Chicken pox at school, ds not vaccinated, I'm pregnant

[snugglebug14]

Ds2 (4) and Ds1 (7) are not vaccinated for chicken pox. There was an outbreak in DS2's class. A part of me is hoping he contracted it from his friend at school and will be able to develop a natural immunity (but that's besides the point). I'm pregnant (28 weeks), and had chicken pox as a kid. Do I need to worry about DS exposing me to varicella? Does it make a difference whether he simply came into contact with it vs actually getting sick? Are there any precautions I should take? Can I do anything now, to help DS get less sick from it if he doesn't end up getting chicken pox? Would it be worth supplementing with echinacea to boost his immune system so he can have as gentle of a response as possible? Aghh...all of this is making me question my decision to not vaccinate him...on the one hand I feel like it was the right choice and I still have my doubts about vaccines on a variety of levels...but I also will feel really bad if my boys get sick and i could have prevented it. 

[Justmee]

Mine all had chicken pox and got over it mildly. I am happy they have natural immunity.

As far as I understand, if you are immune, then there is no risk to the pregnancy.

Besides the fact that chicken pox is most contagious before the pox come out, so if they were exposed it's probably too late.

Good luck!

[Marnica]

You're fine if you had CP as a child. Usually nowadays they take tirtes for CP and Rubella as standard blood work on all pregnant women. I'm 36 weeks now and know I had mine done early on. If there was a problem - they would have let you know. As for your kids, IMO 4 and 7 are perfect ages to get CP over with. If they do come down with it, just make sure you do not give tylenol for any fever. Doing this hinders the natural immune response and IMO is responsible for any "complications"  Personally if my DS ever gets it, I will treat approparietly with homeopathy to ease him through. If they do get it dont worry - they will be fine

[slmommy]

I was exposed to cp while pregnant, by an adult living in your house, and he had mild 1st time case. I was very glad to have natural immunity, and honestly, I think this is really important in the vax debate - this is the case for why natural immunity exists - you will also transfer cp antibodies through the placenta (and bm if you bf) to your baby for after he/she is born. I don't know what will happen for our daughters, when they have no natural immunity and worn-off boosters... they will not be protected and neither will their newborns... this is pretty much the case now for measles, rubella, mumps in our generation - most of us never had natural infection, so not only are we at potential risk during pregnancies - our babies are being born without significant antibody protection - which is exactly when babies need it most - during the first weeks/months of life. But of course the best solution is keep up vax rates and boosters all the time for everyone  (sarcasm)

Edited by slmommy - 3/14/12 at 4:09pm

[snugglebug14]

Thanks everyone for the responses! I talked to my midwife as well and she agreed that since I had it as a child, there shouldn't be a risk to the baby.
 

Originally Posted by Marnica 

  Personally if my DS ever gets it, I will treat approparietly with homeopathy to ease him through. If they do get it dont worry - they will be fine

Which homeopathic remedy would you use?

[Marnica]

Originally Posted by snugglebug14 

Thanks everyone for the responses! I talked to my midwife as well and she agreed that since I had it as a child, there shouldn't be a risk to the baby.
 

Which homeopathic remedy would you use?

 There are several and which one you would choose would depend on the symptom picture at the time. Most uncomplicated cases of CP don't need any treatment. It's when there may be more unusual symptoms where one might use homeopathy.  Thats the thing with homeopathy - there is no 1 remedy fits all approach. It's all about individual symptoms. Anyway here is a link to a nice article by a homeopathic doc about CP treatment

http://vran.org/alternatives/alternatives-for-specific-infections/chickenpox/