Ongoing Chicken Pox

Sounds like she is tolerating the pox very well. It will be a longer and slower process due to the vaccine. Also, the vaccine introduces the shingles virus and she will be more susceptible to shingles from now on, so watch for signs of that in the next few years. It's tough because some children have very bad reactions to chicken pox and the benefits of the vaccine can make a huge difference or even save a child's life, but at the same time it increases the odds of their suffering from shingles for the rest of their lives. Without the vaccine, many children get chicken pox and develop the immunity and won't have to deal with shingles until late adulthood and possibly never. But there is always the possiblity of them suffering miserably from the chicken pox or in very rare instances dying. It is a decision every parents must struggle to make. But if a parent decides to vaccinate thinking their child won't get chicken pox and they won't miss work from this, statistic show very different results as many parents have stated.

We didn't take the vaccination, so we have no experience with the post-vaccine chickenpox, but my daughter caught it the old-fashioned way when she was 17 months old, and it was a full two week ride for us. Like your child, she didn't seem that bothered by the bumps, but she kept getting new ones for about a week and a half. At first I thought they were mosquito bites, but then she got a fever, which lasted for 2 days, but wasn't severe. It didn't slow her down much, and after the fever broke the hard part was dealing with the cranky child who didn't understand why we couldn't go play at the neighborhood park yet. Once the new pox stopped emerging, she healed fairly quickly. Her doctor wasn't all that helpful, since she had never seen an actual case of chicken pox before! (How times have changed since my childhood, which was pre-vaccine.)

It may be that the longer, slower, milder version is just the version of chickenpox that is lurking out there right now.

Hi K.,

The vaccine doesn't provide 100% immunity, especially with just the first dose (I think it's something like 70%). But cases in kids who have had at least one dose of the vaccine are much milder. Which IS a good thing: Although most kids who get chickenpox recover okay, it is not always a benign disease: there are some really terrible complications of the full-blown disease (very serious encephalitis or pneumonia). So it is helpful to your daughter that she got the vaccine, even though it's a shame that she still contracted chickenpox. I don't know what to tell you about the specific course of the disease, just that it probably seems different to you because it is a milder (and thus less uncomfortable and less risky) than what you and your brother had as children w/o the vaccine. I hope your little one kicks it altogether really soon. It's no fun to be sick with anything.

Take care, J.

I unfortunately did decide to vaccinate my daughter and then she got them last year. Not as bad as if she had not been vaccinated. She had them for about 2 weeks total and they did come our slowly and bit by bit. Did you have the doctor test her for chicken pox? I had to have my daughter tested but of course she was in school at the time and they needed to know.

Good luck and happy scratching.

i chose not to vaccinate against chicken pox because a. the vaccine isn't very effective as you are seeing. and b. chicken pox is not a dangerous illness. the vaccine was created because all the money lost from parents taking off days from work to be with their sick children. I personally believe that childhood illness is an important time for us to bond with our children and show them our unconditional love and attention. I know some of my fondest memories of my mother were when i was sick.

on another note it is totally normal for her to be developing new pox at this point. they will probably start to crust over in another 5-7 days.

My daughter developed chickenpox this week (she is 4) and has been vaccinated. It is very mild, but we are experiencing the same thing you are where she is getting new ones every day. She also had the measles this year even though she was vaccinated and her doctor said that most kids who get measles ARE vaccinated. UGh.

that has happened to my family my son had the chix pox before the shot came about my daughter got the shot then the chix pox later it was a mild case and the dr said it was normal. god luck!

Hi K.,

I was interested in the 2nd bout of chicken pox that your daughter is experiencing. Your Doctor could very well be on the right track by saying she has a low immunity to this virus. That is why I am responding. A low immune system is not a good thing to have these days which can be due to so many toxins, viruses and bacteria and lowered nutritional value in our foods. With these and other issues we and our children contend with daily, the immune system can not function as it was designed. A strong immune system is critical to be able to fight the ravages of virus and bacteria attacks.
This said, I would love to share with you about a nutritional technology that is based on increasing the immune system and is delicious for children. So many children using this technology are now able to escape or reduce many of the childhood discomforts they experience needlessly.

You can e-mail me or call and I will give you further information as well as samples. ###-###-#### - ____@____.com
J.