Chickenpox vaccine?
Discussion
I didn't have chickenpox as a child, but now it seems to be going around my son's class at school, and I hear that it is particularly bad if you catch it as an adult.
It seems like in America they routinely vaccinate against it, but over here it is only vulnerable people that get vaccinated. Is it worth getting the vaccination privately? Or should I just hope that whatever let me avoid it 30 years ago still works? I must admit that I am surprised that I managed to avoid a "highly contagious" illness whist sharing a room with my little brother who had it...
It seems like in America they routinely vaccinate against it, but over here it is only vulnerable people that get vaccinated. Is it worth getting the vaccination privately? Or should I just hope that whatever let me avoid it 30 years ago still works? I must admit that I am surprised that I managed to avoid a "highly contagious" illness whist sharing a room with my little brother who had it...
Most people are immune by adulthood even if they don't recall having it as a child. If you work in healthcare you should have been tested for it and offered vaccination (two jabs a month apart).
Can be nastier for adults than children but main worry for adults is if they are pregnant or immunocompromised. In that situation if they come into contact with someone with chickenpox they may be offered a different type of vaccine which is chickenpox antibodies rather than the usual vaccination with a live but harmless strain of chickenpox virus to induce immunity.
If you live with someone in those categories and haven't had chickenpox you may be eligible for the usual vaccine on the NHS.
If not eligible but worried you could get vaccinated privately in a pharmacy or travel clinic, as could your children who might thank you for sparing them an itchy couple of weeks off school, but it's a personal decision and you might not want to delay if there are cases near you.
The standard textbook for this in the UK is the Green Book:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/governmen...
DoI medic
Can be nastier for adults than children but main worry for adults is if they are pregnant or immunocompromised. In that situation if they come into contact with someone with chickenpox they may be offered a different type of vaccine which is chickenpox antibodies rather than the usual vaccination with a live but harmless strain of chickenpox virus to induce immunity.
If you live with someone in those categories and haven't had chickenpox you may be eligible for the usual vaccine on the NHS.
If not eligible but worried you could get vaccinated privately in a pharmacy or travel clinic, as could your children who might thank you for sparing them an itchy couple of weeks off school, but it's a personal decision and you might not want to delay if there are cases near you.
The standard textbook for this in the UK is the Green Book:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/governmen...
DoI medic
My little boy has just had chickenpox, which due to some underlying health issues resulting in him be hospitalised for a few days
According to the consultant on the ward, the vaccine isn’t offered by the NHS as it’s a tolerable virus (ie it doesn’t cause that much harm, just a week or so of discomfort)
Superdrug and other pharmacies can vaccinate against it, albeit paying privately. They suggested myself and my partner had one if we hadn’t had CP before.
According to the consultant on the ward, the vaccine isn’t offered by the NHS as it’s a tolerable virus (ie it doesn’t cause that much harm, just a week or so of discomfort)
Superdrug and other pharmacies can vaccinate against it, albeit paying privately. They suggested myself and my partner had one if we hadn’t had CP before.
our daughter had the chicken pox vaccine (privately via boots) when she started nursery. it’s pretty selfish to say, but both our works were very busy and we didn’t want the risk of 2wks off work with covid then potentially another week off in close succession if she caught chicken pox. we reckoned the £140 for the 2 doses of vaccine were worth it minimise risk!
this was over a year ago when things were bad, but think we’d still have gotten the CP vaccine if we had another
this was over a year ago when things were bad, but think we’d still have gotten the CP vaccine if we had another
Two of my kids had CP when quite young, around 7 and 5. They seemed to shrug it off without too many problems. Then my third caught it in 6th form. Three weeks off school, and she struggled to catch up as it left her with fatigue for some months. She was covered in spots. Looked terrible. It evidently felt terrible. I was told by my GP that my wife and I had probably caught the particular CP variant from our younger kids but it was a mild version, and that had immunised us. Given how bad my younger daughter was, I'm rather glad.
I sympathise with anyone who has it or whose children have it.
I sympathise with anyone who has it or whose children have it.
I am in the same boat as you OP. I never had it as a kid. My eldest came out in the dreaded spots middle of last week. I've got covid at the moment and I am awaiting the onset of chicken pox symptoms. I've read all the horror stories about catching it as an adult online and I feel as though I am waiting for the grim reaper. As soon as it starts I will be on the phone to the doctors in the hope he will prescribe anti virals but I'm not holding my breath. Ive got a long wait as the incubation period for pox is up to three weeks. If I don't catch it from my eldest then I am bound to catch it from the youngest. I'm 32 and as far as I am aware I'm in pretty decent nick. Absolutely s
tting myself!
tting myself!
anonymous said:
[redacted]
My youngest is covered in chicken pox now. I've been up most of the night feeling generally unwell. Keep going hot and cold, headache, dry cough. I think it's finally here. It's been two and a half weeks since my daughter caught it. Let's hope all that healthy eating and those workouts have payed off and kept me healthy to fight it off generally unscathed Gassing Station | Health Matters | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff