we are homeschooling our 4 yr. old but our 3 yr. old may go to a pre school, they are requiring a chicken pox shot. i do not like the idea how about you. our oldest has not had the shot or the pox i think they are ok not getting it, they still do not know how long its good for.

-- renee oneill (oneillsr@home.com), August 21, 2000

Answers

There are quite a few people who are resisting the vaccinations required in public schools for various reasons, from possible immune system damage to ADD to fear of chips being implanted in their children. There is a magazine called Nexxus that I believe has a web site and they have done several articles on this topic complete with web resources. Try running a search for it on dogpile. Good luck!

-- Doreen (liberty546@hotmail.com), August 21, 2000.

Because my son has Asthma and never had the chicken pox, the doc and I decided it would be the safeist thing to do is give him the vaccine. My son only had one pox on his leg and it went away in a weeks time. Did not bother him at all. We have since been around childern with the pox and he has had no signs of getting it. The vaccine was given to him 5 years ago. SO in my experance it would not hurt to give children the chicken pox shot.

-- Bergere (autumnhaus@aol.com), August 21, 2000.

My two daughters have both had the shot. My oldest had a total of three spots with absolutly no scratching or discomfort. My youngest had no spots at all.

This was important to me because of how dangerous these diseases can be. The diseases the vacinations are for are not extint and can have devistating consiquensis (sp). Although chicken pox just makes you miserable for about a week if you get it, why put your child through that much misery? Or yourself for that matter?

annette

-- annette (j_a_henry@yahoo.com), August 21, 2000.

Our youngest has had the vaccine without any side effects. It wasn't around for the older ones. I think the vaccine has been tested in Japan for 20 yrs without any signs of wearing off.

An added benefit is that it will also prevent shingles when your child is elderly since the chicken pox virus also causes shingles. Once they have had C.P. they will carry the virus until something sets off the episode of shingles. Shingles can be very serious for the elderly. My grandfather had them and was never the same again healthwise. This was a heavy factor in deciding to get the vac. for our youngest.

-- Vaughn (vdcjm5@juno.com), August 21, 2000.

I don't know about the shot but my daughter who is 8 now has had chicken pox twice now and not mild cases either. Ran fever and broke out bad.In her hair and mouth all the way down to her toes and bottom of her feet. Dr. says shot wouldn't help her now but if she got it I wonder what it might of done to her. They want to do complete blood workup to see if she has built up immunity to it now. If you havn't built up one by getting it twice what next?

-- Bonnie (Josabo1@juno.com), August 22, 2000.

bonnie, my husband has had the chicken pox 5 times. people think that chicken pox is a harmless disease and it is not. people can have serious side effects and even die. i think get the vaccine is a personal choice. renee, if you don't wan't your child to have the shot find another preschool. at least where i live it is not required for entrance to public school.

-- Amber (ambrosia75_@hotmail.com), August 22, 2000.

My oldest had it at 12 , no side effects . It scary to decide on these things so get all the info . you can and make an informed decission .

-- Patty Gamble (fodfarms@slic.com), August 22, 2000.

It's a tough choice, know as much as you can. My son's doctor doesn't like to give them, because he said they don't know when the shot can "wear off", & chicken pox are more dangerous for adults than children. He thinks it's better to have them as a child, but as others pointed out, for some it's not a one time thing. How long it lasts seems to be the main issue, atleast with our Dr. On the other side avoiding shingles is something to consider. Guess I don't have an answer, just rambling.

-- Lenore (archambo@winco.net), August 22, 2000.

I had the measles and the measles shots as a child, but when they tested me for immunity before I started work at the hospital a couple of weeks ago, I had none. So I don't think that there are any guarantees of immunity whether you have the shots or the disease. I also had chicken pox when quite young, and then had shingles when I was eight -- hope I won't be susceptible to it in my old age! I don't think there is any guarantee that your children will get chicken pox even if they don't have the vaccination. We were pretty sure my oldest daughter had it when she was about eight, but were never certain that the other two girls had it -- they had quite a few mosquito bites at the same time, and it was hard to tell if the spots were chicken pox, or mosquito bites. Anyway, they weren't very sick. I really wanted them to get it when they were little, in hopes of building immunity for later, as many childhood diseases are worse in adults -- I would probably have the vaccines if the girls were small now. We worry over the effects of the vaccines, and there are some legitimate concerns, but never forget that MANY children used to die of or be permanently damaged by the diseases themselves. The diseases are still out there, and if enough people refuse to have their children vaccinated, the diseases will come back in epidemics, killing children just like they used to. You have to make your own decisions, but make sure they are informed ones, not just based on emotions and media hype.

-- Kathleen Sanderson (stonycft@worldpath.net), August 22, 2000.

Renee, for an excellent site with information on the pro's and con's of immunizations backed by real studies and not hype, go to www.mercola.com. You will find info from the Lancet, the AMA and the CDC. This info changes regularly so you might have to look in their archives, but it does point out the real risks involved.

-- Julie (julieamc@excite.com), August 22, 2000.

I talked to my pediatrician when it first came out and she also said that they didnt know how long it would last, and wasnt recommending it unless parents wanted it. I decided to wait, hoping that my kids would be exposed and get it out of the way. Well, then as they got older I questioned her again and she said that so many kids are immunized that there are so few cases(in our area anyway) that it is even hard for them to be exposed. So I decided that they were getting old enought that it would be harder on them to get the pox, so we immunized them. Tami in WI

-- Tami Bowser (windridg@chorus.net), August 22, 2000.

I would do a lot of research before I would get my child any vaccine. As a parent of a handicapped child I used to get a magazine for Parents of handicapped children. There were many many stories of children permanently harmed by vaccinations. I have also met personally more children than you would believe who were damaged by vaccinations. Vaccines are mega bucks for the drug companies and nothing is allowed to interfere with that. There are researchers who have found links between vaccinations and SIDS, ADD, the auto-immune diseases, etc. How theses vaccines are incubated and made you don't even want to know. Many of the parents who don't vaccinate their kids today do so for a very good reason!

-- Deb (andersland@webound.com), August 23, 2000.

I totally agree Deb! We live in WV where there are some shots that are required by law. You can't refuse them unless the doctor sees some contraindication for getting them. Well guess how many of those dr.s are going to say No the shots will definitely harm them! Not many. One dr tried to talk me into getting that Rotavirus vaccine for my 2 month old. I told him no and sure enough before his next appt, it was recalled citing that it caused intusseption.

Please before you get your child another of these shots, read up on them. Ask for the package inserts for the injection that you are thinking of getting when you are at the dr's office and take the time and read through it. They don't tell you *everything* in that consent form that they make you sign.

-- Misha (MishaaE@aol.com), August 23, 2000.

My oldest of four kids came home with two chicken pox on his neck when he was 8. I was really relieved! We camped out in the house for about a month as it spread from one child to another, and it was really quite fine. The first day or two is like they are down with a mild flu, moderate fever. Lots of oatmeal baths and about ten days later, my kids have LIFETIME immunity. Now, they don't have to worry about getting a much more serious illness as adults, or scarring from later pox.

What doesn't kill us makes us stronger.

-- Rachel (rldk@hotmail.com), August 23, 2000.

chicken pox can be a serious disease especialy when it affects an adult. in regards to a vaccine in many cases they are a good idea but you need to make your own decision on this.

in regards to any package insert if you read them from any medication you will probably never take another med in your life as the insert must list any and all possible sideeffects.

small pos vaccinations stopped before the disease was completly done away with. if we had just made sure that the whole world had been vacinated we would not be seeing this disease making a comeback.

it is your choice and please consider everything in your decision. gail

-- gail missouri ozarks (gef123@hotmail.com), August 23, 2000.

Renee, The shots are a vaccination. With children, if it doesn't last, they will probally contract it naturally, in which case no problem. I have heard that there is some indications that using the vaccination reduced the possibility of shingles later in life. Also, if an adult has never been exposed, the vaccinations can be a real lifesaver.

-- Jay Blair (jayblair678@yahoo.com), August 25, 2000.

Check the older sites for childhood immunizations. There was some very interesting discussions.

-- Cindy (atilrthehony_1@yahoo.com), August 26, 2000.

Gail, IS smallpox making a comeback?!? I hadn't heard this -- could you give more information? Chicken pox is one thing, smallpox is another thing entirely -- my husband and I are vaccinated, but none of our children or grandchildren are. If it is truly making a comeback, I will try to kick up enough of a fuss to get everybody vaccinated, side effects or no, because smallpox is nothing to fool around with.

-- Kathleen Sanderson (stonycft@worldpath.net), August 26, 2000.

small pox is still very rare but in some of the 3rd world countries it is still there. also i am sure you know about the very real threat of the new tb that is resistant to medication. gail

-- gail missouri ozarks (gef123@hotmail.com), August 28, 2000.

I feel that it is important to get the proper shots for children. We should want what is best for the kids. I know I had my daughter's doctor give her the shot when it first came out. He highly recommended it. She had no complications. It is important for your child to have the shot. It saves them the miserable itching and discomfort. Why put your child through that if you can help it? It just seems cruel. Unless of course you live in some old world country and religiously believe you should not let your children recieve any medical care, which I believe is very cruel. Some parents will let their children die before they'd give them an antibiotic due to those reasons. The child care places and schools are just trying to protect the kids. I am 100 percent in favor of the vaccine. My son also had the chicken pox vaccine as an infant with no complications. My daughter is 12 and my son is almost three. I think it is wonderful to be able to protect our children from this unnecessary evil.

-- Crystal Richardson (pairofaces2001@wiredog.com), February 20, 2002.