Immunity to chicken pox question

[amdr]

Hi, I am new to this wonderful forum.....

I am the mother of seven kids who are not vaccinated.  (actually my two oldest had a few shots each before i decided to abandon the schedule.  All of my children except for one has had the CP.  She is 15 years old.....When she was about 3 mos old , her older four siblings had the chicken pox over a two month period.  Six years ago, #6 , with whom she shared a room, got chicken pox.   She never got them.  Last year , #7 got them from school,  she never got them.  Should I assume she has had exposure w/o evidence?  what would be the most definitive test to determine whether or not she has immunity.  I have read conflicting information regarding this.  I would prefer that if she has no immunity, that she gets them sooner rather than later and I do not support cp vaccinations for healthy children as I believe that there is no problem in having cp. 

As a side note, #7 got diagnosed with leukemia at the age of four and underwent 3 yrs of treatment in an unvaccinated family, attended school, etc, with no illnesses.  He got the cp one year after treatment ended from a vaccinated classmate.  New spots appeared for four days, dried up and he was back to school the following week; no analgesics, etc.  #6 had a mild case which the doc thinks was caused by exposure to a vaccinated schoolmate.  Was it  , or was he healthy enough to not have a bad case?  #4 had it the worst as she was exposed to the previous three on an ongoing basis for weeks. Titres of the first four show exposure. They contracted cp from unvaccinated kids.  If the last two didn't and one has never visibly had symptoms , are there definitive tests to prove immunity?

Just curious if anyone has more info.  Thank you.

[Mirzam]

You could get your DD's titres done if you are of the belief that antibodies = immunity. On a personal note, I never got chicken pox either despite being exposed countless times both as a child and an adult. Never had my titres tested though.

[amdr]

Thanks........I am not convinced of antibodies = immunity either, just looking for the experience of others. 

[littlest birds]

Our twins had CP at about four months old when their older sister had them.  Babies usually get very mild cases and I would guess that your dd faced them way back then.  Ours had about five spots, and were not ill either.   One had CP again when she was six though.

Other than titers you can only guess based on what you know.  I would guess your dd is immune already.   And obviously exposing her doesn't work since she has been thoroughly exposed so how could you help her catch them anyway?

[prosciencemum]

Originally Posted by amdr 

Thanks........I am not convinced of antibodies = immunity either, just looking for the experience of others. 

This is a new belief to me. Can you explain how antibodies could not be the same as immunity? 

[prosciencemum]

PS. Curious about CP immunity in particular. Youngest born in the UK where healthy children do not get routine CP vaccinations, and my oldest (who got first shot in the states before we moved her) currently has 8 friends in her class at school who have recently come down with CP. So I have to assume youngest has been exposed (also have been cases in his nursery already) but he's never had any symptoms of the disease. 

[shiningpearl]

antibodies are just a sign that your body has been exposed to a certain pathogen.  How your body reacts when it encounters that pathogen again is what makes up immunity.  This is where a lot of vaccine doubters find fault in the vaccines themselves and how they are tested.  The only test of effectiveness a vaccine has to prove is that it created antibodies, they never purposely expose people who have been vaccinated to the disease to see if the vaccine works. 

My own little CP story.  

I MAY have had a mild case when I was young (I'm talking 10 spots or it could have been hives my parents didn't know) but I was still breastfeeding.  Went the rest of childhood without getting them, in 2004 had my ok, I'm married thinking about having children OB appointment.  They ran my titers for CP, results no immunity (I didn't ask for the numbers to see if I had some exposure), I got one dose of the vaccine, insurance didn't cover it for adults was stuck paying the $100 out of pocket, we were saving for a house and I didn't go back for the booster.  In 2008 pregnant with #2 had titers checked again results Immune, although just bearly.  2012, Early March, both children and I where exposed to CP, no one got them, Early April exposed again, children didn't get them even though they had more exposure than me but I GOT THEM, two weeks later the children came down with them.  

MY opinion is that their primary immune response was able to identify the invaders and kill them, where as my primary response was not.  My waning vaccine immunity did not have enough antibodies to kill it off and because the vaccine had bypassed my primary response located in the lungs and gut, it was not recognized to start antibody production.  After spending time with sick mom, hugs and kisses and cuddling and food prep and having Grandma who was helping me spoiling them with treats, both of my children did come down with CP from me. 

I did have a "mild case" about 100 spots or so, but I felt like death.  My youngest who was still nursing had about the same number of spots as me but felt a whole lot better, my older child who wouldn't sit still had a worse case with about 200 spots. 

Edited by shiningpearl - 5/25/12 at 8:49am

[shiningpearl]

oh another little side note, a week after having CP my older child had the stomach flu.  I asked her which was worse, the stomach flu or the chicken pox, and her answer was the the stomach flu.