Talk to me about chickenpox!

[Storm Bride]

Okay - I've never had a good feeling about the chickenpox vax (I do vax, but I don't do all of them, by any means), and have been hoping my kids would get exposed to it naturally.

However, it hasn't worked out yet, and dd is almost 6. Here's the scenario today.

My nephew, 5, has chickenpox. His siblings have also been exposed to it, and we expect them to come out with it anytime now. (My sister thinks dn broke out about 2-3 days after exposure, based on when the other child got it.) This would be a good chance to expose dd and ds2. However, I'm pregnant - 7 months. How serious is exposure to chickenpox when you're pregnant? Any good links about this? I really need to decide how to handle this.

Unfortunately, dd also heard me talking to my sister, and is completely freaked out about getting the pox. She thinks she'll never be able to play with her friends again, and will have the spots forever and such. It's really hard to explain the vax/no vax and benefits/risks of acquiring these illnesses before puberty vs. in adulthood to a 6 year old. Anybody got any child-friendly links explaining this kind of stuff?

Ugh. I've been wanting a chance to get them exposed to chickenpox for a long time, but the timing sucks (of course...the timing of illness often does).

[Gitti]

If you have had cp then you would be immune and wouldn't be a problem.

This is really a good age for your child to get cp, I agree.

[brendaziz]

OK, well as far as being pregnant, did you have pox already? If you did, then i wouldn't worry about anything pregnancy related. As long as you're sure you def had a good case of em at some point.
For your dd, i dont know of any resources that would calm her nerves about it- adn I highly doubt there are any.
I personally- would not let my child know that i was planning on exposing them to something b/c i wouldn't want them to be angry with me about the fact htat they're gonna get sick.
If you think that your daughter is gonna have severe trust issues w/ you over this, you might wanna reconsider exposure- but if it were me, I would just expose her w/o her really knowing too much what's going on- and treat the illness as very normal and not a big deal.
Baby the crap out of her and let her lay aroudn and watch tv and eat ice cream and what not while she has it and just keep talking to her about how nice it will be that she wont have to get this ever again.

But this is kind of a tough issue- i understand. my kids were really young adn had no idea about anything so it was much easier!

[Storm Bride]

According to my mom, I had them when I was a kid. Plus, ds1 had them about 10 years ago, and I took care of him the whole time without getting anything. Without actually remembering having them, I can't be 100% sure (parents can remember things incorrectly, for example), but I'm as close to it as I can be!

My nephew had cp at the same time ds1 did, and my sister didn't catch them, either. I think my mom's memory is spot-on with this one. (I remember having mumps and have a vague memory of measles, but I don't actually remember chickenpox.)


Okay - now I just have to figure out what to say to dd. She's freaking out.

Any good links on incubation and such? This may mess up dd's birthday party plans.

[Storm Bride]

Originally Posted by brendaziz

For your dd, i dont know of any resources that would calm her nerves about it- adn I highly doubt there are any.
I personally- would not let my child know that i was planning on exposing them to something b/c i wouldn't want them to be angry with me about the fact htat they're gonna get sick.
If you think that your daughter is gonna have severe trust issues w/ you over this, you might wanna reconsider exposure- but if it were me, I would just expose her w/o her really knowing too much what's going on- and treat the illness as very normal and not a big deal.
Baby the crap out of her and let her lay aroudn and watch tv and eat ice cream and what not while she has it and just keep talking to her about how nice it will be that she wont have to get this ever again.

She heard me talking to my sister on the phone, so she already knows about it. I need to talk to her. She's pretty smart, but this is pretty complicated stuff for a little kid.

Do I remember correctly that if one's only immunity to chickenpox is vaccine based, the incidence and severity of shingles in adulthood is higher?

[DocJenn]

This is just my thoughts...NOT medical advice.....
CP can be devastating to the pregnancy (espcially if you break out right before you give birth). However, if you have already had CP, you should be protected. I've seen / heard that Thyme oil works wonders on the skin lesions. Plus, vit c, vit D, echinacea help CP go away faster. And don't give your child ibuprofen (only tylenol) if they need pain / fever relief.

[rabrog]

I'd expose them immediately. Sounds like you're good as far as exposure goes. If they interfere with birthday plans, move the party by a week. It's getting harder and harder to find CP and I think you should take the opportunity!

Jenn

[Storm Bride]

Okay, thanks.

I'm unlikely to break out right before birth, even if I did have a second bout, for some weird reason. My "due" date is still just over 8 weeks away and I tend to go post-dates. (I know that's not a guarantee of anything.)

I just need to look into a couple other things, but I think I'll take the kids to see their cousins soon.