Nice.....

chelsea_b

And I'm sorry, but my 9 year old cousin's permanent skin condition (I can't remember what it's called) and my cousin's 5 year old's horrible eczema, both of which appeared RIGHT AFTER they were vax'd for chicken pox, and both of whom's doctors have admitted were probably caused by the vaccine, have totally convinced me to avoid it. Maybe it's just some sensitivity my family has...all the more reason not to vax my own kids for it.

Chelsea, I understand your feelings about the vaccine, but I wonder what kind of reaction these children would have had if they had actually contracted chicken pox.  Would they have had the same problem?  Would they have had worse complications?

Obviously, there is no way to know for sure.  However, rather than being a reason to avoid the vaccine, the reactions of these two children may be a strong reason to get the vaccine.  If they had contracted chicken pox as an adult, the "sensitivity" that you spoke of might result in severe complications. 

http://www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/9339/9704.html

Chickenpox is an uncomfortable infection that, in most cases, goes away by itself. However, chickenpox also has been associated with serious complications, including death. About one of every 100 children infected with chickenpox will develop a severe lung infection (pneumonia), an infection of the brain (encephalitis), or a problem with the liver. Dangerous skin infections also can occur. Before the introduction of the vaccine, about 100,000 people were hospitalized and 100 people in the United States died each year of chickenpox, most of them previously healthy children. Adolescents and adults who develop chickenpox are also at high risk of developing serious complications.

glenmar

Correct me if I'm wrong Kelly, but is it not MEASLES, supposedly harmless measles, that can cause serious birth defects if contracted by a pregnant woman?? 

That is German measles (Rubella).  Chicken pox can also cause serious birth defects in a fetus. 

In addition, "when the mother develops a chickenpox rash between five days before delivery and two days after delivery, between 25 and 50 percent of newborns become infected. They develop a rash between 5 and 10 days after birth. This is a very serious, even fatal, form of the disease."  http://www.marchofdimes.com/professionals/14332_1185.asp

You reminded me Janet Rose.....both of my boys DID get chicken pox and both had pretty severe cases, one right after the other naturally.  The vaccine wasn't available when they were little.  My youngest son developed a bilateral ear infection, which is also common with CP, and then was hospitalized for almost a week with pnemonia.  So chicken pox weren't a minor little thing for them either.

What was "just a common childhood disease" when I was a child doesn't need to be these days, and I'd have to really do some serious soul searching to even consider NOT vaccinating.

glenmar

What was "just a common childhood disease" when I was a child doesn't need to be these days, and I'd have to really do some serious soul searching to even consider NOT vaccinating.

Exactly, Glenda!  I remember having measles when I was about 9 yrs. old and having to spend the entire time in a dark room with the curtains drawn closed. The story back then was that if you used your eyes you could go blind.  I don't know if that was true or not, but I couldn't read, write, draw or color or do any of the things I might have done to entertain myself.  We didn't have a TV, but if we did I for sure wouldn't have been able to watch it. Add that to the infernal itching, and it made for a pretty miserable time.  I wouldn't have wanted my kids  to go through that if there was a way to prevent it.

Joyce

I think you and I are in the same age group Joyce, so that makes a difference.  I'm thinking that its the younger folks who never HAD the measles who can say "just the measles".  And yes, I had to do the same darned thing at probably about the same age so I didn't go blind.  Even a sick kid can only sleep just so many hours and the rest of them were darned long and boring.