the vax for chickenpox as I found out last year with my girls, doesnt prevent it. Its like the flu shot. It reduces your chances of getting it, and should you get it, it shouldnt be too horrible of a case.

Yeah I knew that, wish I'd have been given it :-(

You might be interested in this: http://www.vran.org/vaccines/cpox/cpox-info.htm

I'm not one to say that MMR or Hep B are unnecessary per se, but I do believe we are over-vaccinating to the point of causing greater problems. The article above begins to show some of the connections there.

Chicken pox vaccine I think is more of a convenience vaccine for the parents and I think a total waste of time unless the child actually has a condition where chicken pox could be potentially dangerous. I had chicken pox twice as a child, I don't remember being itchy or uncomfortable, just running around naked trying to infect my sister!

I agree.

And I was forced to bathe with my baby brother. lol.

But it can kill adults y'know! And it gave me chronic fatigue syndrome. So you're lucky if you catch it as a child, but I only had it mild so I got it again.
I think I'd like to get my child vaccinated against it, as being around people with chickenpox if you have also had it, can bring on shingles!

So can a common cold, but it is very unlikey, you aren't lucky to catch it as a child as the majority of the population do, not only that the vaccine doesn't protect against shingles, where as chicken pox does.

What do you mean? You can only get shingles if you have HAD chickenpox. It's caused by the same virus - herpes zoster.

As your body has fought off chicken pox before, you are very unlikely to get shingles, because as soon as the virus is present again your body has antibodies in place to kill it, where as with the vaccine it takes longer for your body to react so the virus has a greater chance of infecting you. That is why most adults who suffer from shingles have never had chickn pox.

See I have read you can only get it if you've had chickenpox before. Whatever, I'm too lazy to go research haha.

It is chicken pox, just more violent in an adult that has not had chicken pox previously as a child.

i had chicken pox TWICE when i was 4...the first time was very mild, and the second time, a month later was awful..in my mouth, nose, ears, not a part of me not covered.
AND have had shingles 3 times now. SO this theory doesnt hold true for me :)

That's another one that isn't given in the UK. And again, I don't see the point in vaccinating against chicken pox. Deaths from chicken pox (usually in adults) are extremely rare here, and hardly anyone here gets vaccinated against it.

The difference in the UK though is that the government pays for all these vaccines! So the vaccination shcedule is far more logical, as they can only justify the cost if there's a clear benefit from giving it (which there isn't for hep B or chicken pox).

its required here prior to school in most cases. Next year the gaurdasil will be something Kianna is supposed to get, but after talking with her doctor I think I am going to fight that one. At least for now.

I have a friend whose son was born with transposed heart valves, meaning he had to have open heart surgery at ten days old. As a result, his immunisations were delayed until he was older and was strong enough to receieve them. A child a day care who wasnt vaccinated gave him whooping cough when he was six months old and he was very, very ill. I wouldnt wish that on anyone.
Just something to think about.

Oh that poor thing :(
I wouldn't want whooping cough now, I'd just die if i saw a baby with it :(

I work in a nursery and germs spread like wildfire!! I had 4 colds, one after the other, when I started work there.
Your story shows the importance of vaccinations in places where kids are likely to be.

A child care centre I used to work in (private) actually wouldn't take kids who weren't vaccinated. To protect the other kids, and to protect the staff. A lot of us had to get vaccinated as well as some of us just didn't get vaccinated as kids (I know I missed a few, coz my mum couldn't be bothered!)
They had to show their vaccination records just to be accepted!

I think that should be mandatory in all nurseries. Unless of course the child hasn't had them due to health problems.
The only disease that has ever been eradicated due to vaccination programmes is smallpox. Isn't it a shame that we haven't since been able to eradicate anything else?!

I know I got measles, mumps and chicken pox simply because mum couldn't be bothered to take me for my shots. I probably could have got more! God knows. I actually had chicken pox twice, and I got it when I was older as well, so it was harder to get over.

I can't remember if we had any children who had health problems that had them unable to vaccinate though I'm sure they'd take that in to some sort of consideration.

Its a definite shame that they haven't been able to eradicate anything else... especially because some of those are such aweful things to catch. I just don't understand people who choose not to vaccinate. My baby will be vaccinated, when she's here. Neither of us will like the process, but its certainly better than leaving her easily exposed to things like measles.

Yeah, my mom is pretty sure I had very mild chickenpox when I was 2. And then I got it again last year. It's such a bastard as an adult, isn't it?!

I was the same in paediatrics! I've had more sick days from when I worked in paeds than from any other job I've ever had! I had a really awful cold... and then gastroenteritis!

Just wondering of anyone else knows this...

In my friends' final year at sixth form (when they were 18), they were all given a 'top up' MMR (or they were told they needed it, can't remember the specifics). Since I was at college, I wasn't. So we asked the doctor and yes, you are meant to have a top up of the MMR but nobody really seems to know this. I got it done anyway on my doctor's advice, since I was off to uni.
I know you are meant to have a top up as a child, but this was a top up specifically for teens.

I didn't have the top up, I was meant to have it in infants at primary school, I ended up with Rubella a few years ago.

Ooh not good!