Here's another article on why there is no vaccine on the NHS.

As previous posters said, the damage done by that MMR nonsense has made it harder to introduce new vaccines plus, without a shingles vaccine in place for older people, many people may be at risk if kids no longer catch it. All those spotty kids knocking about basically give an immune-boost to adults who already had chicken pox.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8557236.stm

If you can't get your kid vaccinated for whatever reason, I wouldn't worry too much as it really isn't that bad for most people. One of mine had spots EVERYWHERE but we just bathed him in Dead Sea Salts and dosed him up on Piriton when it got itchy. He came out of it without any scars.

I had chickenpox as an adult (didn't have it as a child) at the age of 30, was not great, and then a month later I started losing my hearing (I am now partly deaf in one ear). The (Harley Street) doctors never found the cause for my hearing loss and one theory is that it was caused by the chickenpox, as there is some research linking serious viral diseases with this type of loss.

Needless to say, we vaccinated our daughter (you are meant to do 2 shots, after they are 12 months old). It is routinely offered in other countries and your child will have 98% immunity. Even if they are in the 2% who still get it, it will be very mild. Also don't believe the rumours that they can get shingles as adults - shingles is the chickenpox virus in your body re-activated, typically when your immune system is down (I got it soon after the birth of my first child as I was so run down and unwell).

The vaccine is not offered in the U.K. A) because there are already such issues with people taking up the MMR vaccine b) there is this "herd immunity" theory that says if enough people (children) get it it protects everyone: if you vaccinate all the kids, then the adults who didn't get it as children will get it and it will be much worse for them.

Here is a great Guardian article that talks about it:

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/science/occams-corner/2014/may/15/real-reason-british-public-chickenpox-vaccine-shingles?client=safari


The bottom line: if you can afford it, I would vaccinate! We did it at the Wandsworth travel clinic (by Southside).

We were advised to have our older child vaccinated while on holiday in my native Australia because she was already ill so often and it would be one less thing for her - very grateful we did as her younger brother ended up on medications for several years that left him immunosuppressed. It meant with every CP exposure (quite frequent in this country) he ended up in hospital for immunoglobulin treatment. Every time there was chicken pox within the school he couldn't attend.

When he eventually did contract it he had come off his medications and had immunoglobulin treatment within previous months, thankfully wasn't seriously sick but has been left with three very disfiguring scars on his face. Insignificant compared to the risk if he'd contracted it while immunosuppressed but it's still not pleasant and I dread to think how he might have been without the immunoglobulin.

It might be a mild illness for most but it's not for all and you never know which category your child or their siblings might fall into.

I got my kids done at the GP surgery on Battersea Rise. £50 per jab.

Also don't understand why people wouldn't do it. Least of all to save a week or 2 of sleepless nights, upset and potential scarring.

I had heard that it was due to be included in the immunisation schedule around the time of the false MMR scandal and so was shelved. Don't know if that's true or not though.

I have also vaccinated mine - I used Orbis Chemist on Clapham High Street. You need 2 jabs, 4-6 weeks apart @ £65 a jab. Mine didn't have any side effects either.

We got the CP vaccine due to a 6mth trip away to Australia where all children are vaccinated against it. There was an outbreak at nursery and we had already postponed the trip due to our baby's passport issues so getting CP would've been detrimental to the trip and husband's work out there. No side effects to note - got it done at Wimbledon travel clinic £80 x2
A Friend's child later contracted CP and was in hospital with Bells Palsy. My feeling is that whilst CP is mild in most cases, there seems an increase in serious side effects occurring , and as children get older perhaps CP symptoms are worse? Our GP stated that vaccine wasn't given out as part of the immunisation programme due to cost!
Perhaps someone else has some more substantial evidence to support the discussion??
Papingan?

I did it when my little one turned two. She has never had chicken pox despite weekly announcements outbreaks at nursery. Personally I don't see why one wouldn't do it nor indeed why it's not offered as part of the vaccination programme - I think it's something to do with reducing old people immunity to shingles which is more dangerous to them than chicken pox is to children.
No side effects here either. I do have a friend whose son was in intensive care after a bad case of chicken pox and the doctor said he doesn't understand why all parents don't do it.
2 jabs at about £140 a job, I had it done at the travel clinic on Garrett Lane.

Just to offer my personal experience. My daughter got CP when she was about 18 months and it was no trouble at all. She was off colour for a few days with a temperature, didn't want to eat or play and then on the third day she woke up covered in CP. But to my amazement she got her energy and apetite back as soon as they appeared. They didn't bother her at all, she didn't scratch. So it was all very easy.
A friend of mine vaccinated both her children as her neighbour's son had it quite bad so she didn't want to risk it. As far as I know, they didn't have any side effects.

I'd like to revive this thread as I'd like to have some recent opinions on chicken pox vaccine. There's been pox outbreak at my child's school and now I am considering whether to get her vaccinated. She's 5 yo... And I am also concern for my younger child (6 mth)- if my older child gets the vaccine, can that affect the baby? Were there side effects? Where would you recommend to go privately and how much do they charge?

this_ is_ cat is spot on with this. I do not know anyone who has had the CP vaccine and subsequently got CP. I have had all my children vaccinated. i know its slightly selfish to the older generation who may get shingles, but why would I want my children to possibly be scarred?! I hear what you say about the meningitus vaccine - but the CP vaccine is just as worthy.. Meningitus B is very very rare. Your child is more likely to be run over by a bus than get Men B! Your child is, however, very likely to get CP and occasionally this can lead to complications such as septimia..
Food for thought and if you can afford them, I would recommend both. Good luck!

The NHS reason the chickenpox vaccine isn't included as part of the standard immunisation programme is because in the period between children being vaccinated, and those children becoming adults, there would be a generation of adults who didn't catch it as children or get vaccinated who would then be at risk of shingles as adults.
It isn't because the vaccine isn't effective, because it will be given to 'at risk' groups

Health visitors and GPs are obliged to tow the party line and dissuade you from it, even if that means creative excuses..!
http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/vaccinations/Pages/chickenpox-vaccine-questions-answers.aspx#routineschedule

I was also considering this but spoke to both the HV and two Dr's all advised me not to have it and allow children to get chicken pox naturally.
They said there was no point giving them more injections when they have enough to deal with.
Meningitis B is more of a worry and that's why the NHS will give it from September albeit they will be starting with babies born after April so I've heard.

I would agree that it's not a pleasant thing to go through.
I understand the main reason it's not in the Uk's immunisation programme is because the vaccine is only about 70% effective. Friends of mine living in Oz, where it's standard to have it, said many children they knew caught it, even having had the vaccine.

Well done This_is_cat.... Saying what we are all thinking and know to be true.

If only there was a 'like' and a 'dislike' button!!!

:D

Are you joking?
The reason people aren't dying from measles is... wait for it... because they are vaccinated against measles. But clearly that is a massive sign vaccinations don't work. :shock:

In countries that don't have routine measles vaccinations, hundreds of thousands of people die from the disease. Are you actually saying you can't see the correlation there?

I hope your personal training uses slightly more scientifically rigorous than you use for researching vaccinations.