Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Chicken Pox

For over a month now, there have been cases of Chicken pox at the kids' daycare. At first, it was only in the infant room - which makes sense, as you don't get your first chicken pox vaccination until 18 months. And then a few cases in the toddler room (which I also understood as toddlers start there at 15 months). But now, the board of health has actually shut down the infant room for a week, and now there are children in preschool who have it.

And they sent out an email about if you child hasn't had their second booster shot, they should get it now or will be excluded from Preschool from the 11th to the 20th - and this was from the Board of Health, not the daycare. So, Aaron already left work early and they have had their shots. And as a big surprise, they are going to the Discovery Museum with Daddy (it's right near the doctors office).

But it kills me a little that chicken pox is all such a big deal?! I know when I was a kid - parents would get together if someone had chicken pox just to get it over with, because EVERYONE got them. And I got them when I was older, so I understood what the heck was going on... Maggie would be a wreck if she had itchy spots everywhere. Please please please let this one skip us, working from home with two scratchy preschoolers seems like one of Dante's Circle's of Hell.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

I don't know what the big deal is about that illness either. Also I do know many vaccines don't have a 100% coverage rate. People who are vaccinated still get chicken pox. Here is an interesting article http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15750459
Nicole

Deborah said...

I remember when I was a kid, being told that "maybe someday there will be a vaccine for chicken pox". But yeah, it wasn't a big deal. I was 9 when I had it, so my biggest worry was that I'd get scars on my face. I am not anti-vaccine at all, but it does seem to me sometimes that with all the other vaccines kids get, chicken pox might be one to skip (we don't do the flu vaccine for that reason, but J did get all the other ones).

Anonymous said...

My son is adopted and we had I'm vaccinated as a toddler for chicken pox. He is 13 now. He had chicken pox when he was 11 and again, and more seriously,mlater that year. To be fair, he has a blood disorder that might interfere with vaccines being as effective as they are for others, but I also know that other kids have had the vaccine and later gotten it.

I believe that while chicken pox can be devastating to a small number of individuals, the main reason for the push for that vaccine was that we now have two parent incomes as the norm and most folks can't take a week or more off from work.

HereWeGoAJen said...

I had chicken pox when I was about twelve and it is one of the times in my entire life that I have been the sickest. It lasted three weeks, I had pox in my ears, on the bottoms of my feet, and in my throat. YES MY THROAT, THE INSIDE. It was awful. And I was young and healthy. I totally see how chicken pox could easily kill someone more compromised.

And the week after I got better, the vaccine was released! Not even kidding!

Cece said...

Wow. That is just horrific. Both kids are very proud of themselves that they got shots - it's kind of like a badge of honor at school. How often do they get to all get shots at the same time?

Rachel said...

As always, most people are fine with these childhood diseases. But then again, I actually know two women who lost pregnancies to chicken pox (they are both much older and it happened pre-vaccine). So when my daughter caught it at daycare and the airline told us that we could reschedule at our own cost, I had to weigh the chance that I could be jeopardizing someone else's pregnancy with the $1000 or so to rebook. Glad to hear you got the shots.

Anonymous said...

It is not a big deal for most children but for an adult the cases can be quite severe and rarely death can happen. Adults can get the pox in the eyelids throat and lungs which can lead to pneumonia. As someone who was exposed but never got it as a kid and then when exposed while pregnant I had no antibodies after my pregnancy I got the vaccine and the booster but again when tested during my second pregnancy still no antibodies. I am terrified of getting it. All my kids were vaccinated and when it shows up at school/daycare I pull my kids out just to be safe.

sharah said...

Also, being exposed to chickenpox as a child makes you susceptible to shingles as an adult since it is the same virus.

sharah said...

Also, being exposed to chickenpox as a child makes you susceptible to shingles as an adult since it is the same virus.