Chickenpox Lollipops

[DrPhil]

What in the hell is wrong with people?! Nevermind, I already know. This is dumber than "chickenpox parties."

Originally Posted by TODAYMoms

Chickenpox lollipops? Some moms may be sending in mail

by Rita Rubin

You’ve probably heard of "chickenpox parties," where parents get unvaccinated kids together (in the home of an infected child) in the hopes they'll catch the disease. They think making their kids suffer through the disease will help them develop stronger immunity than immunization would provide.
But now the buzz is all about people shipping objects that have been contaminated with the chickenpox virus to people who live too far away to attend a pox party.
A Nashville TV station Thursday reported on a local woman who charged $50 a pop to ship suckers smothered in saliva by her sick kids.

http://moms.today.msnbc.msn.com/_new...ending-in-mail

[DaffyKD]

Chicken pox parties are still around? We had them when I was little long before the vaccine was even a thought. The idea was that it was far better for a child to get chicken pox while young than to get them when they became an adult. Both of my kids had them since they were still working on the vaccine when they were young. Both were exposed to cases before the other child actually broke out with the poxes. Luckily, both of them had VERY mild cases.

DaffyKD

[amIblue?]

W. T. F.

[KDCat]

Ugh. I hate that people deliberately give kids the chickenpox. Chickenpox usually is a mild disease, but if you have it, you usually never get rid of it. The virus lurks in your body for the rest of your life. When you are over 60 or become immune compromised, it can spring back to life and give you shingles, which is extremely painful, and which can reoccur over and over.

[DaffyKD]

Originally Posted by KDCat

Ugh. I hate that people deliberately give kids the chickenpox. Chickenpox usually is a mild disease, but if you have it, you usually never get rid of it. The virus lurks in your body for the rest of your life. When you are over 60 or become immune compromised, it can spring back to life and give you shingles, which is extremely painful, and which can reoccur over and over.

In the days when we had the chickenpox parties it was thought that only those who had never had chickenpox as a child would be susceptible to shingles when they were older. The parents thought they were preventing problems down the line only to learn later they were wrong.

DaffyKD

[southbymidwest]

Originally Posted by DaffyKD

In the days when we had the chickenpox parties it was thought that only those who had never had chickenpox as a child would be susceptible to shingles when they were older. The parents thought they were preventing problems down the line only to learn later they were wrong.

DaffyKD

Not only that, there was the worry regarding the severity and possible complications of adult chickenpox, and pregnant women who had not had chickenpox contracting it. It was a pay me now or pay me big time later scenario. But yeah, that was all BEFORE the vaccine became available.

[alum]

My oldest had chickenpox at age 4.5. Six years later My youngest got the vaccine at 5 y.o. I am much more worried about kid2 getting reinfected vs. kid 1.

[carnation]

Once the vaccine came out, my 7 youngest got it (the older ones had already had chicken pox). Every one of the vaccinated ones got chicken pox anyway. When I asked the doctor about it, he said they got a lighter case than they would have without the vaccine.I think he made that up since their cases were as bad as those of my unvaccinated ones.

[amIblue?]

Originally Posted by carnation

Once the vaccine came out, my 7 youngest got it (the older ones had already had chicken pox). Every one of the vaccinated ones got chicken pox anyway. When I asked the doctor about it, he said they got a lighter case than they would have without the vaccine.I think he made that up since their cases were as bad as those of my unvaccinated ones.

As the only person I know who never has had the chicken pox and who got vaccinated in my late 30s - YIKES!!!

But to speak to DrPhil's original post - that's pretty darn irresponsible to knowingly ship infectious material. Had something happened to the packaging, couldn't some unsuspecting person have been exposed? I realize that chicken pox isn't exactly anthrax, but still.

[christiangirl]

No. That's my final answer.

[Still BLUTANG]

Originally Posted by amIblue?

that's pretty darn irresponsible to knowingly ship infectious material.

That's my concern. What is wrong with people?????

[AOII Angel]

Originally Posted by carnation

Once the vaccine came out, my 7 youngest got it (the older ones had already had chicken pox). Every one of the vaccinated ones got chicken pox anyway. When I asked the doctor about it, he said they got a lighter case than they would have without the vaccine.I think he made that up since their cases were as bad as those of my unvaccinated ones.

Did they get two shots? I supposedly had the chickenpox as a child but didn't test positive for antibodies when I started med school so I had to get the vaccine. Yes, you can still get infected, though it should be less severe. If I ever exposed to someone with chickenpox or shingles, I have to be tested to see if I have antibodies against the virus. If not, I can't go to the hospital for five days until they are sure I haven't contracted the disease. Not everyone who gets vaccines actually develops antibodies to make them immune. My husband has had tons of MMR vaccines because he never develops antibodies against Rubella.

[KSUViolet06]

Ew.

I have had the pox, but as an infant, so I don't remember it.

I always cringed when people I knew got it at older ages because their descriptions of how they felt were SO AWFUL. I used to be like "man I'm glad I got it as a baby."

One time, someone told me (in elementary school) that I could still get it even though I'd had it before and I cried. lol.

[Honeykiss1974]

/\ It's possible. I had a mild case of chickenpox as a child (around 7) and had another outbreak later at 22 years old, which took me over a month to recover from.

[KSUViolet06]

^^^^I've heard that. I've also heard of it resurfacing as shingles. *shudder*