most ridiculous chixpox vax story EVER! - Page 2

[Think of Winter]

Hello all,

I've only posted a few times here, but this thread got my attention because my 3 yr ds and 8 mo dd were exposed a couple of weeks ago. Varicella is the only vaccination ds didn't get, and dd hasn't had any, and my immediate reaction when I found out that they'd been exposed was panic. I've since calmed down, and I even hope that they do get it, but I have some sympathy for your carpool mom.

Our ped is the most non-vax friendly around, and he has posters all over his office of worst-case chicken pox pictures. Last time we were there he told me that the reason the peds around here are so vax crazy is that a girl died of chicken pox recently in our area (and her parents sued the hospital because the ped didn't offer varicella at every visit.) The information parents get about vaccines and childhood illnesses is terrifying very much one sided.

Not saying that the carpool mom handled it well (she probably doesn't handle a lot of things well) but in fairness, I'm sure she was truly afraid. I'm scared of the vax issue. Wish I knew with certainty what the best thing to do is. Why can't we trust the AAP? The CDC? It's scary going against the grain on such a serious thing, and the fault does not lie with parents.

[LizD]

Originally Posted by colleen95

Not saying that the carpool mom handled it well (she probably doesn't handle a lot of things well) but in fairness, I'm sure she was truly afraid. I'm scared of the vax issue. Wish I knew with certainty what the best thing to do is. Why can't we trust the AAP? The CDC? It's scary going against the grain on such a serious thing, and the fault does not lie with parents.

Very well said IMO. It's important to treat each other with compassion, even if others start picking a fight first. It also doesn't endear anyone to accept another point of view if the conversation is hostile.

FWIW I had chickenpox at 13 and had serious, unusual scarring. Not pockmarks but almost keloids. Fortunately there are only a few on my face and they are small, but others are on my torso and though few and small, they are strange, even uncomfortable. Frankly I'd risk shingles to have avoided that. Even people who weren't vaccinated and who had chickenpox can get shingles later in life. Herpes kind of does what it likes once it's in you.

That said, I know this thread was originally a rant about an obnoxious carpool partner, so I apologize!

[LongIsland]

Originally Posted by colleen95

Last time we were there he told me that the reason the peds around here are so vax crazy is that a girl died of chicken pox recently in our area (and her parents sued the hospital because the ped didn't offer varicella at every visit.)

Most peds everywhere are "vax crazy" -- they don't need a potential lawsuit looming over their heads in order be encouraged to agressively push vaccines.

If a parent refuses a vaccine, all the ped has to do is document the refusal in the child's file with the parent's signature and/or have the parent sign a refusal to vaccinate form.

His reasoning is a bunch of BS and sounds more like one of the many subtle scare tactics peds are very well known to use.

[TigerTail]

Wow, seeing the adult woman with varicella pneumonia makes me glad I am immune, & more determined to get it over with with all my kids before that sort of thing can happen. My respiratory system is weak, & I wouln't be at all confident in my immunity if all I'd had was a couple of ineffective vaccines.

[Chug-a-Pug]

Chicken pox can be deadly ...

Originally Posted by TigerTail

Wow, seeing the adult woman with varicella pneumonia makes me glad I am immune, & more determined to get it over with with all my kids before that sort of thing can happen. My respiratory system is weak, & I wouln't be at all confident in my immunity if all I'd had was a couple of ineffective vaccines.

I'm an RN and one of my patients died of chicken pox right in front of me. He was a 60 year old man. Indeed, CP isn't always as innocent and simple an illness as some people are led to believe.

Having said that, I have zero confidence in the CP vax and will not be giving it to my children. I know someone who got the CP after getting the vax a few years earlier, and I don't know many children at all. No thanks! Isn't the point of vaccinating to outweigh the risk with some benefit? This vax looks to me like all the risk with very little benefit, if any!

I'm also not about to give a vaccine to my children (or take it myself for that matter) that was cultured in aborted fetal cell tissue, as this one was. The mere thought of this sickens me.

But also having said that, this picture makes me sad: http://www.vaccineinformation.org/photos/variaap014.jpg

[TigerTail]

Yeah, I know it can be rough- the excema scares me a bit, since molluscum & scarlet fever were so much harder on ds1 than the rest of us (he still has molluscum scars), but 6 is better than 36, & I don't have any reason to believe anything as pernicious as herpes is going the way of smallpox.

[Awaken]

Originally Posted by Chug-a-Pug

I'm an RN and one of my patients died of chicken pox right in front of me. He was a 60 year old man. Indeed, CP isn't always as innocent and simple an illness as some people are led to believe.


But also having said that, this picture makes me sad: http://www.vaccineinformation.org/photos/variaap014.jpg

I can see what you're saying, but, isn't the whole point of not vaxing your kids, and having them exposed, because it IS more deadly in adults, and we WANT them to have it and gain immunity when they are younger and it's much less likely to cause deadly complications? That was my understanding.

[mountainsun]

I couldn't read this without responding to the OP ~ I think your situation with your carpool mom is INSANE. Holy crap! I guess the scaremongering really does work. I mean, we are talking about chicken pox, for goodness sake.

I am really sorry that you are going through this. I wish people would read up on things for themselves before jumping to worst case scenario. Yikes.

peace~Sarah

[temama]

I personally got CP from a kid at the doctors office after he had his vax. I think kids who are vax'd actually put us at more risk of getting CP than the other way around.

I also would be going off at the school for physically checking my child without me being there or having my permission to do so. Especially since this other mother was spreading rumors. She obviously did not ask if your eldest son was vax'd nor did she care to know...she assumed. Besides that you mentioned that he was fully vax'd to get into kindergarten, therefore, the school had this information and should have taken the info and wrote her off once they checked his records.

As far as worrying about her, I wouldn't, this is the type of person you wouldn't want in your life anyway. You need to surround yourself with as many like minded people as possible. Your family you cannot choose, but friends and acquaintances you can!

Just keep doing what your doing, it is right for your family!

Carey