Chickenpox Lollipops

[carnation]

Y'all make sure you get your shingles vaccines at 60! I've known a lot of older folks who didn't and have regretted every second of that.

AOII Angel, these children are between 11 and 21 and only 1 shot was recommended at the time. Interestingly, all contracted the virus within a year of their shots.

[KDCat]

Originally Posted by carnation

Y'all make sure you get your shingles vaccines at 60! I've known a lot of older folks who didn't and have regretted every second of that.

AOII Angel, these children are between 11 and 21 and only 1 shot was recommended at the time. Interestingly, all contracted the virus within a year of their shots.

I plan on getting mine, but it's only effective in 50% of older adults.

[katydidKD]

http://www.southparkstudios.com/clip.../in-the-ghetto

[Munchkin03]

I didn't know the vaccine had a history of not working--my niece and nephew are 15 and 11 respectively, had to be vaccinated before starting kindergarten, and neither of them have had it.

This doesn't bother me that much, since having chicken pox as an adult or teenager can be agony and missing a week (or more!) of your life at that age is far more disruptive than it is while you're in school. I'm not sure I'd do it with my (non-existent) children, though.

My mother deliberately kept us away from chicken pox and kids who might have it; whereas most parents didn't encourage their kid to get it, they saw it as a fact of life. Her reasoning had nothing to do with our health--she simply didn't like how chickenpox blisters looked. She and 4 of her siblings were sick at the same time and she always talked about how disgusting they looked.

Well, my sister got it when she was 21, and I was 15. My sister was out of school and work for 2 weeks--when she was in college! I was 15, and ended up being extremely sick (like, hospital level) and also out of school for about 3 weeks. There were labs that I couldn't make up and classes that I missed outright since 3 weeks wasn't considered a long enough time to have a home tutor, my grades suffered. I went from being #1 in my class to being completely out of the top 10%. For the most part, I was able to make it up in subsequent semesters, however, but it really sucked there for a bit. To boot, I had AP and IB exams that year and I spent a lot of time trying to make it up.

I'd imagine that if we had it younger, then we either would have had less severe cases. Also, missing that much school in grade school isn't that devastating. The funny thing is, we didn't really have the dreaded facial blisters.

[CutiePie2000]

Originally Posted by 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.

I've had chicken pox twice in my life: age 5 and age 19. I remember both episodes but the one at age 19 was awful, and occurred during university EXAMS, no less.

[AGDee]

Originally Posted by AOII Angel

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.

I've had to get the MMR numerous times because I never develop antibodies against Rubeola. I hope I never work in a hospital again because I'm tired of getting that darn shot.

My kids were both vaccinated against chicken pox and neither have gotten it. It was optional when I got them vaccinated but their dad hasn't had chicken pox so I thought it was important.

[LikeASista]

WTF?!?!? I mean, ... these folks, ... seriously, ... I mean, ... I feel like, ... ya know what?



... and that's all I got to SAY about it.

[ASUADPi]

What did she say when the post office asked if she was shipping hazardous materials?

I can't believe people are this stupid.....oh wait yes I can.

I got chickenpox as a child. My parents were of the belief that I "had" to get it (prevaccine). They sent me down the street to a kid who had it, I got it. My grandmother took care of me. I have a scar on my forehead where I picked off a chicken pox. My younger brother got it from me.

I don't really remember it too well. I remember the constant itching and being covered in calamine lotion. I remember wanted to scratch everywhere. It was horrible.

[jenidallas]

I had a super mild case at age 2. Two or three pox, that's it.

My mom tried unsuccessfully to get me reinfected over the years.

I got myself reinfected at age 21. End of semester, near finals, and one of four girls in my dorm infected. The university quarantined us - put us on one wing with a dedicated shower and toilet (affectionately labeled with a sign reading "chicken pox potty"). We couldn't go to classes or into the dining hall (they would bring us takeout boxes). It was awful and I have scars from those sores although it was still a very mild case.

I got shingles when I was 31. Horrible horrible flare of them. Lots of pain (some of which still persists). It hurt to touch that side of my body.

I'm about to turn 40. I now get zoster flares whenever I'm under extreme stress (same arm/torso side where my shingles flared).

I wouldn't wish the chicken pox or shingles willingly on anyone. Those parents are crazy!!!

[amIblue?]

I am totally calling my doctor tomorrow to make sure that my vaccinations worked. Hello, blood test.

[KillarneyRose]

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.

I had both Katie and CeCe vaccinated and CeCe ended up getting chicken pox not once but TWICE! They were, thankfully, mild but quite the surprise.

[southbymidwest]

Wow, this is all very enlightening! I had no idea that you could get it twice, or that the shingles vaccines are only 50/50. Huh.

[AOII Angel]

Originally Posted by carnation

Y'all make sure you get your shingles vaccines at 60! I've known a lot of older folks who didn't and have regretted every second of that.

AOII Angel, these children are between 11 and 21 and only 1 shot was recommended at the time. Interestingly, all contracted the virus within a year of their shots.

Ding ding ding! They now recommend two shots. I had my two. As my husband the pediatrician says, though, it is hard to say how bad their cases would have been without their vaccines. Every child is different. They could have had much more severe cases if they had not been vaccinated. Chicken pox can lead to pneumonia and death. Usually, vaccinated individuals who contract the disease have milder cases with shorter durations.

[AOII Angel]

Originally Posted by jenidallas

I had a super mild case at age 2. Two or three pox, that's it.

My mom tried unsuccessfully to get me reinfected over the years.

I got myself reinfected at age 21. End of semester, near finals, and one of four girls in my dorm infected. The university quarantined us - put us on one wing with a dedicated shower and toilet (affectionately labeled with a sign reading "chicken pox potty"). We couldn't go to classes or into the dining hall (they would bring us takeout boxes). It was awful and I have scars from those sores although it was still a very mild case.

I got shingles when I was 31. Horrible horrible flare of them. Lots of pain (some of which still persists). It hurt to touch that side of my body.

I'm about to turn 40. I now get zoster flares whenever I'm under extreme stress (same arm/torso side where my shingles flared).

I wouldn't wish the chicken pox or shingles willingly on anyone. Those parents are crazy!!!

Does your doctor prescribe anything for this? Antiherpetic drugs like Acyclovir can be helpful for this postherpetic neuralgia problem. Im sorry you have to deal with this. It's what I fear about the chicken pox.

[VandalSquirrel]

Originally Posted by AOII Angel

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.

I had the chicken pox when I was in third grade or so, over my birthday so I stayed home and played with my new Barbies. I have a few scars but nothing disfiguring. My eldest sister never had it and I'm not sure if she got the shot before she started to plan to get pregnant. I'm slightly concerned about shingles and though the shot is recommended for older people, I get random health problems that my body poorly responds to which could be an unexpected shingles experience in the making.

I have quite a few vaccinations that don't show up on a titre but I had the full amount as a child and have kept up on all my vaccinations as an adult. Since my field work is in Alaska there is no messing around with MMR and TB, so one time I had a short window before flying out and had to get proof of my MMR. Getting a copy from the doctor I had before I left home as an adult would have been a massive hassle, so my doctor did a titre. I was lacking one of the three, not mumps but one of the measles, and it had to be specially ordered instead of just giving me another whole MMR shot (which probably wouldn't have hurt me...).

I had another titre done for the hepatitis series that came back with no immunity and I did that whole series again. I've also had a positive tb test and that was with tines, not Mantoux, probably a false positive, so I'm going to be a bossy pants and demand the TB blood test to avoid a yearly chest x-ray since I'm not keen on exposing my bodacious tatas to any more radiation than necessary. My titres also denied that I had shots for pneumonia, bacterial meningitis, and sometimes DPT. Since I'm "high risk" for tetanus I got one before the 10 year period, and within six months the titre was in denial. This is when the doctor decided it is possible I'm a non-converter and don't show antibodies, like your husband experiences.