Proof of chicken pox for college??

[SeaSpray]

Hi:

DS18 will be starting college in the fall; last week we faxed over his immunization records. Today in the mail we received a letter saying that his records were incomplete, and that they needed "Two Varicella vaccinations; positive antibody blood test; or proof of disease". Honestly, I had to Google Varicella because I didn't know it was the medical name of chicken pox. lol

Anyway, DS18 had chicken pox in 1992, when he was almost 1 year old. The vaccine didn't become available until around 1995. DS's pediatrician didn't immunize either of my DSs because they HAD the chicken pox in 1992. I think I took DS21 to the doctor because he came down with it first, but then when DS18 came down with it, I called the doctor and they said unless he had problems, he didn't need to be seen. I don't think there's any medical record of DS18 having had it though.

My question is, has anyone else had to provide proof of their child having had chicken pox, many years later? I'll call the health department of the college on Monday morning, and I guess if worse comes to worst he'll have to have a blood test done, but I'm hoping they'll take my word for it that he had the disease prior to the vaccine being given.

Have any of you with "older" kids ever had to resort to having a blood test done to provide proof for college? Just wondering.



P.S. All of DS's other immunizations are complete, and in fact he's had a few extra that the college doesn't require, which we had done due to travel in foreign countries, so it's not as if I'm opposed to vaccines.

 

[golfgal]

I don't have proof that DS16 had them either. I wonder if they would accept a picture of him when he had his as "proof". You could call your Dr and ask about an antibody test OR if you brought him to the dr or called in when he had them they might have record of that and could send a note out??

 

[mjkacmom]

Our elementary schools, JH, and HS are requiring proof of the second vaccination for the older kids - my younger kids got the second vaccination when they started doing them years back.

 

[kacaju]

my dd 15 is going to volunteer at a Hospital. She needed proof, the two shots or a blood titer showing she was immune. If fact so did I when I volunteered at the hospital.
Since my youngest dd (9years) had chicken pox at 6 months and only had 10 spots we did the blood test on her and she showed immunity.
My dd13, when she went for her 13 year check up, it included bloodwork and I asked to get her tested. Thsi way it will be on her records.

 

[SeaSpray]

Thanks for the replies. I guess this caught me off guard because, first of all it's been 17 years since DSs had chicken pox, and secondly because I didn't realize it was a requirement for school. Apparently when DSs started school here in MA my word that they had chicken pox in 1992, was enough for them.

We lived in a different state, so different pediatrician, when they had chicken pox. We've had our current pediatrician for 12 years now, but I'm not sure if they have it in their records or not.

Looks like DS might just have to have that blood test afterall, unless the school accepts my word for it. Not a big deal, it's just one more thing on the To Do list. LOL As it is, DS is going to have his wisdom teeth removed soon; the consultation is this coming Tuesday. His orthodontist recommended that he have them removed, and we might as well do it before college.

Regarding pictures of DS when he had chicken pox, I know I had one, but haven't seen it for years. It might've gotten lost 12 years ago when we moved. But that would be funny if they did accept that.

 

[Liberty Belle]

It is required at the University I went to, also.

Just call their doctor and they should be able to mail or fax something. If they can't, your child can have a blood test done to see if they've had chicken pox.

 

[Ephany]

I'm going through this right now. I had chicken pox in 1983 and the county purged their records without notifying my parents. There's a local lab that'll do the titre, otherwise I have to pay $180 for the shots! It's a pain, but necessary if I want to attend their school.

 

[monkey68]

I needed it for when I start working in the hospital. You can always ask your doctor to draw titers and send them out for varicella. If he still has immunity, the titers will come back positive, and that should be all you need.

I had to get titers for MMR, varicella, and hepatitis. Proof of vaccine wasn't enough, we needed proof of immunity, but you can get titers drawn at your doctor's office, it's basically just a blood test. And then if anything comes back low, he can get a booster.

 

[bballmom56]

I have two kids who went off to college and their schools did not require proof of having had chicken pox or the vaccine. They only asked if they had had chicken pox. We checked that box and that was all.

 

[MrsPete]

Anyway, DS18 had chicken pox in 1992, when he was almost 1 year old.

Changing the subject slightly . . . you might want to ask your doctor about whether he needs to have the vaccine.

I say this because my niece had chicken pox BEFORE age one -- horrible case, the poor child -- and her pediatrition had her take the shots around the time she started school, saying that having had the disease at such a young age, sometimes the antibodies don't "stay" with the child and some kids will get the disease again. Of course, you say that your son was "almost" one -- my niece was more like six months old, and that is a big difference.

 

[C.Ann]

Yes - DD had to have proof.. She had a particularly severe case of chicken pox when she was 3 (she's 36 now) - and luckily the pediatrician's office still had the records (although they were in storage).. The college accepted verification from the doctor's office rather than requiring a blood test..

 

[Ohiodislover]

You can have a titer drawn by the Dr.

 

[Pikester]

Just had to post because I recently received a letter from my DS11 school saying that I needed to provide proof of him having had the 2 doses of the vaccine before he would be allowed back to school in August for 6th grade. I talked with the school nurse and she had like 80 kids that need to show her proof that they had recieved them. Some law must have changed somewhere.

 

[Mickey527]

I used to work for a College Health Center. I know how angry the parents used to get at me when they would call stating they didn't have proof other than their word. Unfortunatly, the CDC would not let us show a parents signature with their "word".
The school could get into alot of trouble if they took everyone's word. We had inspections every year where the state would just pull random charts and if they found one without the required documentation we would get fined. And I am not talking $200 or less, the fines were in the thousands. Luckily, no charts that I signed off on were ever wrong, but I am sure I didn't have 100% acuracy, no one can ever claim that.
If I were you I would talk to your DR and get titres for everything. Measles, Mumps, Chicken Pox, and Ebstein Barr (Mono). They didn't have a meningitis titre when I worked but they might now especially since so many teens had to get the immunization when they went to camp.
I know mono was one of the biggest problems when I worked at the Health Center. So many of the kids got it and would spread it around like candy. The Valedictorian got it 2 days before graduation and she had such problems giving her speech because of the swollen lymph glands in her neck. It would be nice for the Health Center to know if your child has already had it so they can eliminate that test when trying to diagnose problems. Abscessed tonsils is another big problem but can't be treated until we have the results of the Ebstein Barr titre. With that already in the chart the Dr can just send them directly to a Dr for lancing of the tonsils which give immediate releif instead of 3 more days of suffering.
Sorry to ramble, hope this helps anyone who is doing the college forms.

 

[momtotreasure]

My daughter had the 1st vaccine at age 3, then the 2nd one 2 years ago at age 15. She had a bad reaction to the 2nd one, and we were really surprised and so was her doctor. She was sick for over a week with fever and malaise - kind of felt like she had the flu, and she had a knot at the injection site.

Her doctor said he had never seen the reaction, but thought maybe she was "lucky" since if she had gotten the disease, she might have been very ill. Since this is a "live"virus, it evidently has this risk.

If I had known, I would have had her get the 2nd shot not during school!

 

[themilesfamily]

For those with kids in public elementary, middle and high school -- in most states you have the option to simply sign a form saying that you are refusing vaccinations/lead testing or any other medical test. The form indicates that you are refusing for religious, philosophical, or personal reasons.

There are so many vaccination and blood testing requirements these days. The schools and doctors offices will CLAIM they are mandatory, and they will fail to tell you about your legal right to opt out. You DO have that right as a parent in most states.

If you don't want to jump through the hoops of proving your child has had chicken pox -- getting them revaccinated, doing blood titers, chasing down stored paperwork, etc. -- sign the form and opt out. It's your right as a citizen. The form can be obtained online and sometimes through your school's health office. It takes your signature and often the signature of a notary.

Private schools and colleges are different -- they make their own rules and you abide by them or they don't let you in.

ETA: For public schools, your signed form fulfills their need for documentation -- they need documentation that you've either had the vaccines or opted out with that form. So it's giving the school what it needs to comply with the government.

 

[SeaSpray]

Thanks again for the replies. DS21 started college 3 years ago and this issue didn't come up at all, that's another reason why I'm a little surprised. I think all I had to do was provide the dates that he had chicken pox.

I'll call the university on Monday, and if they require absolute proof then DS will have to have the blood test. While it's good to know that you can opt out, I guess it'd be good to know for sure whether he has immunity or not.

 

[SeaSpray]

I just found this on the school's web site; apparently it's a fairly new state requirement (DS is going to UMass-Dartmouth):

Immunization Requirements
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts requires that all full-time students submit documentation of :

Two doses of live measles vaccine given at least 1 month apart beginning after 12 months of age; initial vaccines must be after 1967.
Two doses of mumps vaccine given at least 1 month apart beginning after 12 months of age; initial vaccines must be after 1967.
Two doses of rubella vaccine given at least 1 month apart beginning after 12 months of age; initial vaccines must be after 1967.
A booster dose of Tetanus/Diphtheria within last 10 years.
Three doses of Hepatitis B vaccine.
Two doses of Varicella (chicken pox) vaccine when age 13 or older, given after 12 months of age and at least 4 weeks between doses.Children age 12 months to 12 years only receive a single dose.


It goes into more detail on the web page, but the bottom of the page says this:

Failure to comply
Effective now, failure to comply will result in residential students losing their housing to persons on the waiting list, and all students will have classes dropped from his or her academic schedule, just prior to the start of classes. Last Updated On: 12/10/08

If they don't accept my word on when he had chicken pox, I'll just have him take the blood test.

 

[shellybaxter]

I live in California and direct a preschool. We are allowed to take a parents word for the chicken pox vaccine. Parents are also allowed to sign the back of the form refusing immuniations for any reason. Are students not allowed to refuse for religous or personal reasons at University? (I've recently received my BA and my MA - but both through an online modality - no immunizations needed)

 

[golfgal]

There have been so many outbreaks of measles and chicken pox around various college campuses over the past several years and they are pretty disruptive. I remember a measles outbreak maybe 10 years ago or so where they were holding the sporting events without any fans. I am sure more and more schools will be requiring proof.