybe this summer.   He's getting his second Covid Friday so that won't be an issue.  

[Masers]

Oh, don’t beat yourself up! I’m sorry your kids are sick, but you can never really know what would have happened if you’d made the other choice. If you had one kid who had a bad vaccine reaction, what’s to say another kid wouldn’t have. I see lots of stories of people remembering how miserable chicken pox was, but my siblings and I all had mild cases as kids...I don’t remember being in any pain at all, just itchy for a bit. No big deal here! And shingles cases have exploded among younger people...I’ve had a shocking number of friends in their 30s who have had shingles, some in their 20s. The reason people are getting it at younger ages is because chicken pox exposure (like when your kids get it) is like a natural booster shot against shingles. Since most kids aren’t getting it anymore, adults who have had chicken pox aren’t getting that booster. So at least you are more protected from shingles for awhile now! And maybe your kids would have gotten chicken pox regardless. A mom at my kids’ preschool had 5 vaccinated kids and 2 of the 5 still came down with chicken pox in spite of the vaccine. All this to say that you made the best choice you could at the time with the knowledge you had, and moms shouldn’t feel guilty for that. They’ll be better soon and this will all be a distant memory before you know it. Take care! And get them in lots of oatmeal baths!

[happi duck]

I've had shingles during the pandemic. (Who knows when? Time has no meaning!)  Apparently they can be brought on by stress.

I was diagnosed quickly via a photo sent to my doctor.  He put me on the antiviral.  I was in so.much.pain.  I kept thinking about all the people who've had shingles prior to antiviral meds.  Brutal.

[BakersDozen]

On 3/13/2021 at 4:26 PM, Halftime Hope said:

BakersDozen, my kids had chicken pox quite young, oldest was 8 and youngest a toddler.  We did all kinds of immune strengthening, anti-inflammatory, and anti-viral things, cuz I had a lot of nutritional/herbal/alternative medicine people around me in those years.  The one thing that dramatically helped--like night and day difference--was chamomile baths. They would go 8 hours without itching. 

It worked! We tried the oatmeal bath and that was good but the chamomile is amazing!! Of course my 6yos said, "I smell like a garden, Mom!!!"

We're in the home stretch. The outbreaks hit 2 kids at a time so I'd have 2 show spots...then 2 more 2 days later... Good thing I have a strong stomach/tolerance for rashes. Sort of. Mostly.

Oh, you all will love this part of our ordeal: My mom (whom some of you may remember moved here end of 2019 and brought some...interesting...stuff into our lives...which is still continuing...with some more interesting tidbits thrown in...sigh) finally came over to visit last week. She's not been here since Xmas despite the fact that she can now drive and walk and lives 2 streets up. So she shows up one night and just sits there, drinking tea, watching me lay out medications and do dishes and clean up and wrangle kids. Nice. She finally left and I didn't hear anything from her until Monday morning when she sent me an email. It was her really long to-do list for her house. Plug in a lamp (which was already plugged in). Vacuum out a kitchen drawer (which she could do herself). Yep, I don't have enough to do, right?? When I said that I wasn't sure when I'd get to the list and that I'm really tired she asked why I'm tired. This despite the messages I send her at 2am with updates because that's when I finally get itchy, scratchy kids settled and resting and I have a moment to sit down myself.

Lovely.

[Arcadia]

I’m be tempted to send your mom daily photo updates of chickenpox scabs 

Make some chamomile tea for yourself as it has a calming effect 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2995283/

“Externally, chamomile has been used to treat diaper rash, cracked nipples, chicken pox, ear and eye infections, disorders of the eyes including blocked tear ducts, conjunctivitis, nasal inflammation and poison ivy (31, 32). Chamomile is widely used to treat inflammations of the skin and mucous membranes, and for various bacterial infections of the skin, oral cavity and gums, and respiratory tract. Chamomile in the form of an aqueous extract has been frequently used as a mild sedative to calm nerves and reduce anxiety, to treat hysteria, nightmares, insomnia and other sleep problems (33). “

[BakersDozen]

8 minutes ago, Arcadia said:

I’m be tempted to send your mom daily photo updates of chickenpox scabs

Ooooh, nice! Or maybe I could line up all the kids with their shirts off and send a mass photo. The thought is enough to make me squeamish so it would really go over well with her.

[TCB]

On 3/12/2021 at 8:22 AM, klmama said:

I've read people can get shingles after having had  the cp vax, too.  

It would be interesting to know the chances of developing shingles from the vax compared to natural disease. I’m up and on my phone reading threads because I have shingles right now and it is one of the most miserable things I have suffered! I got on hear to say, to someone on the fence,  get the vax and avoid shingles. I did happen to get my kids vaccinated for CP, but I could easily have chosen not to at the time because I was somewhat vaccine hesitant then.

[lauraw4321]

58 minutes ago, TCB said:

It would be interesting to know the chances of developing shingles from the vax compared to natural disease. I’m up and on my phone reading threads because I have shingles right now and it is one of the most miserable things I have suffered! I got on hear to say, to someone on the fence,  get the vax and avoid shingles. I did happen to get my kids vaccinated for CP, but I could easily have chosen not to at the time because I was somewhat vaccine hesitant then.

Get the anti-viral medicine! It makes a world of difference!

[TCB]

1 hour ago, lauraw4321 said:

Get the anti-viral medicine! It makes a world of difference!

I got in there and got it the day my rash appeared but no improvement so far. It’s only been 2 days though. How long does it take to start improving?

[ktgrok]

Ok, I had NO IDEA about chamomile! think it would be good for just general dry/itchy/sensitive skin? Might grab some chamomile tea bags and drop them in my bath!

[lauraw4321]

16 minutes ago, TCB said:

I got in there and got it the day my rash appeared but no improvement so far. It’s only been 2 days though. How long does it take to start improving?

I began feeling relief with 24 hours of taking the meds. A lot is dependent on how soon you start it. I got it a second time and got the meds before the rash even appeared - just recognized the pain. It was such quick relief. I hope it gets better quickly!

[Halftime Hope]

20 hours ago, BakersDozen said:

It worked! We tried the oatmeal bath and that was good but the chamomile is amazing!! Of course my 6yos said, "I smell like a garden, Mom!!!"

We're in the home stretch. The outbreaks hit 2 kids at a time so I'd have 2 show spots...then 2 more 2 days later... Good thing I have a strong stomach/tolerance for rashes. Sort of. Mostly.

Oh, you all will love this part of our ordeal: My mom (whom some of you may remember moved here end of 2019 and brought some...interesting...stuff into our lives...which is still continuing...with some more interesting tidbits thrown in...sigh) finally came over to visit last week. She's not been here since Xmas despite the fact that she can now drive and walk and lives 2 streets up. So she shows up one night and just sits there, drinking tea, watching me lay out medications and do dishes and clean up and wrangle kids. Nice. She finally left and I didn't hear anything from her until Monday morning when she sent me an email. It was her really long to-do list for her house. Plug in a lamp (which was already plugged in). Vacuum out a kitchen drawer (which she could do herself). Yep, I don't have enough to do, right?? When I said that I wasn't sure when I'd get to the list and that I'm really tired she asked why I'm tired. This despite the messages I send her at 2am with updates because that's when I finally get itchy, scratchy kids settled and resting and I have a moment to sit down myself.

Lovely.

Awww, you poor thing.  You're mothering two generations.  (Ackkkkk!)   I'm so glad the chamomile helped! Mostly it helped me get some sleep because they were.  As I remember, mothering little sickies with grace was probably when I was stretched the most as a young mama, because I'd spend half the night caring for them and the other half slightly wakeful with concern.  

I'm glad you're in the home stretch -- please be kind to yourself.   Sending a gentle hug to you. 

[KungFuPanda]

On 3/12/2021 at 9:06 PM, Spryte said:

CP threads always make me nervous.  I never had CP, nor a vaccine.  I should probably get a vaccine, yikes.

You could have been exposed and asymptomatic.  I'd get it checked out.  I got chicken pox at age 12 and I STILL remember how horribly sick I felt.  It was so bad.  I wouldn't wish it on anyone.  I had mumps at 5, so I remember much less of that.  

[BakersDozen]

2 hours ago, Halftime Hope said:

I'd spend half the night caring for them and the other half slightly wakeful with concern.  

I've tried to explain this to my dh (who sleeps through everything). And if there is a fever involved I stay up all night until I can have someone else take over in the morning. Thank you for your kind words.

[Lady Florida.]

On 3/12/2021 at 6:15 AM, Quill said:

I’m sorry. I feel like, this is what makes me angry about the rhetoric that was circulating about letting kids get CP naturally. I do remember what it

I have a friend who wasn't so much anti-vax as she was all about natural everything. She felt it was better to let her kids get CP naturally. Then they got it and she was sorry. She's young and never really saw a case of CP because she and her peers all got the vaccine. She didn't really get what it's like to have chicken pox.

On 3/12/2021 at 10:19 AM, Familia said:

Very unenlightened here, so would appreciate someone more knowledgeable to answer a question I’ve had for awhile.

About the shingles risk...isn’t it too soon for them to know if the cp vax prevents shingles since it develops in the older population and there just haven’t been enough years to determine this?   A cursory google query led me to find that the cp vaccine became available in 1995, at least in the US.

 

The chicken pox vaccine does reduce the risk of shingles significantly. 

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/two-for-one-chickenpox-vaccine-lowers-shingles-risk-in-children/#:~:text=Health organizations recommend children receive,more than half in children

Edited March 19, 2021 by Lady Florida.

[Lady Florida.]

We vaccinated ds (and dss) fully and on schedule so I can't say I share your experience. But I can say that all you can do now is try and make them as comfortable as possible and don't beat yourself up.

 

On 3/12/2021 at 1:31 AM, BakersDozen said:

 What was I thinking?? That they would all get a few pox and that's it? Did I not remember what I went through as a kid?? That was so disgusting and so miserable...what was I thinking??



 

What were you thinking? You were thinking that you were doing the right thing. Then you rethought what was the right thing, changed your mind and planned to get them vaccinated. Then Covid threw you for a loop like it did all of us. There's nothing you can do. We all did/do things when raising children that we look back on and wish we had done differently. Beating yourself up won't change things. You love your kids and did what you felt was best. Hugs to you and well wishes for the kids to get over it soon. 

As for not remembering what it was like, that's probable and common. All I remember is extreme itchiness and not being able to attend my same age cousin's first Communion. I remember her standing outside our window in her Communion dress while I waved from inside the house. I don't remember the discomfort. 

[SKL]

FWIW I also waited for the varicella shot.  I waited as long as I could without getting into a fight with the school.  My preference would have been to wait until they were 9.

I can understand how that could get delayed further with all that's been going on.  Plus, it was totally reasonable to believe their chances of getting exposed during that short time frame were very slim.

I hope everyone is feeling better now or soon.

[mom2scouts]

On 3/13/2021 at 12:45 AM, SeaConquest said:

I was the opposite. I was exposed numerous times as a child. Everyone had it, but neither my sister nor I ever did. Drew my titers when I had my first son. Negative. Got vaccinated. My DH had CP in his late teens and said it was torture.

When I was pregnant with my first child, my older sister got chicken pox and I been with her just days earlier. I called my doctor and told them I'd never had it and been exposed and they said, "Oh, everyone's had chicken pox! You just didn't know it." until I told them my older sister was hospitalized with chicken pox at that moment. They very quickly sent me to the ER for immune globulin. I did get a very severe case about 5 years later. The vaccine was not yet available.

[LAS in LA]

DH got shingles two years ago. It was mostly on his face, which we were told is less painful. He didn’t have much pain, but does have a cool scar above his eyebrow now.

DS2 ( the one child we had vaccinated for cp) came down with cp after DH’s shingles. DS1 and DD (no cp vaccine) got it shortly thereafter. Everyone was miserable for awhile. Unfortunately, there are a few scars from picking scabs on faces.

I had cp as a child and did not get shingles from DH; we didn’t distance from each other or anything.

OP, hope your kids feel better soon!

[TCB]

Just to clarify:

You can’t get shingles from someone who has shingles or chickenpox. Shingles is caused by the dormant chicken pox virus you have left in your system after having had chickenpox. Someone who isn’t immune to chicken pox can catch it from someone with shingles if they are in contact with fluid from their shingles rash as it contains live virus.

[drjuliadc]

My 4 children aren’t vaccinated for chicken pox due to me having bad, life altering reactions to vaccines, that still affect my life on a daily basis.

3 1/2 years ago, my husband got shingles on his face. It was extremely painful on Sunday night when we didn’t know what it was. On Monday am the sores broke out and it was obvious that it was shingles. I gave him high dose vitamin A, vitamin D and olive leaf extract orally. The pain went away completely and never came back. He still had the sores until the next day when I remembered to put the vitamin A on topically several times per day. By the next am, the sores were dried up. 

He was still tired though and had to take off work for a couple of days. He took off the entire week because he didn’t want to give anyone anything, but he didn’t have to because of feeling badly.

3 of my 4 children got chicken pox on that Wednesday. I also gave them oral vitamin A, vitamin D and olive leaf extract. I added Shaklee’s alfalfa for itching. It is an antihistamine. Two of them didn’t act ill for even one minute. They didn’t itch either. Their spots were scabbed over by Saturday am. They still looked pretty bad. They just didn’t feel bad. They laughed and played and carried on normally with all their spots.

It took my daughter longer to catch it. It was a week or two later before she got it. We had the same results with her. She never acted ill at all. She itched once.

My one son who regularly took zinc got it the least bad, less than 10 spots. My oldest son with the least zinc, who has white spots on his fingernails that indicate zinc deficiency, got the most spots. He is my most resistant to taking vitamins. He acted tired for about 20 minutes one day and was itchy once or twice. 

I will add that everyone took a LOT of olive leaf extract (OLE) and alfalfa. OLE is an extremely effective antiviral but you have to take a lot of it and frequently.  Same with alfalfa.

My middle child was 4 and had not learned how to swallow pills yet. He learned. I paid each 4 and 6 year old one dollar for each pill they swallowed and immediately bought them something they wanted with the money. One child had $27 and the other had $26 from those three days of taking pills. This is just to demonstrate how many pills it took to accomplish this. The vitamin A and D are liquid, so I didn’t count those.

My twins were 2 and I just mixed their supps into their almond or coconut milk.

This seemed to do something beneficial to my oldest’s immune system. He didn’t get sick often before this, maybe once a year and he would get a very high fever when he got sick.  He just got a mild cold for one day recently but that is the first time he has been sick since he had CP 3 1/2 years ago.

It is interesting to hear everyone’s stories about it lasting for two weeks. I really didn’t know it could last that long. I was too young to remember getting it along with my 5 siblings and 5 cousins. The family lore never acted like any of the childhood illnesses were a big deal at all, measles, mumps or CP. 

I was grateful my kids felt fine through it and I figured their duration was less than usual, but I didn’t know how much more brief it was.