The boy's been in daycare for less than a week, only goes two hours a day, and comes home with fricking CHICKENPOX! He's been vaccinated for this!
If you're wondering about whether or not to get the vax, my opinion is don't friggin bother.
I couldn't even stay home with him because I'm still in training at my job and if I miss even one day I'm fired. He's acting fine, running around the house like a nut like he usually does (you'd think he'd have the decency to at least ACT sick! lol). It really ticks me off that I couldn't stay home with him at least today. Sigh. My mom is going in to work late until my first sister gets home to take care of him, and luckily for the rest of the week my other sister will be home from college to watch him.
I don't know what I'm going to do if he's still sick after that. I may see if my one friend wants to expose his son and could maybe watch them both for a few hours until this clears up. I can't take him to the doctor because we have no health insurance right now so I don't know what I'm supposed to do.
Unless there's a secondary infection in the pox or he seems VERY sick (coughing, high fever, otherwise looking very ill) I wouldn't bother taking him to the doc. There's nothing they can do unless he has pneumonia from the CP. Oatmeal baths and popsicles.
Another thing that helps is chamomile lotion on the pox.
If you don't mind me asking, did you get the vax and it didn't work? I am just curious because Eric got it and I have heard mixed things about it since... just wondering what to expect.
I got the vax when he was, 2 I think? He's coming up on 4, he's current with all vax, and he got chickenpox anyway.
Supposedly, even if they get chicken pox, they are less severe.
I know it took three doses for me as an adult to seroconvert, so maybe some kids just don't take to it as well.
I thought the child isn't contagous once the pox have shown up??
I don't know, but when I had them as a kid everybody was bringing their kids over and sure enough we all caught it.
It's most contagious before spots, but can be caught until all spots are crusted over.
Having the vax will probably decrease the time it takes for him to get better. Before the vax, 2 weeks was normal healing time, now it's much quicker.
I do know the frustration of having to find care for a sick kid! it can be really hard.
riley also got the pox after being vacanated... the recovery time did seems really short, though i dont know if it is becuase of the vac or not
That is crappy timing but at least he's got it. Now you won't have to worry about it again. It's just so darn hard to keep them from scratching! I hope everyitng works out withyou job!
I refused to get my son the vax. The plan was to only sleectively vax but his dad wanted to get him everything so I'm just delaying them. I think the CP vax is actuially doing children a disservice. For one thing, regular, low level exposure protects people from the virus. That's why kids usuially only get it once. There ae usuially one or two kids in a school with it and they're exposed on a regular basis. For annother Chicken Pox is one of the ways your body "vaccinates" itself against shingles which is kind of the same virus but causes horrable red spots and severe pain which someties results in permanant nerve damage. Now that so many people have been vacinated against Chickin Pox, there are more an more cases of shingles out there and guess what, shingles vaccines are in development. So we can have vaccines aginst relatively harmless childhood diseases but we can't have access to ones that will protect us from cervicle cancer GRRRRRRRRRRR.
while i agree with the above poster in one sence... i dont know... for me getting the vaccination was more than just a shot.. some people know that they cant afford to stay home for a week with a kid who has the pox.. while in my case she got them anyways... it really hurt me financially and if thats selfish... than so be it
by the way.. we delayed as well.. im not all pro shot.. but i do think that in most cases thier is a need for some and no need for others. chicken pox should be elective
you gotta do what you gotta do. i've been there before. once, my son threw up and i didn't tell the people at daycare. just dropped him off and pretended that I was all surprised when they called to say he was puking. I was living in a shelter then and HAD to make it to that damn wellfare job. :( I guess my point is that it should be voided if it can be. I just hate the idea of doctors pushing things on young mothers or first time moms because they think they're god. You know? It's like a slaes pitch in some doctors ofices.
I don't know about your state, but most will not require you to vax your children if you sate that it's against your religion or philosophy. that way you can give your child only what you need.
I have 2 kids. There is no way in hell I could take 4 weeks off work without serious reprocussions. I would probably lose my job.
If you have the privilege of staying home with your kid, then by all means, refuse the immunization, but that is not a possibility for every family.
Chicken Pox is not necessarily a "harmless childhood disease". Up until the last few generations, children died from complications related to chicken pox, mostly infection.
Also, adults who get chicken pox suffer much more than children. My sister and I got it when I was 5, but my dad, who was in his 30s, also got it. While we recovered normally, he was very ill and had to be hospitalized. A kid who brings home chicken pox exposes their entire family to it, including people with weakened immune systems.
This is not true about shingles. Actually, in order to get shingles one must have had the chicken pox virus at some point, even in a subclinical infection one may not remember. Chicken pox never goes away; it lives in the nerve roots of the spinal cord and can reappear as shingles later in life. The shingles vaccine is intended to protect people who have had chicken pox and are at risk for shingles (older people, immunosuppressed, etc.).
We haven't vaccinated Max against chicken pox and won't unless he doesn't get it by age 12. I'm very hesitant to trust the long-term efficacy of a vaccine that hasn't been used for long, since pox are such a severe disease in adults. I'd rather he had what I know is lifetime immunity. But that's me.
Heck, I didn't even know there was a chicken pox vaccination! Hm.