Chicken Pox Protocol

Hi, I'm a lurker these days but used to be a regular when my first two
were in [cloth] diapers in the early 90's. Now my kids are ages 14, 12
and 5.

My five year old presented with chicken pox last night. I joyfully
started calling around to arrange playdates - and we can't find anyone
who wants it.

This is really weird to me. Back when my older two were getting it the
shot was looming and no one wanted to give the shot and the word was out
on the street to pass along clothing, set up playdates (if the kid felt
well enough) and have them share sippy cups.

Now everyone I've called acts like I'm some sort of weird mother.

Has the attitude changed so much on this? I recall the consensus being
that the vaccine would need booster shots and it was better to get it
naturally if you could. We held off as long as we could and he's
entering public school next Fall so this feels like the nick of time
(the public school will require vaccination.)

I keep hearing stories about kids vaccinated as toddlers now.

When did this change? I feel so disconnected from this issue.

Delenn

"Delenn" wrote in message
...
Hi, I'm a lurker these days but used to be a regular when my first two
were in [cloth] diapers in the early 90's. Now my kids are ages 14, 12
and 5.

My five year old presented with chicken pox last night. I joyfully
started calling around to arrange playdates - and we can't find anyone who
wants it.

This is really weird to me. Back when my older two were getting it the
shot was looming and no one wanted to give the shot and the word was out
on the street to pass along clothing, set up playdates (if the kid felt
well enough) and have them share sippy cups.

Now everyone I've called acts like I'm some sort of weird mother.

Has the attitude changed so much on this? I recall the consensus being
that the vaccine would need booster shots and it was better to get it
naturally if you could. We held off as long as we could and he's entering
public school next Fall so this feels like the nick of time (the public
school will require vaccination.)
If I had known someone with chickenpox before Bonnie got her vacine I would
have brought her over.. I will be on search for someone with Chicken Pox
before it is time for Xavier to get vaccinated.. unfortunatly it is hard to
find them these days.

Tori

--
Bonnie 3/20/02
Xavier 10/27/04

On Sun, 23 Jan 2005 13:46:35 -0600, "Tori M."
wrote:
If I had known someone with chickenpox before Bonnie got her vacine I would
have brought her over.. I will be on search for someone with Chicken Pox
before it is time for Xavier to get vaccinated.. unfortunatly it is hard to
find them these days.

Why get them vaccinated if you want them to catch it?
Marie

"Marie" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 23 Jan 2005 13:46:35 -0600, "Tori M."
wrote:
If I had known someone with chickenpox before Bonnie got her vacine I
would
have brought her over.. I will be on search for someone with Chicken Pox
before it is time for Xavier to get vaccinated.. unfortunatly it is hard
to
find them these days.

Why get them vaccinated if you want them to catch it?
Marie

I did not think that "I dont want X vaccine" would work.. That was before I
started hanging out here I supose I COULD let Xavier and future kids get
it naturaly.. hehe I believe MY school policy states that it is not a
neccesary vaccine to attend... hehe... Thank you for making me think.. lol

Tori

--
Bonnie 3/20/02
Xavier 10/27/04

In article ,
Delenn wrote:

Hi, I'm a lurker these days but used to be a regular when my first two
were in [cloth] diapers in the early 90's. Now my kids are ages 14, 12
and 5.

My five year old presented with chicken pox last night. I joyfully
started calling around to arrange playdates - and we can't find anyone
who wants it.

This is really weird to me. Back when my older two were getting it the
shot was looming and no one wanted to give the shot and the word was out
on the street to pass along clothing, set up playdates (if the kid felt
well enough) and have them share sippy cups.

Now everyone I've called acts like I'm some sort of weird mother.

Has the attitude changed so much on this? I recall the consensus being
that the vaccine would need booster shots and it was better to get it
naturally if you could. We held off as long as we could and he's
entering public school next Fall so this feels like the nick of time
(the public school will require vaccination.)

I keep hearing stories about kids vaccinated as toddlers now.

When did this change? I feel so disconnected from this issue.

Delenn

Yes, the attitude appears to have changed.

A couple of years ago, a church member called me to say her two girls
had (finally!) come down with chicken pox, so she wouldn't be able to
teach that Sunday, but she invited me to pass the word along so anyone
who wanted to expose their kids could come over. I posted the
information to the church e-mail list -- and actually caught quite a lot
of flack! I remember working at exposing my kids, and my parents doing
the same thing (especially for one brother who approached his teens
before he came down with them), and I KNOW there are people oppossed to
the vaccines -- so I was pretty surprised to have younger parents upset
with me for merely telling them where they could set up a play date if
they wanted to expose their kids.
--
Children won't care how much you know until they know how much you care

In ,
Delenn wrote:

*My five year old presented with chicken pox last night. I joyfully
*started calling around to arrange playdates - and we can't find anyone
*who wants it.

I've heard of this whole "chicken pox party" attitude - but I'm shocked
that you experienced it with kids as young as your older ones are! I had
thought it must be a long-lost sort of thing, because I am 34 and when I
had chicken pox myself (I think I was in 3rd grade) my parents were ****ED
OFF at the family of the child who gave me the pox (not that it was their
fault - they didn't know she was going to wake up with the pox the morning
after our sleepover!), and I was kept out of school and away from other
kids, and in fact none of the other neighborhood kids were allowed to be
anywhere near me (by their own parents, not by my parents), and I was
terribly sick for quite some time and can't imagine anyone wishing that
experience on their own child. I couldn't eat and almost required
hospitalization! I remember the whole school was closed for a bit and no
one was allowed to play at anyone else's house until our parents had
confirmed that no one in the house had pox.... there was none of this
"bring Jimmy over to get exposed" stuff going on when I was a kid!!

--
Hillary Israeli, VMD
Lafayette Hill/PA/USA/Earth
"Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it is
too dark to read." --Groucho Marx

On Sun, 23 Jan 2005 16:12:19 -0600, "Tori M."
wrote:
I did not think that "I dont want X vaccine" would work.. That was before I
started hanging out here I supose I COULD let Xavier and future kids get
it naturaly.. hehe I believe MY school policy states that it is not a
neccesary vaccine to attend... hehe... Thank you for making me think.. lol

Tori

Ok, I was just wondering! I thought your daughter wasn't school-aged
yet but wasn't sure.
I'd rather mine get the pox also but my oldest is 9.5 and hasn't yet!!
They're all at the safest age to get it and I'd hate for them not to
and have to keep getting the vaccine the rest of their lives once
they're teens. (isn't it every ten years?)
Marie

Delenn wrote:

Hi, I'm a lurker these days but used to be a regular when my first two
were in [cloth] diapers in the early 90's. Now my kids are ages 14, 12
and 5.

My five year old presented with chicken pox last night. I joyfully
started calling around to arrange playdates - and we can't find anyone
who wants it.

This is really weird to me. Back when my older two were getting it the
shot was looming and no one wanted to give the shot and the word was out
on the street to pass along clothing, set up playdates (if the kid felt
well enough) and have them share sippy cups.

Now everyone I've called acts like I'm some sort of weird mother.

Has the attitude changed so much on this? I recall the consensus being
that the vaccine would need booster shots and it was better to get it
naturally if you could. We held off as long as we could and he's
entering public school next Fall so this feels like the nick of time
(the public school will require vaccination.)

I keep hearing stories about kids vaccinated as toddlers now.

When did this change? I feel so disconnected from this issue.

I think many things have changed. I think that more school
districts and child care settings are requiring it. It's on the
standard vaccination schedule pretty early (12 months or so?).
Doctors are feeling more comfortable about recommending it.
Hospitalizations from chicken pox are down significantly, so
people are feeling that maybe the vaccine is better than
getting chicken pox and risking vaccination, plus many people
don't want to accidentally be the one to pass chicken pox on
to someone for whom it *is* a significant danger. All in all,
I think a number of people are thinking the possibility of a
booster shot is more acceptable to them than the risks of
getting chicken pox or passing it on to someone for whom it's
dangerous (even though the risk of those things is quite low).
Plus a lot of people just can't afford to have their kid
down and out with chicken pox, what with having to take off
work and such.

Best wishes,
Ericka

In article ,
(Hillary Israeli) wrote:

In ,
Delenn wrote:

*My five year old presented with chicken pox last night. I joyfully
*started calling around to arrange playdates - and we can't find anyone
*who wants it.

I've heard of this whole "chicken pox party" attitude - but I'm shocked
that you experienced it with kids as young as your older ones are! I had
thought it must be a long-lost sort of thing, because I am 34 and when I
had chicken pox myself (I think I was in 3rd grade) my parents were ****ED
OFF at the family of the child who gave me the pox (not that it was their
fault - they didn't know she was going to wake up with the pox the morning
after our sleepover!), and I was kept out of school and away from other
kids, and in fact none of the other neighborhood kids were allowed to be
anywhere near me (by their own parents, not by my parents), and I was
terribly sick for quite some time and can't imagine anyone wishing that
experience on their own child. I couldn't eat and almost required
hospitalization! I remember the whole school was closed for a bit and no
one was allowed to play at anyone else's house until our parents had
confirmed that no one in the house had pox.... there was none of this
"bring Jimmy over to get exposed" stuff going on when I was a kid!!

--
Hillary Israeli, VMD
Lafayette Hill/PA/USA/Earth
"Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it is
too dark to read." --Groucho Marx




My kids are 22 and 19, and it was still fairly common where I lived.
The vaccine hadn't been developed yet, and chicken pox is significantly
more dangerous if you get it after puberty than if you get it before --
plus if you go to chicken pox parties, you MAY have some control over
when your kids get it. (Didn't work for me -- they never picked it up
from deliberate exposure, instead coming down with it the first day of a
week long camp!)

When you were a kid, the only way to develop immunity to chicken pox was
by getting it. There are still folks who believe that the immunity
developed by having the disease is better than the immunity from
vaccines. Given it's dangerousness at older ages, at least until the
vaccine WAS available, I can't imagine NOT trying to make sure your
child caught it younger!
--
Children won't care how much you know until they know how much you care

On Sun, 23 Jan 2005 20:35:33 -0500, Ericka Kammerer
wrote:
Not necessarily. The vaccine has been given in Japan for
25 years and in the US for more than 10 years, and so far, the
study subjects have not shown any weakened immunity.
In addition, some theorize that the frequent re-exposures
of adolescents and adults who'd had chicken pox were helpful in
maintaining lifelong immunity to chicken pox. With so many being
immunized today, those re-exposures are less and less likely,
making it possible that even those who had chicken pox might not
maintain their immunity as well.

Ok, I guess I had confused the "been here ten years" with whatever it
is that is given every ten years. Ten years really has something to do
with something, it's stuck in my head!
Thanks for the clarification! Very interesting about the re-exposure
helping to keep immunity, I haven't heard that before but I can see
how it would.
Marie