Chicken pox ??

No, Caitlin doesn't have it...she has been exposed to it. I asked my friend what her daughter had on her face earlier this weekend and she said it was either bug bites or pimples. I thought they were weird-looking to be bug bites or pimples, but I figured her mom knew better than I did. She called me yesterday morning to tell me that it was chicken pox, not bug bites because her daughter woke up feeling very sick and had pox all over her body. (Poor girl, she is 14!)

We were told that Caitlin had no immunity to varicella so her dr did not allow her to get the vaccine earlier this month. I am hoping that Caitlin won't catch it, but for those of you who have had children with ITP and chicken pox, does it do anything to their platelet count? I think I remember from when I was a child (when everyone was allowed to get it) that it takes anywhere from 5-10 days to get it. They were only together a few hours, but it was with a group of girls...so hopefully the mom has informed all of the parents.

I had chicken pox twice when I was younger. I can't remember to be honest if it made them lower, but I got through it alright, didn't even get admitted to hospital. She will be fine even if she does get them and you would probally want her to get them now rather when she is an adult cause i have heard they can be much worse for an adult. Just keep a close eye on her and try not to worry about it too much.

Is varicella what causes chicken pox? If so, I must be missing something - if she has no immunity, surely that would be a reason for getting the vaccine????

Anyway, the only thing I know about chicken pox, is that the intensity of the illness is supposed to be dependent on the length of exposure. So an hour or so wouldn't produce a severe case I guess. I know that on the two occasions when my kids had it, the ones who got it second after having had a week or two with their infected brother, got it much worse than the ones who had it first.

Much worse than the original chicken pox however was the shingles my youngest son got at the age of 5 - horrible side effect!

Hope that Caitlin avoids it anyway - my sister seems to have escaped it for the last 48 years, so it is possible.

Ali

Thanks! She didnt get the vaccine because it is a live vaccine and it could cause her to get the chicken pox. They said the chances of her coming in contact with an infected person were slim. (Surprisingly not!) I guess its "wait and see" for about 10 days and if nothing happens, then she ll be fine. I had it myself 3 times as a child and was very sick the last time i got it. I just dont want it to cause her count to tank.

I really appreciate the good information and input about this Chicken Pox thing. We have not had to deal with this as of yet (knock on wood). It is nice to know I have a place to go if that ever changes.

Thanks

OK, I am still not understanding - but kids don't get vaccinated for chicken pox in the UK so that's my excuse for ignorance!

I thought that the whole point of a vaccine was to give you a kind of mild form of the illness so that you didn't get the real thing???? So if you had immunity anyway it would be from exposure of some sort to the virus, therefore you wouldn't need the vaccine.

Am I being mega thick here?

Ali

Sorry Ali...we're weird here in the U.S., lol! There are just certain vaccines here in the U.S. that are required here that are not required elsewhere. Our kids must be vaccinated against many things before they can attend public school, and this particular varicella vaccine is required before entering Kindergarten and 7th grade. I know the chicken pox isn't really that big of a deal, but I think the state tries to minimize the amount of absences possible. (For money purposes, I'm sure! It is what it is...just have to accept it here.)

The "live" vaccines CAN give you a a mild form of the illness, but because of Caitlin's low immunity, she could get a more severe case than the person who has a normal immune system because her body does not have enough white blood cells to fight off the infection. For cancer patients, since they have a next to none immune system, something like the chicken pox could be fatal to them. Hope this helps. (It does not mean that this WILL be worse for Caitlin, but the possibility is there.)