[redhedded]

One of my biggest struggles of being a first time mom is rearing it's head again. My just turned two year old daughter is happy and has always had a good appetite. She has been extremely healthy; for that we are so fortunate. She has slept through the night for most of her life. She has almost mastered this potty thing, and tantrums pppshaw! Diversion and redirection is my middle name. We went for a well check today, and the pediatrician recommended strongly that we give the varicella (chickenpox) vaccine. I have read much about it today, and the common and even rare side effects are much less than that of the vaccines we have already given. She feels that though my daughter is at home with me all day and does not have a sibling she is still at risk from attending playgroup, storytime, etc with kids who do have school age siblings. Of course, I agree.

This is not the first time that I have contemplated, read voraciously, debated internally and struggled with vaccines. I was very uncertain initially of giving any. We recently moved back from California where it is common practice to give none, and at least half of our friends with small children had chosen such a route. I recall clearly that Judy (amom4life) had the similar struggle. We ultimately proceeded with all vaccines, almost entirely because we travel abroad often and doing so with an unvaccinated child is well, not an option and would not be prudent.

Anyone out there give varicella recently or at all? How did your child(ren) do? It is recommended between 12-18 months; we are, of course, past that age. Can anyone assuage my fear or at least remind me of the benefit?

[azprincess]

Do you know if there is a family history of allergies or anything? For my children, the first 4 did fine on all vaccienes, my littlest had a bad allergic reaction. (her dad had reactions when he was a baby, too). Is there anyway you can find out about the history?

I don't have any experience with the chickenpox vacciene.

[spaypets]

Hi Red,
We gave the chickenpox vaccine (she was about 20 months) and didn't think twice about it. I still have scars on my face from catching chickenpox when I was 12 and while I wasn't seriously ill I felt mighty awful.

Anyway, she had absolutely no reaction and hasn't to any vaccine she's ever been given. We didn't even have to give her tylenol.

In truth, I would think twice about allowing my daughter to play with children who I knew weren't vaccinated against childhood diseases. Vaccines aren't 100 percent effective and without the pack immunity that comes with almost complete compliance, even vaccinated children can get sick. (my brother had whooping cough as a child despite being vaccinated, classmates got measles).

Like you, though, I have researched and read about vaccines. We chose to have dd's blood titres checked to make sure the vaccines she supposedly received in India (chicken pox wasn't one of them) were effective (they were) to avoid over vaccinating her. Nothing I read from reputable sources indicated any realistic risk of long term side effects from the vaccines. We even chose to get her a flu shot last year (in part to protect our parents from anything she might come down with).

As I said, she suffered no side effects, and she continues to be healthy--three colds and one upset stomach in 14 months -- pretty good for an orphanage kid!

While chicken pox can be mild, it can also be serious and certainly a nuisance. If your daughter hasn't reacted to other vaccines, I'd go ahead and do it.

[Shoshana]

Hi Red -

I know for sure I'll give Xiomara the chicken pox vaccine. When I was 5, my mother sent me and my little sister to play with a neighbor boy who had '2 chicken pox on his bottom.' We had vacation plans and she wanted the inevitable chicken pox to be over before we left. My sister had a very mild case. Me, the allergic one, had them everywhere. Eye lids, ears, inside my nose, bottom of feet,
well, you get the picture. I'm one of those people who doesn't have a lot of memories from childhood, but THIS one stuck. I literally thought i was going to die. This level of severity might not be the norm, but it happens and I'll do anythink to prevent Xio from having this experience.

[MrsSmith]

Heya Red -

We have, so far, done all the vaccines for our DD, including the chicken pox vaccine.

We didn't just blindly agree with having them done - we researched (and honestly, freaked ourselves out with what we were reading) and also spoke at length with our pediatrician, who would've supported our decision either way. We came to the decision that we wanted her to be vaccinated, so she's had them all - so far. (We have been re-thinking the decision each time, and talk it over each time.) One part of the reason for this is that she will have to have the vaccines in order to register for kindergarten, and we don't intend to homeschool, so that was important. We've heard of families who suddenly had to get their 4 or 5 year old a whole slew of vaccines and THAT didn't sound too good to us.

Em had no reaction whatsoever to the chicken pox vaccine. (So far the only side effects she's had from any were a lowgrade fever for a day, most notably with the MMR. Oh yeah - and LOTS of crying from our darling drama queen!)

One thing to consider, though - my youngest sister has an immune system problem that caused her to catch chicken pox three separate times (this was before the vaccine came out) and she actually developed a full-blown case of measles from her MMR. So, if your DD has any kind of compromised immune system, I'd think twice about the vaccinations. Also, if she has food allergies, I know some of the vaccines (sorry, it is too early in the morning to recall specifically about the chicken pox one) have food-based ingredients (egg, is it? I think) so kids who are allergic shouldn't have them or need to be careful. I know our pediatrician checks with us each time about allergies before giving her any shot.

As for reminding you of the benefit, well, let me just say that when I was in the second grade, I caught chicken pox from my best friend and subsequently passed it on to my two younger sisters. Not only did this leave me with many days of itchy misery (and misery loves company so it also did for my sisters!) but it ruined a family vacation to the Florida Keys since we couldn't travel while chicken-pocked! Then it left us with some still-visible-to-this-day scars because despite our mother's constant admonitions of DON'T SCRATCH, being little kids, we did! My scars aren't that horrendous, but my one sister still has a noticeable, large (nickel-sized) scar on her face with which to remember our bout of chicken pox. Also, I've known a few people who contracted shingles as adults and none of them ever had chicken pox or the vaccine, which I believe would have prevented that, and man oh man shingles are awful!!

HTH -

Cheers!
Heather

[redhedded]

Spay, Shoshana, The Heather: You guys are awesome! It is certain that I was in that reading-too-much-and-making-myself- crazy groove last night. It always seems silly after each vaccine has been given with no adverse reaction. I am so glad to see that each of you researched, struggled a bit too and proceeded with vaccinating. Makes me feel more normal. Elizabeth, It sounds like your experience was awful, which is a reminder in itself why the vaccine is beneficial, to decrease severity and prevent serious complications. My first paragraph was entirely to clarify that it really has been a big struggle for us. You made my mind less muddy today (dare I say clear). Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Our peanut has a great immune system; in two years she has been sick only two times and (maybe a cold today, probably from visiting the Dr. office ) As soon as she is back to her less snotty self I will get the vaccine.

As a child, I had a pretty mild case of chickenpox, as did my sister. My mother, who has rheumatoid arthritis, has never had the chicken pox and takes many chemo drugs and prednisone. Getting it could be horrible for her. Spay, we gave the flu vaccine last year for the same reason, to protect my mother. Sai ended up getting the flu anyway, probably from the Dr. office.

I am hyper aware of allergies, being allergic to all fruits and vegetables (except cooked tomatoes), and most nuts and being forced to carry an epipen. Luckily, Sai has shown no indication of being allergic to anything.

Your voices of reason are just what I needed.

Hi there,

In regards to the varicella vaccine: I think it is fairly safe to give. Although I did have some issues with it. I have 5 chlidren, my first 3 were born before the vaccine was commenly given. All three of them had chicken pox and yes they were uncomfortable but they were good cases and I felt a lttle better that they will possibly have a lifetime immunity now. When a adult gets chicken pox it is miserable...far worse then a child. Also the danger of a female getting it when they are pregnant is pretty high. Now, with that being said, I had a friend that exposed her child to chicken pox to get them over with and he had one in his eye and almost lost his eyesight in that eye!!! So it is not always as benign as we would like to think.

My issue with the vaccine is that it is so new, that the kids that have recieved it are not adults yet. How long does the immunity last? Do they run the risk of getting it as a adult? Which is worse? Will they need a booster? When is it safe to give the booster? All these questions ran trhough my mind when it was time for my twins to get it...I came to the conclusion that considering all their peers were getting the vaccinethat the chances of them getting chicken pox was pretty low and the problem of adult chicken pox was still there, so they recieved the vaccine...I still occasionally look for chicken pox as I am not sure how great the immunity is...but that is just my suspusious mind!!

It can be very confusing!

Donna

[michellemartin]

I wanted my daughter to either get or not get chicken pox naturally, so I didnt vaccinate her... Until a couple months ago at age 6. The school she goes to would not allow her into 1st grade unless this was done. So much for parents making the choices here. I didnt feel that getting chickenpox was something serious enough to be prevented. Now if they came out with a miracle vaccine that she would never get heart disease/cancer, I'd do that in a second. She however didnt have any side effects, and didnt even cry when they administered the shot.

[kforkids]

Thought I'd chime in, too!
I currently have 4 kids: one who arrived before the vaccine- he got chicken pox as a toddler- right in the middle of a huge move for us! It was a mess, but its done!

One I got the vaccine for, he has played (twice now!) with kids who had or were getting chicken pox without ill effects.

One who got the vaccine before I adopted her- no problems there either!

The fourth is my new foster son- found out that mom had opted not to get the vaccine. He GOT the chicken pox at age 7, missed at least 15 days of school and had two secondary infections. This child was not removed for neglect, he had appropriate medical attention!

I sure could not afford to miss that much work!
Just one other thought, I have a good friend (male) who got chicken pox for the first time at age 24. He was VERY, VERY sick, and he and his wife were seriously worried about possible infertility.
None of these decisions are ever easy! It is always great to get feedback!
Best wishes to you!

[danni023]

Hi, I have two bio kids that have had the shot . My youngest had it when he was 15 months old and he did just fine. He did not get a rash or fever from the shot. My daughter was older when she got it. It is required in the state of PA to give it to all children who enter kindergarden. She did fine also with no reaction. To be honest I did not like the idea of having to get this shot for my kids. I don't think there is enough research for it . Hope everything works out for you!

[orphanagemom]

Hi,
My two oldest boys got chicken pox when they were just toddlers, and my two girls got the vaccine (nothing too bad about either one). Now, seven years later one of my boys got shingles (usually only older people get this, and it is extremely painful)! So, I guess noone is really safe!
Jen

[amom4life]

Red,
This is such a personal decision. Our struggle finally just ended right before Elijah's 6mo. well baby check(last week). First I have to say that I'm glad that we delayed getting any vaccines until now. I really feel that two months is way too young to start. Their little immune systems haven't even had a chance to develope.

We finally read a book that helped us a lot called "What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Children's Vaccinations" by Stephanie Cave M.D., F.A.A.F.P. She is not heavily slanted pro/con like everyone else we have read. She is more interested in parents making informed decisions so she tells the risks of the vaccines and some that are not truly necessary, but also reminds us that the dieases are out there and some of them are not pretty.

The best thing to us though was that she an an alternative schedule and starting time for each vaccine that would make them safer for the child's system. The one thing that she does stand firm on is that each vaccine should be given separately no multiple dosing.

With that said we are only going with HIB and DTAP and we requested that none of his vaccines contain mercury. We also read the actual label from the container that the shot was drawn from and wrote down the lot #.

Elijah just had his first HIB at his check(and did fine PTL!) and he will get his first DTAP a month later and we will alternate months like that until he has had all three doses of each. The Pertussis part of the DTAP vaccine still scares me the most but so does whooping cough.

Also we will have his titers checked before getting him any unnecessary boosters.

As far as chicken pox we are hoping that he gets it naturally then he will be immune for life. But if he doesn't get it by a certain age we probably will get the vaccine because I know that it is bad news to get chicken pox as an adult. But then again they don't know how long the immunity from the vaccine lasts so that could be moot anyway. ACK!!

Now our Peditrician has given us a prescription for floride drops and I'm researching that. I just can't see giving our son a drop of poison every day for the next three years of his life. That sounds insane. Our dd was born in Romania was in an orphanage with very poor hygiene where the kids actually shared tooth brushes(YUCK!) and her teeth are absolutely beautiful. She's only had one cavity and NO floride. So we are strongly leaning toward passing on the floride.

The best to you with your decision I know what a struggle it is!
Judy

[avjenks8]

I am a nurse at a family practice office in NY and I also have 5 year old son who did get the varicella vaccine and was just fine. No fever, the site where he got the shot a little sore- just give some pediatric tylenol or advil prior to the shot.
I am strongly for the shot as when I had the pox as a kid I had it EVERYWHERE and I mean EVERYWHERE. I had super high fever and was miserable. Now mind you I am 32 and I can still remember when I had the pox! Chicken pox should not be a "right of passage" for kids growing up. It is a virus that we have just seemed to accept as part of growing up. With the vaccine my son has a better chance of not getting it BUT if he does get the pox, his symptoms will not be as bad as the body has developed an immunity towards it.
Do I like giving shots or seeing my son get them---NO! But it is one of those things that as a parent we do in the best interest of our kids. I hope this helps.

[jojobear]

We had the chicken pox shot given to our 22 month old. And a week after he got the chicken pox, they were not a full blown case, however he got them, the doctor said this is a rare occasion. but now that he had the vaccine and the actual pox, we should be good to go. would i of ever changed getting him the shot, No i am glad that i did.

Jody

[Shoshana]

My childhood nightmare -

I just asked my mom if she remembered my chicken pox. Even tho' I got them 'the natural way(?)', she said it was absolutely horrible. My mother said I had them on my eye lids, ears, genitals, and she said my neck looked like raw beef. I remember lying naked on the couch with a sheet covering me. They lasted three weeks, and even then they weren't all gone!

I can't even imagine deciding NOT to let Xio have the vaccination and then having her get a severe case. I wonder how atypical a severe case of chicken pox really is?