Chickenpox - Iselin,NJ

Updated on June 14, 2010
M.G. asks from Iselin, NJ
12 answers

School nurse sent a letter confirming one case of chickenpox in school. My child already has the chickenpox vaccine - do I send my child and risk infection or stay home?

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D.M.

answers from Detroit on

Hi M.---Why are you concerned about infection of your child has been vaccinated? Having said that, I have some thoughts.

I work with a Naturopath who shares at length about the ineffectiveness of vaccines, especially the chicken pox vaccine. Granted, cp is not very fun when your little one contracts it, but in the overall scheme of things, it would be much better for your child to contract chicken pox as a young child rather than find out that the vaccine didn't work. When adults contract cp, it can be life threatening. There have been many reports of vaccinated individuals getting cp anyway. I believe that the manufacturers are considering booster shots as they get older because of that.

Please visit the website www.nvic.org to learn more about the pros and cons. They have a very good website that shares the risks of the disease which can help you determine what to do. I would send mine to school. Your child has been vaccinated. If by some chance they catch cp, it's really not the end of the world. Your child will have better immunity by catching cp rather than from a vaccine.

I hope this helps. Good luck. D.

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P.L.

answers from Washington DC on

Well, by the time it's been confirmed, the children have already been exposed. Even with the shot, it's possible to get a mild case. Send your child, they've been exposed already.

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S.A.

answers from New York on

The letter from the school is really just to let you know that chicken pox is
around. If your child gets sick, what to watch for. Also dont give aspirin, which we dony usually use anyway but aspirin and chicken pox could cause more serious problems. Tylenol or motrin is better.

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L.B.

answers from New York on

Your child was probably already exposed; chicken pox is contagious even before any symptoms appear and it's spread through the air, not just through direct or close contact. Furthermore, if your child has been fully vaccinated (both shots), it is highly likely that he/she is immune and will not be able to catch it. However, no vaccine is effective 100% of the time, so it's possible your child could get CP, although the case should be less severe due to the immunizations. Should your child NOT be immune, however, I would absolutely want him/her to get it now as opposed to as an adult, when it is much more serious and possibly deadly. Actually contracting the disease is more likely to confer complete immunity, so in the unlikely case that the shots didn't do it, I would want my child to contract a mild case so as to be completely immune.

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K.B.

answers from Milwaukee on

The vaccine will help lessen the severity of the chicken pox, it does not prevent your child from getting the chicken pox but helps the body deal with the chicken pox better (without the vaccine a chicken pox can be very severe and harmful for a child and even worse for an adult).

As someone also mentioned by the time there is a confirmed case the children have been expose, chicken poxes are contagious before anyone sees signs of them as well as during. I can not tell you to send or keep your child home only you can make that decision, I would send my daughter.

It is like the flu vaccination, it does not mean you will not get the flu/cold but if you do get it the symptoms will be less severe and your body should be able to defeat it easier then without the vaccination.

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D.B.

answers from Charlotte on

.

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T.B.

answers from Miami on

I had chicken pox as an adult. It was miserable. I was exposed to them when I was a child when my best friend and her 4 sisters climbed all over me hoping I'd catch them. It never happened. Then when MY own sister caught chicken pox, I did not catch them even though we even shared the same bedroom. It was until I was 24 yrs old that my co-worker's husband came down with shingles and her son came down with chicken pox that I finally caught them. I have 3 children so I didn't become sterile and the only reason I stayed in the dark is because my eyes had become very sensitive to all light and I had chicken pox behind my eyes..I know this because I had seen an eye specialist when I had a pox on my eye lid. I didn't go blind as a result of the disease. The incubation stage is 10-21 days so I say send your child to school. The chicken pox vaccine is mandatory for school aged children and yes it's true that you can still get chicken pox with the vaccine. My nephew caught chicken pox even though he was vaccinated.

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C.O.

answers from Washington DC on

Take a deep breath and don't panic.

Send your child to school. He/she has already been vaccinated - although it doesn't necessarily prevent the contraction of the disease - there is no cause for alarm - it's not meningitis (which is life threatening).

It's much better to catch the CP as a child than an adult.

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M.P.

answers from Portland on

Since he's been vaccinated it's highly unlikely that he will catch chicken pox. I would send him to school. I"ve heard that it is possible to come down with a mild form of chicken pox even tho one is vaccinated. I don't think that happens very often. Another reason to feel comfortable sending him to school. If the child with chicken pox is not a friend of your child or a friend of a friend who hasn't been vaccinated he's not likely to even be exposed.

I agree with Diane M. Nearly all the kids that I knew in my generation had the chicken pox. It's uncomfortable, the pox blisters itch.We had a fever. We had to stay in a darkened room and weren't allow to use our eyes much. We didn't have TV and so that wasn't an issue. And we did build up a good immunity against getting it again.

I think the reason for the vaccine is that it can be fatal or cause sterility if caught as a teen or adult. And it does cause the death of children in third world countries because of their lack of sanitation and health care. We;re trying to stamp it out completely like we've nearly done with polio.

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M.M.

answers from Minneapolis on

If your child has had the vaccine, I would not worry. The truth is... Your child has already been exposed, so staying home now would not matter. The chicken pox are just as contagious 2-3 days prior to outbreak as days 1-3 of the intial outbreak. So if your child is going to be a child who gets a mild case (if children have had the vaccine and still get them, it is soooo mild). If they are one of those mild case kids, they have already been exposed before the letter even went out. So do not worry. Send them to school. Then wait 10-14 days to see if you get anything. Good luck but know you will be fine.

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B.C.

answers from New York on

If your child had the vaccine, she shouldn't get the disease from the sick child. Also, chickenpox is contagious at least a few days before it even becomes visible, so chances are your child has already been exposed and hasn't gotten sick. You probably have nothing to worry about.

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J.D.

answers from New York on

I wouldn't keep your child home. Its good to know there is a case should any symptoms arise, then you can act quicker than if you didn't know. Hopefully the vaccine works though and she doesn't have any issues.

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