And speaking of chicken pox, the response we have gotten this month to our kids not being vaccinated has been across the spectrum. From my acupuncturist (That is the best thing, this is the best way) to the kids' regular doctor (Well, if they don't catch meningitis or a secondary fatal skin infection, they will probably be ok) to the most common (Don't they have a vaccine for that?). When Alex was a baby, I did a lot of research on vaccines. And while I did decided to have the kids vaccinated, Adam in particular was on a delayed schedule and only had 1 shot per visit, starting at a year old. Have you ever wondered why a 2 month old baby is subjected to 4 shots? The real answer is, most kids, especially low-income kids rarely go to the doctor after the first year. So the doctors get them while they can.
So we decided not to do the chicken pox vaccine. The vaccine is relatively new and it's real reason for being created was the billions of dollars lost each year when parents had to take time off of work to stay with sick kids. Chicken pox is not a dangerous disease, at least not any more dangerous that the common cold. Both can have very rare but very serious complications. Also, since the vaccine came out, there has been a rise in shingles, both in teenagers and older populations (hence more vaccines). There is speculation that to keep chicken pox immunity you need to be exposed to it periodically. As the chicken pox virus declines, shingles cases rise.
So even though we made the decision not to vaccinate, I still see this issue in shades of gray and not the stark black and white of many of the comments we have gotten. While not serious, chicken pox is still not fun. Alex had a fever on and off for 3 days, not to mention all the itching. Adam seems to be getting more blisters than Alex and has 2 in his mouth. We have been quarantined for 3 weeks and Adam will miss most of the first 3 weeks of swim team, including the first meet. The longer I'm a mother, the more I realize almost all of the important decisions are gray colored.
4 comments:
Hear hear!
And then, despite my confidence in the decision not to get this particular vax, I wonder how I will feel in 20 years when my kids have no way to be re-exposed for a natural "booster" and therefore more likely to break out in shingles? I totally understand. Oy. it's so hard!
On a slightly selfish note, I myself was glad to get my own natural booster this month. My grandmother had shingles when I was a kid and it was horrifying. So yeah, my whole family (and I do mean whole, including extended) can thank us for their continuing immunity for the moment :)
Yup! I consider myself boosted. :)
I wasn't happy about getting my son the vax but it was a matter of choosing battles with his father at the time. Wouldn't you know it - he ended up getting a very bad case of chicken pox FROM the vaccine and then giving it to me at 27. Ugh. And the worst part was that his doc was in denial and refused to diagnose it for what it was and only wrote "skin rash" in his record. Yeah we switched docs after that. When the H1N1 vax came around, I fought the battle with his dad and won.
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