Would you deliberately...
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Topic: Would you deliberately...
Posted By: My3Sons
Subject: Would you deliberately...
Date Posted: 12 December 2008 at 9:33am
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expose your kids to chicken pox?? DH and I were discussing this the other night, there is usually an outbreak of chicken pox here around Xmas time and my DS#1 caught them from one of his little friends when he was 2. He only got a really mild case and it was over relatively painlessly. However his little friend was covered top to toe and miserable and scarred and it was horrible!
Would love to hear what others think on this one!! ------------- Mum to Mr 10, Mr 6 and Mr 4 
 
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Replies:
Posted By: lilfatty
Date Posted: 12 December 2008 at 9:36am
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Ummm off the top of my head without researching .. I would say no .. I wouldnt deliberately expose Issy.
But let me get back to you when I think into a little more 
I will say I had them quite late 12ish .. and I had them quite bad .. (so bad even my Mum looked scared) .. however I think I would rather have a heathly strong 12 year old fight them off than a wee lil bubba. (Although like I said .. I havent really thought about it) ------------- Mummy to Issy (3) and Elias (18 months) I did it .. 41 kgs gone! From flab to fab in under a year  http://www.femininefitness.co.nz/category/blog - LFs weight blog
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Posted By: Redbedrock
Date Posted: 12 December 2008 at 9:38am
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NO way, but we had an extreme case of chicken pox which resulted in 5 days in hospital and a very poorly little girl. I would vaccinate if I had time over again. Fay ended up on morphine, codeine and anti viral drugs to control the pain and the severity of her infection
I am probably not the most impartial person to speak to because of this, strange tho as most of my firends who we joked about a chicken pox party with have since vaccinated. There is a thread called chicken pox from october which tells our experience ------------- http://www.babysfirstsite.com"> 
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Posted By: My3Sons
Date Posted: 12 December 2008 at 9:38am
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yeah thats the problem I had with it J, we didnt know Z had been exposed so there was nothing we could do about it anyway? Chances are if L got the pox then D would too and I wouldnt want my wee man to get them at his age if I could possibly help it!
Wow Redbedrock, that is scary, your poor wee girl! ------------- Mum to Mr 10, Mr 6 and Mr 4
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Posted By: jaycee
Date Posted: 12 December 2008 at 9:39am
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no way! Lots of people write chicken pox off as not being serious but it can be really nasty - as your friends child found out. I had it when I was 14 and it was miserable. I don't understand why it is *OK* with chicken pox - you don't hear of people try to give their children measles or rubella.
I had Amy vaccinated when she was 15 months and Sophie will be too once she is old enough (they have to be over 1yo). In Aussie the vaccine is now part of the regular immunisation programme. -------------   
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Posted By: Redbedrock
Date Posted: 12 December 2008 at 9:42am
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Vaccine here is from 9 months and you do have to pay about $80 depending on what your GP charges. If (big if) we have another I will be signing her up for it at nime months no hesitation I would never want to go through that again ------------- http://www.babysfirstsite.com">
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Posted By: My3Sons
Date Posted: 12 December 2008 at 9:45am
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Thats a good point Jaycee! ------------- Mum to Mr 10, Mr 6 and Mr 4
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Posted By: kebakat
Date Posted: 12 December 2008 at 9:49am
| I wouldn't. I'm going to deliberately keep Daniel away from any potential outbreak. I haven't had chickenpox and after this pregnancy I'll be investigating the vaccine for myself and possibly Daniel |
Posted By: McPloppy
Date Posted: 12 December 2008 at 9:54am
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We have discussed this and have decided to vaccinate our children. My nephew got a mild case of the chicken pox and ended up getting it three times!!! ------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
http://lilypie.com"> 
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Posted By: caraMel
Date Posted: 12 December 2008 at 9:55am
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Nope.
I did consider it briefly, for the sake of getting it over and done with but we had a family member who was hospitalised with a very nasty case of it too and there is no way I would want to have deliberately put them through that. Even though chances are, they wouldn't get them that badly, I just feel it is unnecessary. ------------- Mel, Mummy to E: 6, B: 4 and: 
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Posted By: Freesia
Date Posted: 12 December 2008 at 10:00am
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Nope, my nephew had a very severe case as well and he was in agony.
I only had a really mild case and I was told that because it was onlly mild I could get it again. So it's not like it's a guarantee that they won't get it again anyway. -------------  
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Posted By: sno0ze
Date Posted: 12 December 2008 at 10:09am
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No i wouldn't at all. I got my DD vaccinated against chicken pox.
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Posted By: NeoshasMummy
Date Posted: 12 December 2008 at 10:38am
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Nope but years ago it was a common practice for people to do this.
I want to get the vaccine for both Neosha and I, I haven't had them and it is more sever in adults aparently so I should really get onto it soon. The pox can be really bad in some cases so I don't think I could deliberately let N contract it but as I say older people believe in this theory... for them it was a good idea! ( well all the "older" people I have spoken to especially ones who lived in small communities). ------------- https://secure.fertilityfriend.com/home/30c4ec/" rel="nofollow">  Mrs Te Kani ❤️ Neosha 26/5/2007 |
Posted By: Bobbie
Date Posted: 12 December 2008 at 11:07am
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We're getting Rowan vaccinated since in DH's family it is common for his adult brothers and sisters to develop shingles and apparently the vaccine also helps to prevent this.
If you are going to get the Vaccine give your GP advance warning since they often have to order it in.  -------------  
 
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Posted By: My3Sons
Date Posted: 12 December 2008 at 11:13am
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Thanks for your opinions! ------------- Mum to Mr 10, Mr 6 and Mr 4
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Posted By: Genie
Date Posted: 12 December 2008 at 11:21am
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I wouldn't, especially since its no guarantee they won't get it again. A girl in Amy's class (7yo) just had them and her dad who teaches at the school told me she had had them already as a preschooler but a mild case. ------------- 
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Posted By: mum2emj
Date Posted: 12 December 2008 at 11:34am
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i wouldn't
i wouldnt expose my kids to others either my second child has chicken pox right now, had them for 3 days. she is miserable. im now expecting my 3 others to come down with them sometime around christmas. i just hope they dont get it as bad or worse than em, she is such a good kid but this has knocked her for 6, her big sister is the worst at ill's so am really not looking forward to it 
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Posted By: lisa85
Date Posted: 12 December 2008 at 11:56am
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I got Chicken pox when I was 20 for the first time and man did it do me over!!!! I couldn't move from my bed for 2 weeks! Felt like I was on my deathbed. I wish Mum and Dad had exposed me to it early. It's much worse the older you are when you get it and it goes around so much it's very hard to avoid for your entire life lol!
I watched my 3 year old nephew and 20 month old niece get it at the same time and you wouldn't even know they were sick! They were miserable for about a day then they were running around all over the show. I guess the only problem with having it at that age is it's harder to convince little ones not to scratch. -------------  
TTC #3 since Jan 2010 - PCOS MC April 2010 |
Posted By: rachelsea
Date Posted: 12 December 2008 at 12:00pm
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Interesting question... I caught chicken pox when I was about 5 and remember it not being very fun! Definitely wouldn't want my bub to get it on purpose!
My mum must have thought it was a good idea though, and when my cousin had the mumps, mum took my brother and I round to spend time with him so that we would catch it. My brother caught it but I didn't. ------------- DD 4yrs DS 2yrs http://lilypie.com" rel="nofollow"> 
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Posted By: arohanui
Date Posted: 12 December 2008 at 12:03pm
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Wow I had no idea it could be so nasty! Glad I read this thread!! Mum is a nurse and offered to pay for the vaccination for our boy if we choose to have it, so I think we will... ------------- Mama to DS1 (5 years), DS2 (3 years) and... http://alterna-tickers.com" rel="nofollow"> 
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Posted By: Maya
Date Posted: 12 December 2008 at 12:58pm
Commiserations Rach, my big three all had them last year and my lil miss has just come out with them this morning  .
I've been lucky that none of mine really suffered with it, Maya's was relatively mild so I do worry that she'll get it again, the gremlins got a whopper of a dose but were only 9 mths and it didn't seem to bother them at all and I'm hoping lil miss will be the same. I don't think I'd ever deliberately expose them, and I definitely wouldn't knowingly expose any one else's kids to it (hence cancelling my coffee date this morning) but I'm glad that my girls have all got it over and done with it. I don't know that I'd bother with the vaccine based on my experiences of it but as others have said, it can be a lot nastier. ------------- Maya Grace (28/02/03)
 (02/01/06)
The Gremlins:Sienna Marie & Mercedes Kailah (14/10/06)
Lil miss:Chiara Louise Chloe (09/07/08)
Her ladyship:Rosalia Sophie Anais (18/06/12)
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Posted By: Andie
Date Posted: 12 December 2008 at 1:38pm
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I wouldn't expose my girl to it intentionally, but if it happened accidentally, well then so be it. Seems most people catch it at some point! I was a teen when I got them and was off school for weeks - was rotten sick with them. I think if she hasn't had them by the time she's ready for kindy, I'll have her vaccinated. I REALLY don't want her catching them before she's outgrown her habit of scratching away at any little injury on her face or arm - usually in her sleep, or as a comfort thing. She has some little scars on her leg from this, 2 on her arm and 2 on her face, and that's just from tiny itchy eczema spots that she would not leave alone. I have to dress any cuts and scratches on her now to stop her making them so much worse. I hate to imagine how she'd cope with chickenpox! Plus, there's the risk that she could be one of those people who get hit by it so hard they end up hospitalised, and there's no way of knowing if that's going to happen or not. ------------- Andie |
Posted By: ginger
Date Posted: 12 December 2008 at 2:12pm
When our parents (well, mine are in their mid 50's, so parents around that sort of age I guess) were kids, it was really common to have 'measles parties' where one kid would get something eg. chicken pox and so all the parents would get all the kids in their social circle together so they'd all catch it and get it over with instead of it slowly passing around the group! Ye gads!  ------------- Cuinn Lachlan 23.1.09 - 22:00 Antonia Helene 4.8.11 - 09:41 |
Posted By: cuppatea
Date Posted: 12 December 2008 at 2:43pm
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Haven't read the rest of the replies, but yes I would expose Spencer to it, it's far better to get a childhood disease as a child than get it as an adult and its the best way to build an immunity up. Back in my mum and dad's day the community would take their kids to the sick kids house to catch whatever they had so that those child also got to build up the immunity to it.
I wouldn't want to expose a newborn though. ------------- 
 
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Posted By: caitlynsmygirl
Date Posted: 12 December 2008 at 2:48pm
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TBH I never thought about exposing C to it, I just figured once she started kindy or school it would probably happen and it did, she got them her first year of primary ,and she was THRILLED, really , the weirdo, all the other kids in her class had had them and she was feeling the odd one out ...the novelty wore off very quickly , i remember her accusing little face "mum , it ITCHES " ..." oh does it hun? fancy that " ------------- 
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Posted By: Danash
Date Posted: 12 December 2008 at 3:26pm
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Yay for the vaccination being compulsory here.... Although my brother & SIL exposed their 3 kids on purpose before it was a compulsory vaccination and to this day he regrets it. He felt pretty bad for how miserable they were. |
Posted By: lisa85
Date Posted: 12 December 2008 at 4:36pm
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Rachel25 -
when my cousin had the mumps, mum took my brother and I round to spend time with him so that we would catch it. My brother caught it but I didn't. Thats scary I heard that if you get the mumps as a baby it can cause retardation. We weren't going to immunise at all but heard that because so many people aren't these days theres a lot of things going around that we haven't scene for years. So we bit the bullet and immunised. So glad we did now because I here the mumps have been going around CHCH this year! -------------
TTC #3 since Jan 2010 - PCOS MC April 2010 |
Posted By: WRXnKids
Date Posted: 12 December 2008 at 5:56pm
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I had chicken pox and mumps as a kid about (6 or 7) and remember enjoyin it cos my mate had it as well so we spend the days at my place playing while everyone else was at school. I dunno about deliberately exposing Josh but if he gets it he gets it. Ive always been told really bad things about getting it as an adult but this thread is the only place ive heard bad stories with kids aside from a scarring story.
I grew up being told kids need to get it or will get it no matter what so thats prolly why im not worried bout it so much. -------------   
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Posted By: mummy_becks
Date Posted: 12 December 2008 at 6:17pm
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I'm still not sure if I would or not. I had the jab and still got them bad so who knows. I know Andrew is going to get them at school, which means time off work for me and time off school for him. The selfish me wanted my kids to have them at daycare so it didn't effect their schooling. But hey they may never get them at all. ------------- I was a puree feeder, forward facing, cot sleeping, pram pushing kind of Mum... and my kids survived! |
Posted By: yummymummy
Date Posted: 12 December 2008 at 6:22pm
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We got the vaccine for Gina and will be doing the same for Emma. No I would expose them on purpose - I can not bear to see them suffer.
Why not just get the vaccine? You do pay for it, but what's a bit of money compared to a healthy child ------------- http://lilypie.com">  http://lilypie.com">
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Posted By: Kels
Date Posted: 12 December 2008 at 7:34pm
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In a round about way I guess i did expose Alize to Chicken pox as they were going around his DC recently and I didnt keep him at home. Well he got them and out of all my kids( he was the oldest of them all) suffered the worse but again got over them pretty quicky and had no lasting efffects. Im not really a fan of the CP vaccine either. DD13 coped the best with CP at 4mths old.
------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
Busy mum to Miss 15yrs, Miss 10yrs and Master 4yrs |
Posted By: Rachael21
Date Posted: 12 December 2008 at 9:10pm
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I always assumed they would get it but Jack still hasn't so I'm kinda considering vaccinating.
We thought Jack had them the week Caprece was born and my midwife actually said if Caprece got it it would most likely be so minor we wouldn't even know. |
Posted By: caitlynsmygirl
Date Posted: 12 December 2008 at 9:18pm
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*sad repressed childhood memory *
I had mumps when I was 9 and mum left me in the car when she dropped the others (aka my siblings ) at school and this boy walked past the car , looked at me and....puffed up his cheeks ....I was so embarrassed ..... -------------
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Posted By: Rachael21
Date Posted: 12 December 2008 at 9:25pm
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Aww I had mumps when my little sister was born and I wasn't allowed anywhere near her
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Posted By: marielb
Date Posted: 12 December 2008 at 9:45pm
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My 2 boys and my DH got them early this year and it was bloody awful! My DH had never had them (I'm pretty sure his mum would have kept him away from anyone with even a sniffly nose) and he got a really bad dose of them. He was miserable and thought he was dying. It was so horrid.
So, I am probably going to vaccinate my next baby when they are old enough, and will be exposing them to chicken pox when they are small so as not to let them get them when they are an adult. ------------- Isaac is 6, Ethan is 4, Rico is 2 and Hunter is almost 1! |
Posted By: tishy
Date Posted: 12 December 2008 at 10:52pm
Me and my twin sister got the mumps together, at 9 I think.. Mum took us in the car to collect my brother from school, when the teacher saw us he sent homework home for us the next day 
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caitlynsmygirl wrote:Posted By: Daizy
Date Posted: 12 December 2008 at 11:02pm
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I dont know if I would go out of my way to expose my kids to it.
There hve been so many times when Keira has been with Kids and then a few days later they have shown up in spots and Keira has never caught them. I was kinda gutted as its just one thing I want to get out of the way. After reading this thread I may be more cautious in the future, I had never realised kids can get them so bad  ------------- 
 
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Posted By: EmDee
Date Posted: 12 December 2008 at 11:10pm
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I don't think I would deliberately expose my kids to chicken pox. It wouldn't be a fun time in our house if the kids did pick them up - neither DH or I have had them yet either... ------------- DS 8 DD 6 DS 4 DD 2 |
Posted By: 11111
Date Posted: 12 December 2008 at 11:27pm
GRRR I want to go to aussie we will deffintly get all our chidren vacxnated noe after awaht our boy's went through it was really awful the yhave some really nasy scar's. ------------- Deborah Mum to:   
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Posted By: Jennz
Date Posted: 12 December 2008 at 11:44pm
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Well the thing with Vaccinating is that the vaccination doesn't last forever and since Chicken pox is far worse in adults they have to continue to have boosters the rest of their lives if you choose to go that route (50% of vaccinated children no longer have immunity after 5 years). Also there is the chance of a severe reaction to the vaccine itself so you have to weigh up the risks of that vs the risks of the natural CP virus. To a certain extent if you get the natural virus it is 'better' the younger you have it as adults are more likely to have further complications with chicken pox and are actually at 20x greater risk of dying than a child is.
I would never expose a baby to CP but Charlotte is almost 5 and still hasn't had it so I'm not sure whether to 'expose' her or not. I have looked into it and I probably won't but I wouldn't be too worried if I found out their was an outbreak at her school. I would rather she get it now than later. If she makes it to her teens without getting it then I might consider the vaccination route for her. ------------- Jen, Charlotte 7 & Kate 3 
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Posted By: Bobbie
Date Posted: 13 December 2008 at 2:44pm
My mum and dad often recount to us the Christmas where they had scrambled eggs for Christmas dinner because me (3yo) and my 1yo sister both had Chicken Pox. -------------
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Posted By: emz
Date Posted: 14 December 2008 at 2:56pm
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At the age Jack is, no we won't be purposely exposing him to CP. But basically anywhere from the start of next year, seeing as he's in DC, we'll just go with the flow. I do want him to get them when he is younger. I know how bad they are, I had them twice (yes, you can get them twice but its very rare) and both times were bad. I was 5 and 6. But, I would much rather prefer that over getting CP when I was older. And like cuppatea said, good to boost the immunity.
For me, I see CP as just a part of growing up so if he's exposed, he's exposed. I may consider deliberately exposing if he gets to 4 or 5 without them. Having said this though, I have never had a family member with a severe/life threatening case of CP and if I did, it would probably change my mind. |
Posted By: bext1
Date Posted: 14 December 2008 at 11:44pm
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Joel got it from daycare in July just after we bought home the twins from the hospital.
Zavier ended up getting the worst case of it and he was covered from head to toe in the pox, poor thing had spent the first two or so months of his life in hospital and got sick again :( and now he has scars but hopefully he will never get them again (TOUCH WOOD!)------------- 
http://lilypie.com"> 
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Posted By: skp
Date Posted: 15 December 2008 at 3:58pm
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a live vaccine is a mild 'dose' of the virus or disease. I would NEVER vaccinate my child after the reading the world health Org. information on vaccinations and doing a little more research than what the average GP will tell you.
The RISE of: Allergies, Auto immune issues. ADHD, Skin conditions, neurological problems are all PROVEN to be the result of our mass immunisation programmes in developed countries, it is much, much better for someone to develop natural immunity to measles, CP etc rather than injecting poison into kids. If you are interested read "just a little prick" it is an amazing book, fully referenced. Don't forget that all GP's have their patients stats recorded and they are very much 'encouraged' to get as many people as possible to vaccinate, regardless what they believe themselves. ------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
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Posted By: skp
Date Posted: 15 December 2008 at 4:02pm
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NO vaccinations are compulsory it is a parents right to choose. You might feel bullied into getting it done but you don't have to.
------------- http://lilypie.com">
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Posted By: TraceyA
Date Posted: 16 December 2008 at 11:43am
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By the time you obviously know that another child has chickenpox it's too late to do anything as the contagious stage is 2 days before the spots appear and until all the spots have crusted over.
I had chickenpox twice when I was a kid and I just thought it was a pain in the but because I was itchy, my mum taped mittens to my hands and I chewed through the tops of them
When you have chickenpox your body creates antibodies to fight the infection and thus builds an immunity to the disease so that the chances of getting it again are low (unless you are like me and had a very low immune system). Chickenpox spreads through the air and takes 15 minutes to infect someone, even less time if you have face-to-face contact such as a conversation. It takes 11-20 days before you show any signs. Personally I'd rather my kids got CP when they were kids because it's not only more horrible as an adult it's also more likely to become complicated. I'd rather my kids developed a natural immunity, building a stronger immune system (something I never had). ------------- TTC #2 |