Chicken Pox Vaccine Post Reply

[hhirst]

Hi
Does anyone know much about the vaccination against Chicken Pox? I have never had it but don't know if i have natural immunity or not. My husband has had it - we have a newborn and have read about the vaccine and wonder if it's worth considering? Anybody have any knowledge / advice?
Thanks

[Joeybar]

I would be wary of thinking you have natural immunity - I went to a village primary, everyone in the school got chicken pox at the same time except me and my brother. When my first child was one he got chicken pox really badly (every inch of his skin was covered and the ones on his back got infected). My mum was convinced I had natural immunity, but no, 10 days later I'm also covered.
I guess you have to put chicken pox into perspective I.e it's not life threatening but my second child is now 14 months and I'll be getting her vaccinated and will be encouraging my brother to get vaccinated now that his wife is pregnant. I really didn't cope well with having chicken pox at aged 36 - it's sounds dramatic but I think I was on the edge of slipping into depression which I've never had before.
They do the vaccine at myhealthcareclinic in battersea reach. There's two doses, I can't remember how much it was but I don't think it was crazy money.

[Fuzzy]

We recently had our son vaccinated at Wimbledon Park Travel Clinic - £60 per dose and two doses are required. You need to have each dose at least 4 weeks apart (and I think at least 4 weeks since any other live vaccine too). In the US where it is part of the routine vaccination schedule it is given between 12-15mths for the first dose. We went to Wimbledon Park Travel Clinic following a recommendation, and I think it is slightly cheaper than other clinics. Although extremely rare, unfortunately chickenpox can be life threatening in a tiny number of healthy children. And also dangerous if infected you are during pregnancy (if you were to have another and aren't immune). Another Mother recently posted this blog on a local Facebook forum about vaccinating children, and it helped me make a decision: http://southwarkbelle.blogspot.co.uk/search?q=pox&m=1

[hhirst]

Thank you so much both of you. Decision made - think we will both get vaccinated. Thank you again xx

[pie81]

Do be careful about timing. I recently looked into getting my older daughter vaccinated but was told that because it's a live vaccine, there is a small risk she could be infectious for a few days after having the vaccine (both doses). We have a newborn so decided against it, just in case she infected our baby as a result of having the vaccine.

So, I'd be cautious about having it done while you have a newborn for that reason.

You can get tested to see if you have immunity by the way - ask your GP? I got tested in my first pregnancy as had not (noticeably) had it as a child, but was immune.

[hhirst]

Thank you - do you happen to know what the recommended age is to have it done for children?

[Bodders1]

Although harmless for the majority of children it can be extremely serious. I have a friend who lost her sister to chickenpox. She was 9 years old.
I did a lot of research before having my children vaccinated and I understand that this vaccination is "standard" in Australia/US/New Zealand etc. I was told the minimum age to vaccinate is 12 months followed by a booster one year later.

[mrsF]

Hi, I found out when I was pregnant that despite having had chicken pox when I was a tiny baby I wasn't immune so I wanted to make sure I had the jab as getting it when you are an adult can be quite unpleasant apparently. I also didn't like the idea of nursing a child with chicken pox whilst being ill with it myself. The doctors do advise that there is a very slight risk of being contagious when you have the jab so I waited until my daughter was over 12 months and we both got the jab together. They say wait until they are one as even if you get actual chicken pox before then there is a chance you won't be immune later in life (like me!). I'm not going to lie, everytime during those 12 months that I saw someone with chicken pox I crossed the road!

We went to my healthcare clinic in Battersea Reach and they were very helpful. I think there were two doses, but neither of us had any side effects afterwards. Hope that helps.

[hellokittyerw]

Does anyone know how long the vaccine gives immunity for?
I had heard it's for around 10-15 yrs...

[Mellomumma]

I have never had chicken pox so was tested on the nhs when I fell pregnant and found out I had immunity as I was concerned about getting when pregnant, therefore would suggest you get tested first. I would recommend getting the vaccine if you are not immune, my husband unfortunately got chicken pox as an adult and was very ill and completely covered literally. After seeing how bad he was and also a couple of friends children were very ill, we made the decision to vaccinate both our kids. Vaccine can be given to children from 12 months of age and it is two doses 4-6 weeks apart

[kiwimummy]

i wish i'd vaccinated.

both mine got it naturally. the first was OK, hardly any spots so no big deal. the second was absolutely covered all over and it was MUCH worse.

broke my heart to see the scarring. while it fades, personally if i could do this again knowing what i know now, i would definitely vaccinate.

[hhirst]

Hi - I got tested and I do have immunity?! Will def do my little girl though when old enough

[jafina]

My eldest 2 had chicken pox when they were 4. The first one was pretty much ok but the second one was very itchy and feverish for a week. It wasn't pleasant for him (or me!). Once my third child got to 4.5 without any signs of having it I decided to have her vaccinated. I had chicken pox when I was 7 or 8 and was very ill for a week or two, and I didn't want her to go through that.

I had her vaccinated at the private GP on Bellevue Road as our NHS GP wouldn't do it. I believe the practice on Bellevue is now called the Smart Clinic. She was vaccinated 3 years ago and I still haven't arranged for her to have a booster, partly because I understand that even if she gets chicken pox now it will just be mild, which is all I was really trying to achieve anyway. I hope this is true!

These threads always remind me that maybe I should get the booster done, if anyone has more information about this that would be helpful

(BTW I think it is really unhelpful to point out that "my kids were fine so what's the problem?" , for some children it's really not fine)

[dancing_queen59]

Had all 3 of mine vaccinated and really glad I did. Whilst some get through it ok I've seen others suffer terrible.

I didn't realise we had to have a booster?

[121personaltraining]

Have a read of this before you go ahead with any vaccinations...

http://thepeopleschemist.com/reasons-do ... ldnt-give/

Remember that if anything goes wrong, big pharma companies have complete immunity from prosecution.