question about chicken pox virus....

[paranoidprego]

al 3 of my children got chicken pox 2 years ago, as in virus not vaccine. my son got it first. he was almost 4 at the time. he had such a mild case it was hard to tell what it was until his sisters came down with it (really bad). i am wondering if he has enough immunity to CP, should i re-expose him when given the opportunity, should i get his titers drawn? i just don't want him to go his whole life thinking he had CP and then he is like 40 and is exposed and gets it really bad. but i also don't want him to get it bad. does any of the make sense? its getting harder to find answers to my questions these days:) thanks!

[Jennyanydots]

I don't know- maybe get his titers drawn? I would've thought his contracting the virus, albeit a mild case, would be enough to grant him immunity, but lately I've read about people having multiple cases of chicken pox. I wonder if those who've experienced this typically have milder cases, also. Sorry I'm not much help- hope you get some answers

[kathymuggle]

I would re-expose him if you have the chance.

If he gets it again, maybe his case was too mild the first time?  I would imagine a second case would be milder (as his body might recognise it) but that is just speculation.

The primary reason I would re-expose him, and everyone else in your household who you know had CP, is to prevent shingles.  It is believed that every time we are exposed to CP it triggers an immune response in our bodies and this may help prevent shingles.

I was near a boy with CP a month ago, I sat and read to him for a good 15 minutes.  Yes, reading to kids is good, but I was trying to expose myself to his CP!

For what it is worth, I had very mild CP as a child and never got it again.  

[darciedoodle]

I believe my daughter had a mild case of CP and specifically asked her doctor what to do. She said reexpose her if I get the chance and do a blood draw when she is older. If it turns out she didn't have it then we'll have to consider the vaccine.

[Chicharronita]

My dh never had any symptoms of CP despite being exposed to it multiple times in the 70s, so when my dd got a moderate case a few years ago we were concerned.

But he didn't get any symptom; neither did I for that matter. We're both in our forties.

I keep my eye out for CP in order to get additional exposure to it, but so far no one I know has gotten it since it went through my small  AP community three years ago. 

[NAABG12]

Two responses: One I got a severe case of chicken pox and still got it two more times as a child. My sister got two mild cases and then a severe case. In response to the person who says the more often they are exposed to CP the better chance of not getting shingles isn't correct. If you do not get CP in your system you will not get shingles. Once it is in your system your statistical likelihood of getting shingles skyrockets. They have even linked the vaccine with shingles. Hence the shingles vaccine. That being said we are skipping the vaccine too just being made aware that they can and probably will get it multiple times.

[kathymuggle]

Originally Posted by kathymuggle 

I would re-expose him if you have the chance.

If he gets it again, maybe his case was too mild the first time?  I would imagine a second case would be milder (as his body might recognise it) but that is just speculation.

The primary reason I would re-expose him, and everyone else in your household who you know had CP, is to prevent shingles.  It is believed that every time we are exposed to CP it triggers an immune response in our bodies and this may help prevent shingles.

I was near a boy with CP a month ago, I sat and read to him for a good 15 minutes.  Yes, reading to kids is good, but I was trying to expose myself to his CP!

For what it is worth, I had very mild CP as a child and never got it again.  

Last poster...please reread the third paragraph, I expressly said to expose those who had CP. Exposure to CP decreases the chance of shingles in those who already had CP.
Edited by kathymuggle - 12/30/12 at 8:19am