On the first day of Rosh Hashana began, ds5 showed me a blister on his neck that was bothering him. He couldn’t see it, but felt it, and told me he had a wart there. Since recently I’ve been noticing unusual bug bites on ds4 that I don’t know the source of, I chalked this up to another kind of insect bite. I asked if it was itchy, but he said no.
The next morning ds5 told me the ‘wart’ was hurting him. Thinking it must be a bug bite, I asked him again if it was itchy, and he said no. When I was dressing him that evening, I was concerned to see a number of red bumps all over his back. He’s had a heat rash in that area recently, but this was looking like a bit more than heat rash. We wondered if it might be chicken pox, but it’s been fifteen years since I’ve seen it so I didn’t have a recent memory to draw on, and ds wasn’t itching.
Dh went across the street to a retired nurse to ask her opinion, but she wasn’t home. On his way back into the building, he bumped into a neighbor who has three grown children, and asked her opinion. ‘Chicken pox’, she proclaimed. Dh came upstairs and shared the good news with me. 🙂
My oldest three kids had chicken pox, though the third was only a few months old, and though she had a pretty bad case, I don’t know if she has immunity. The next six kids haven’t had it, though I’ve been hoping for years they would catch it. I explained to ds5 that he had chicken pox, which was awesome and amazing, so much so that some people make chicken pox parties to share the germs with children of parents who want their kids to aquire natural immunity.
That’s a problem with homeschooling – your kids stay too darned healthy without all the sick kids in their class to infect them constantly. After all these years of keeping my eyes and ears open for families with chicken pox, it took less than a month in school and no effort on my part for ds5 to catch chicken pox! Who knew how awesome school was and what I was missing all these years?
The worst part about this news was that it was on the second night of Rosh Hashana (Thurs.) when we realized what it was, and there was very little I could do to alleviate his discomfort for another two days. Fortunately, he didn’t really get itchy until Sunday, though by Friday morning I could almost see the spots breaking out on him as I watched him, they were appearing so fast. On Sunday I made him a bath with a blend of oats and herbs, and he spent most of the day in the tub; every time he’d come out, he’d cry that he was itchy, then jump back in the tub and I’d add more hot water. He looked like a prune by the end of the day, but he was a relatively happy prune. 😛 The next day I gave him different shaped containers, cups, and silverware for his bath, and he had a great time. Ds4 kept requesting to join ds5in his bath, but I told him he had to wait until he gets chickenpox.:)
When the chickenpox vaccine came out in 1995, it was well-known that it was developed as a convenience to working parents. Chickenpox basically consists of an itchy rash, mild fever, and general fretfulness, and necessitates keeping your child home from school for about a week. And a week is a long time for parents to stay home from work. So most people thought it was ridiculous and superfluous.
Fast forward about fifteen years, and it’s frightening to me how many people think that chickenpox is something life-threatening. A lot of effort was put into PR to make so many parents who grew up with chickenpox as a normal passage of childhood to believe this. This is a pattern with disease education; when there’s no disease, you’ll read how relatively infrequent it is and how minimal the chances of complications are. Enter a new vaccine, and the slant totally shifts to convincing people they run the risk of severe injury or death if they don’t give their child (or self, when appropriate) the particular vaccine. Well, there’s lot of money to be made if you can convince parents that they need your product, so who can blame the producers for finding an effective way to line their pockets? Fortunately, the mothers I’ve so far spoken to here all expressed the unanimous sentiment that it’s a good thing for a child to get chickenpox at a young age.
Anyway, I really didn’t want my kids to reach adulthood and not have chickenpox, because it’s when people get chickenpox as adults that there’s a problem (when it manifests as shingles). There are exceptions, but for the most part getting chickenpox once offers lifelong immunity. Unfortunately, as chickenpox has become less common during childhood, the incidence of shingles has become correspondingly higher.
So far no one else in the family has shown any signs of pox, but the incubation period averages about two weeks, and it’s during this period when a person is most contagious. When my oldest three had chicken pox, it took six weeks until it passed through all of them.
So I’m hopeful that this will pass around and all the kids will get it.
Avivah
Refuah Shelemah! My first three have had it, and the other ones have not been able to catch it — although I have tried.
One point is that shingles is an adult disease, but my understanding is that you can only catch it if you have *had* chicken pox. But the complications for adult chicken pox is still very serious — it can cause sterility. My husband had it at 18, during finals of his freshman year of college — but Baruch Hashem, no long lasting results (except for a C in Calculus).
A C must have been more painful for your husband than the chickenpox! When I have a chance I’m going to research your points about chickenpox; it’s been a while since I did a detailed study of it.
Chicken pox!!! Would love to have a chicken pox party with you and get some for my youngest, who has still not gotten them, despite being in school the last 2 years. Guess everyone in school has had the shot!! FYI: my understanding is that the shot was designed as a shingles vaccine for older adults and then it was decided to market it to the younger population as well, more $ to be made. They are giving the shingles vaccine now all over the place….very aggressive marketing, with signs on the sidewalk outside pharmacies all around town….Interestingly, our (natural) doctor encourages the use of shingles vax for older adults, since it is so debilitating. (having someone in my household with shingles, I can verify that this is in fact nasty nasty nasty). I was not aware of the correlation between chicken pox in adults and sterility….I thought sterility was a problem with mumps, but didn’t know that about chicken pox. I do know that chicken pox in adults carries with it the risk of secondary problems with the spleen and the liver…. I had it when I was 27 and they were very concerned, monitored me for a few months after for this…..and no probs with sterility afterwards, either 🙂
Rena, I was thinking of sending you a germ coated lollipop when we realized it was chickenpox! Beats using a germy snotty tissue on more than two kids, lol! Then it felt like too much work to deal with the international mail to do it, so I put the idea to the side. But I was thinking of how to pass it around to those who wanted it, and I’ve heard this is an effective way to do it.
Refuah shelemah. I had chickenpox as a child and got a pretty bad case of shingles a few years ago in my early 50s. After that my husband got the shingles vaccine, since he had chicken pox as a kid too! Yes, it’s my understanding that you only get shingles in older age AFTER having chicken pox as a kid. The virus mutates. My oldest had chicken pox (33) but my younger ones were vaccinated a few years ago. My son hit puberty w/o having gotten it naturally, so that’s when we did it. Perhaps it was a mistake, but alas, it’s done.
“When the chickenpox came out in 1995, it was well-known that it was developed as a convenience to working parents” — you might want to add in “vaccine”; I was a bit confused for a minute!
How I wish I could bring my kids over for a chicken pox party. I’m hoping they’ll get natural immunity on their own when they’re young, and I won’t have to 1)fight to have them in school without being vaccinated 2)give them the vaccine as a pre-teen when I think the benefits outweigh the risks.
Corrected, thanks! Sometimes I write a sentence in one way, then edit it – in this case I had written vaccine, then added in chickenpox to be clear, and without realizing it erased ‘vaccine’.
If you were local, I’d gladly invite you over. 🙂 Hopefully you’ll find it somewhere close before too long!
So funny that you posted this as my 4 year old woke up this morning with bumps all over her trunk and my first thought was, “chicken pocks!” Refuah shelaima to all and I will let you know if we break out over here as well. 🙂
Isn’t it funny how thinking it might be chickenpox makes so many parents almost relieved? A couple of years ago we thought one of the littles might have it, and asked a friend who was a doctor to take a look at it, but he told us it was just a rash. I’m glad we got it for real this time and wish for you that it will be whatever you’re hoping it is!
I wish you weren’t so far away; mine need to get it!
Well, if we have another outbreak over the holidays (ds isn’t catchy anymore), you’re welcome to make a trip up north to share. 🙂
While I have also opted not to vaccinate my kids against chickenpox, I want to say that complications with it are not as rare as you may think. One of my kids ended up with pneumonia from her chickenpox and apparently that’s not too uncommon. I still opt not to give the vaccine to the rest of my kids, but it’s not as clear cut a decision as it used to be for me.
I realize there are potential complications from chickenpox, just like there are from the common cold or any other minor or major illness. I don’t think that the issue of vaccines is simplistic, even though when writing a brief post it could come across like that. It takes a lot of reading and learning to fully understand the issues of vaccines, and though I’ve spent many hours reading up on various diseases, their history, vaccines, benefits and dangers, I don’t consider myself an expert in any way. It’s false that vaccines offer reliable protection from diseases and don’t have side effects, including directly triggering the disease as a result of the vaccination itself. More knowledge definitely makes decision making more nuanced!
Absolutely. Extensive research is what prompted me to give my kids most of the vaccines while declining to give them the chickenpox shot. It’s important when researching to differentiate between actual medical studies and internet hype against vaccinations.
I so much appreciate hearing from parents who really take time to do the research, whether they come to the same conclusions I do or not! Unfortunately, most people don’t do any research on vaccines (I certainly didn’t, for the first few years my kids were receiving vaccines) and I didn’t even think to question them!; it’s something we’ve grown up with and assume must be good without any side effects that might concern us.
I don’t think anyone actually thinks there aren’t any side effects. I think most people just think that they’re short lasting and mild and that they’re a small price to pay for long-term immunity to life-threatening diseases.
My older 4 have had chicken pox but my younger 4 have not, I wish we were closer to you too and could come over for some shared “germs” 🙂
In regard to shingles, I have read that the more you are exposed to chicken pox as an adult ( like taking care of your own kids when they get it) after having it as a child, the less your chances of getting shingles as an adult. That correlates with what is happening today, less kids getting chicken pox and more adults getting shingles. Ofcourse, nothing is ever so clear cut and there are other factors, like immune function, it is well known that people who have chemotherapy, immune disorders and the elderly have a higher risk for getting shingles.
In regards to complications from chicken pox, it is pretty much like most other diseases, there is always a chance, especially if a child has a weak area or susceptibility, has not been eating well and has a deficiency etc; then you need to be pro-active and supplement with the needed remedy. It is also well known that the body uses up vitamin c during illness and is really important to supplement during illness as well as vitamin A (especially during measles for example).
I wish you were close enough not just to share germs but to be friends in person!
Thank you for your input on this topic – Knowing how extremely knowledgeable you are on so many health related subjects, I really appreciate your comments! I very much wanted to respond but needed time to recheck the facts before answering, something that I don’t have time for now.