can you still get chicken pox if you've had the shot?

[Lewski709]

Just got a call from daycare and DS#2 has a 103 fever. Otherwise, completely healthy. He was exposed to oozing pox last week adn she thinks it may be the onset of them. I didn't know you could still get them having had the shot AND how long does it take to get them?

 

[monkeyboy]

Yes you can

Sometimes a milder case

 

[tkd lisa]

Yes you can. DS got them in kindergarten after having had the shot at 2 or so years old. It was a mild case, but he was contagious. He actually was diagnosed by the dr. while he was in for a checkup.

I think it takes 7-10 days from exposure to breakout, but that's just my memory, and should be double checked!

 

[Lewski709]

if this is what it is, I am obviously going to be around him. Is it ok for me to go over to someone elses house who have kids that have not had the pox, without running the risk of them getting them (without being around DS)?

 

[pumba]

the kids I sit for.......one is an 8 year old that had a mild case at the age of ten months......the other one was her cousin who had the shot at one years old and had a mild case.....no fever or really bad time.....just about a dozen pox......

 

[Lewski709]

he didn't have the shot and was exposed to about a week ago. he just turned one, so couldn't have yet had the shot, even though his shot records are current. Other DS had the shot.

 

[Hercules10]

I had the shot as a kid and caught it when I was 18! Worst week of my life. I itched in places I didn't know could itch.

 

[Nette]

I had it twice! Once before age 2 and once at about 12... I remember the second time and it was MISERABLE. But I do think the Chicken Pox vaccine is kinda dumb... I mean, we all survived it...

 

[deadheadbelle]

DS got a mild case when he was a year old. One of the nurse's asked (jokingly) if she could bring her daughter over to my house as she had not had the pox yet & she hoped she would catch them before she started school (to avoid having to get the vaccination).

Also, DS gave them to DH (who had chicken pox as a toddler). It was a mild case, but I had been under the impression that once you had 'em you wouldn't get them again. Guess not.

 

[catsrule]

I got it when I was 30! Missed 2 weeks of work, it was horrible.

 

[Lewski709]

i had them twice when i was younger and so did DH, both times extremely mild cases (no more than 5). am concerned i could get it again.

DHB, you answered my next question....Indiana is requiring the shot for 2004-2005 school year. If it is the pox, I wondered if he would still have to have the blasted shot?

 

[sue1013]

Deadheadbelle when my kids were small it wasn't a joke. If one of my friends kids had chickenpox we would be our kids over that hadn't had them. We wanted them to get them before school.

 

[deadheadbelle]

In Kentucky, you have to get the shot or have a "documented case" of chicken pox. On DS's immunization certificate, there is a spot that says "chicken pox (or whatever the name of it is) vaccination" or "date of child's chicken pox" (or something along those lines).

 

[Lewski709]

Originally posted by sue1013
Deadheadbelle when my kids were small it wasn't a joke. If one of my friends kids had chickenpox we would be our kids over that hadn't had them. We wanted them to get them before school.

a lot of people do this....no joke. it's MUCH better as a child to have than an adult.

 

[deadheadbelle]

Originally posted by sue1013
Deadheadbelle when my kids were small it wasn't a joke. If one of my friends kids had chickenpox we would be our kids over that hadn't had them. We wanted them to get them before school.

I know this show offends some people, but South Park had a really funny episode where the parents did the same thing.

Me and my SIL were just saying that we only have a few years for our babies (14 months old) to catch chickenpox before they will have to be immunized, so we are on the look out for kids with chickenpox.

 

[BibbidiBobbidiBOO]

I am really surprised so many people take the chicken pox lightly these days. Chicken Pox kills every year. A friend of mine almost lost her DD to them and a childhood friend had brain damage from them. The DD of a regular poster on this board was hospitilized with a severe infection from a pox. CP is nothing to mess around with.
My kids had the shot about 6 years ago and have been exposed countless times. Most that get the shot don't get them or will get a mild case. Japan has used the shot for many more years than us and we will learn from them if a booster is needed. Shots/proof of disease are required for K here. If everyone got the shot, CP could become very hard to get.
I would hate to purposefully expose them to something that can be deadly. JMHO.

 

[Wonderlandmom]

http://www.cdc.gov/nip/diseases/varicella/

 

[cati]

xx

 

[ByTheSea]

My son had the vaccine within months of when it first came out - he was under 2 years old. A few years later he broke out all over his face - I had no idea it could be Chicken Pox but it was. He never had a fever, it didn't slow him down a bit, and he didn't seem to itch much (he was about 4) but he was contagious so we kept him home. It ran it's course very quickly.

 

[MerryPoppins]

I'm the one who had the daughter who was hospitalized. In fact she was in the hospital exactly a year ago for 9 miserable days. She was 11 at the time and had never had the shot. She ended up missing over a month of classes. She saw at least 5 doctors over the course of her stay.

Trim his nails and keep his hands really clean. I was doing those things, but she still scratched a pox in her sleep and got an infection. They said we all have germs on our skin and with her high temp it was just like growing something in a lab. I was also told that Motrin isn't as good a choice for chicken pox. For some reason kids get more infections from scratched pox when they are taking it?

DD couldn't walk. She had to use a walker. She had a huge, nasty blister that oozed awful stuff. Her whole leg was red and swollen. They had trouble stopping the infection and were afraid for a while that it had gone to the bone. The doctors told me that she might have to come home with an IV, and do home schooling for the rest of the year. I really think we are lucky that they were able to stop it when they did. I was very afraid. We worried that we might even lose her. The doctors were worried enough that they did neuclear testing on her leg.

Don't let anyone tell you that chicken pox is no big deal. I didn't get the shot because I didn't want her to have to remember to get boosters. I'd give anything if I had, looking back. She still has damage to her ankle. It'll never be the same. It's weak and darker than the other one. She is a ballet dancer and we are considering giving up her pointe class because she keeps turning her ankle. I'm worried that she will get hurt. It was a life-altering experience for her.