-
I got it when I was in fourth grade. It was pretty miserable but standard.
My brother got it when he was a toddler and then when he was undergoing chemo a few years later and had a zero white cell count the dormant virus caused shingles. Scary, scary stuff.
I am 100% getting the shingles vaccine when I'm older. I do not want to mess with that - so painful!
-
@mrs. bird: My husband and I both have a chicken pox scar on our foreheads, too!
Why are people getting a vaccine for chicken pox now? I understand its not fun to have, and it makes people more susceptible for getting shingles later in life, but why vaccinate for it?
-
I got it when I was 3.
-
I never had them. Almost nobody on my mom's side of the family ever had them, which is strange! My obgyn suggested I get the vaccine when I was in college so I didn't contract in when I wanted to get pregnant.
-
Never got it even when my sister had it. I got vaccinated at 17.
-
I sure did!
-
I am positive I never got it! I got perfect attendance awards in several grades at the end of the year and was so proud of myself. I was so scared to get chicken pox. I did get the vax in high school though. I hope I don't get it as an adult though, the scars won't heal as nicely or quickly.
-
I never got it, even after being exposed multiple times.
I got a vaccine in 1995, so my parents had to vaccinate my brother and sister too. None of us got the booster shot, though, so I was revaccinated last year when Chloe got *her* cpox vaccine!
-
@MrsMcD: too funny!
-
Yup! Twice!
-
I still don't understand why people are being vaccinated for it. Just to avoid the inconvenience? Or do kids die from chicken pox?
-
I had it when I was 10. I gave it to my poor mother who had never had it. I was surprised when I found out there was a vaccine for it. My understanding is that having chicken pox makes you more susceptible to shingles later.
-
No. I got the vaccine as an adult.
-
@MrsMcD: Its rare, but people in at-risk groups die from severe varicella, around 100 per year, plus around 10,000 hospitalizations per year prior to the vaccination being introduced. Similar groups to other viruses - the elderly, pregnant women, , people with compromised immune systems and young infants and just random, otherwise healthy people. Complications can include pneumonia, encephalitis and various infections in the sores themselves.
Having grown up with an immune-compromised sibling who was effected (fortunately not long term) by varicella was what motivated me to vaccinate.
-
Me, my sister and my mom all came down with the chicken pox at the same time AND my mom, sister and dad also had the flu. Epic, horrible, family sickness. My mom doesn't like to talk about it!
-
Yep! I had it when I was 5!
-
I had it in 7th grade. My mom and aunt tried to get my sister and cousin to "catch" it from me, but it didn't work.
-
@MrsMcD: I think people just like having a vaccine for as many illnesses as possible - if they can avoid it, why not? I mean it'd be pretty cool if there were vaccines for much worse illnesses. There is a vaccine for a few illnesses that normally aren't fatal.
-
i had it in elementary school... maybe 1st or 2nd grade?
-
Never had it as a child, was actually checked to see if I was immune (I wasn't) and then was vaccinated as a young adult.
-
@chopsuey: I got it the day of my 5th birthday....what a present! lol
-
@MrsMcD: well, I imagine part of it is because people think even if most kids don't die or suffer from severe complications, why let your kid get sick if they don't have to? But also, if you've had chicken pox, the virus remains dormant in your body and can flare up into shingles later in life. My dad had shingles recently and it was extremely painful. I'm assuming avoiding the chicken pox would help you avoid that experience later, though I'm not positive!
Eta: haha my reading skills need work, I see you mentioned shingles. But really I think it all just comes down to why suffer if you don't have to? If there was a vaccine against the common cold I would totally get it!
-
@MrsMcD: I had them in my nose. Inside my ears. Everywhere. They popped and some got infected. My genitals--I would cry bc it hurt to pee and my mom stood over me with a cup of water to pour to help with the stinging. I know that's TMI territory, but I want to explain how bad it can be. It was hard to wear clothing. I would never want my child to go through that.
-
I was 8-months old when I got it.
-
@Mrs. Pen: Did they check you antibody titres before you got your vaccine? Maybe you did catch the chickenpox, but your body fought it off before you got symptoms.
@MrsMcD: I'm not 100% sure, but I'm guessing the vaccine is actually to prevent shingles. Shingles is incredibly painful and can come back again and again. When you get the chickenpox, your body fights off the virus, and the virus goes dormant in your nervous system. Later on, it can be reactivated, which causes shingles. If you vaccinate against chickenpox, you won't get shingles.
-
@Grace: they didn't. They should have, though!
-
@MrsSCB: I am scared though, because we all know that no vaccine is 100% effective. I'm still scared that I could get chickenpox, even if I've been vaxed for it. I have heard it's so much worse as an adult. And isn't it really bad for a pregnant woman to get it? I guess I would feel more at ease knowing I had it and gained the natural immunity, if that makes sense.
-
@Mrs. Pen: it's true that you can still get it after vaccination, but like the flu, it's almost always a very mild case if you've been vaccinated.
-
I got it when I was in 7th grade and it was awful! My parents just figured I was immune or had had an unnoticeable case but they were so wrong. I had them on the bottoms of my feet and inside my mouth. Yuck.
-
@Mrs. Pen: You can get your titres measured now. If they are high, you can rest easy. And I would definitely get them measured again when you are pregnant. Just to be sure the vaccine "took".
-
Like @swurlygurl:, @MrsStar:, and @cheert16: I had it twice, too! I have never heard of anyone else having it twice, and given how next near impossible it is to get twice (apparently?) it is "nice" to hear I'm not the only one!
I got it at 10m severely, everywhere, every nook and cranny. I have a scar on the tip of my nose from that round. Got it again at age 8. The doctor didn't even believe my Mom and had her bring me to emerg, so I'm pretty sure between having it twice, my Grandma enduring 8m of Shingles, I will likely get Shingles down the road too, owwie.
-
@Grace: not a bad idea! I'll ask my doctor at my next physical.
-
I have had them 3 times. No joke the last two times I was in college. Talk about embarrassing. N is almost 18 months and I have no plan to vax against it until completely needed (ie school). Same plan with E.
-
@MrsRcCar: does your state require that vaccine? It is one of the required ones here. I haven't vaxed J with that one yet, I'm undecided what to do.
-
Thank you all for your answers in this thread. This has been a fascinating discussion!
-
I had it when I was 12, about 3 years before the vaccine was available. It was awful, and I have some scarring.
We will definitely have our son vaccinated.
-
I got it twice after being vaccinated... just glorious
-
@Mrs. Pen: I think it is required. To be honest I am not sure. I just feel like it isn't 100% needed right now.
-
Never had it! And I really hope that I never do!
-
I got it in the 3rd grade.
- Google Plus
- Stumbleupon
- Twitter
- Facebook
- Pinterest
- Favorite0
82 comments