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Without Chickenpox Shot, Kids' Risk Rises Ninefold

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I had Chickenpox as a child. Fortunately I don't recall too much of it, mostly taking oatmeal baths to ease the itchy, which I don't remember as being too bad in my case. All the blisters I remember very well, but not so much itching.

If they have a vaccine for it these days, getting it doesn't sound like a bad idea.

In a message dated 1/4/2010 7:55:31 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, no_reply writes:

Without Chickenpox Shot, Kids' Risk Rises NinefoldVaccine's success at curbing disease has led to false sense of security, experts sayBy Ed Edelson

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http://www.businessweek.com/lifestyle/content/healthday/634535.html

Without Chickenpox Shot, Kids' Risk Rises Ninefold

Vaccine's success at curbing disease has led to false sense of security, experts

sayBy Ed Edelson

HealthDay Reporter

MONDAY, Jan. 4 (HealthDay News) -- Children whose parents refuse to have them

vaccinated for chickenpox have a ninefold greater chance of contracting the

disease than those who are vaccinated, a new study finds.

The finding should serve as a red flag for an increasing number of American

parents who are foregoing child vaccinations for various reasons, experts said.

The new results could also " help parents make more informed decisions, " said

study senior author Glanz, a research investigator at the Kaiser

Permanente Institute for Health Research in Denver and senior author of a report

on the findings.

" When vaccines are discussed, parents are told about their benefits and possible

risks, " Glanz said. " They aren't told about the risks associating with not

vaccinating. "

He and his colleagues published their findings in the January issue of Archives

of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine.

The Kaiser team have started a series of studies aimed at determining the risk

involved in refusing vaccination for common childhood diseases. The first,

published in 2009, found that children not given the vaccine for pertussis

(whooping cough) have a 23-fold higher risk for contracting the disease than

children who were vaccinated.

In the new study, the researchers identified 133 confirmed cases of chickenpox,

formally called varicella, among almost 87,000 children whose parents were

members of the Kaiser Permanente health plan. They were compared with 493

children in the same age group who did not have the disease. Seven of the

children with the disease, 5 percent of the group, had not been vaccinated,

compared with just three -- or 0.6 percent -- of those who did not have

chickenpox.

Glanz said that the number of parents who reject one or more vaccines for

childhood diseases, including chickenpox, has increased. Ironically, one reason

may lie in the vaccines' effectiveness.

" Immunization does such a good job of eliminating the disease that parents are

less concerned about that risk, " Glanz said. " Instead, concern has shifted to

the safety of the vaccines. "

For instance, fear that childhood vaccination might be linked to an increased

incidence of autism still exists, although a series of studies have found no

such linkage, Glanz said.

Also, many parents don't view chickenpox as a serious problem, he said, although

before the vaccine was introduced in 1995 chickenpox hospitalized 10,000

American children a year and killed 100 of them.

" We're hoping to say to a parent, 'You do what is best for your child,' " Glanz

said. " Many parents think the child is not at risk and that the disease is not

serious. Our studies show that children are at risk -- and at risk for what is

potentially a dangerous disease. "

The new study offers " an insight into the obvious, " said Dr. A. Offit,

director of the Vaccine Education Center and chief of infectious diseases at the

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. " If you choose not to get a vaccine, you're

more likely to get the disease. "

One reason parents refuse to have their children vaccinated is " just a general

sense that children are getting too many vaccines too soon, " Offit said. But

that feeling ignores not only the immediate damage a childhood disease can cause

but also, in the case of chickenpox, longer-term harmful effects, he said.

A chickenpox infection can linger in the body for decades, eventually causing

the skin condition shingles and increasing the risk for stroke, Offit noted.

" If vaccines work, you should get them, " he said.

More information

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more about chickenpox.

SOURCES: Glanz, Ph.D., research investigator and epidemiologist, Kaiser

Permanente Institute for Health Research, Denver; A. Offit, M.D., director,

Vaccine Education Center, and chief, infectious diseases, Children's Hospital of

Philadelphia; January 2010, Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine

Copyright © 2010 ScoutNews, LLC. All rights reserved.

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Any parent who would risk letting their child getting this is insane! I nearly

died from the fever and very clearly remember the only way they could get my

temperature down was with suppositories. I have one facial scar as a reminder as

well.

Kim

>

> http://www.businessweek.com/lifestyle/content/healthday/634535.html

>

> Without Chickenpox Shot, Kids' Risk Rises Ninefold

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That was pretty rough. I don't know about any of the other kids having such a hard time, but then again, the parents might well have kept that to themselves so as not to scare the rest of us. Getting a vaccine for this would indeed be a good idea.

Any parent who would risk letting their child getting this is insane! I nearly died from the fever and very clearly remember the only way they could get my temperature down was with suppositories. I have one facial scar as a reminder as well.Kim

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I had the chickenpox also and it was not that bad. But it can cause a number of

peripheral problems -such as increasing the chances of people getting shingles

as adults- which is why I think getting the vaccine is a good idea. If it were

an option before I'd gotten the chicken pox, I would have gotten the vaccine.

Administrator

I had Chickenpox as a child. Fortunately I don't recall too much of it, mostly

taking oatmeal baths to ease the itchy, which I don't remember as being too bad

in my case. All the blisters I remember very well, but not so much itching.

If they have a vaccine for it these days, getting it doesn't sound like a bad

idea.

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wrote: " ... <snip> ... I had the chickenpox also and it was not that bad

.... <snip> ... "

But for some, it *is* that bad. Cub had chickenpox more than once as it

oftentimes the case with children of Aboriginal descent.

The last time Cub had chickenpox, it was so bad that he had blisters in his

ears, down his throat, under his eyelids, up his nose and more. He had blisters

the size of nickels and dimes on the bottom of his feet and he could NOT walk

without being in great pain and running the risk of breaking some of those

blisters.

Each time the doctor said he wouldn't need to be vaccinated as having chickenpox

would guarantee immunity. Not so! He only developed this immunity after the

fourth time he had chickenpox, at age 7. Had he been vaccinated after the first

case of chickenpox, perhaps he would not have had any subsequent cases and that

were progressively worse and worse.

Raven

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I also had chicken pox; just remember having itchy 'pox's which my mom put some cream on;

My dad had shingles as an older adult, he said it was dreadful;

I am going to ask my Doctor about a vaccine for shingles; if it is available.

IF the only possible 'complication' from chicken pox were developing shingles as an adult, the vaccine word be worth it, but shingles is not the only possible problem.

rl

'My cat Rusty is a servant of the Living God....'

adapted from a poem by Smart

From: environmental1st2003 <no_reply >Subject: Re: Without Chickenpox Shot, Kids' Risk Rises NinefoldTo: FAMSecretSociety Received: Tuesday, January 5, 2010, 10:56 AM

I had the chickenpox also and it was not that bad. But it can cause a number of peripheral problems -such as increasing the chances of people getting shingles as adults- which is why I think getting the vaccine is a good idea. If it were an option before I'd gotten the chicken pox, I would have gotten the vaccine.AdministratorI had Chickenpox as a child. Fortunately I don't recall too much of it, mostly taking oatmeal baths to ease the itchy, which I don't remember as being too bad in my case. All the blisters I remember very well, but not so much itching. If they have a vaccine for it these days, getting it doesn't sound like a bad idea.

Ask a question on any topic and get answers from real people. Go to Yahoo! Answers.

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Cub's chicken pox sounds dreadful!

Hopefully doctors are becoming more aware about 'immunity'

rl

'My cat Rusty is a servant of the Living God....'

adapted from a poem by Smart " ... <snip> ... I had the chickenpox also and it was not that bad ... <snip> ... "But for some, it *is* that bad. Cub had chickenpox more than once as it oftentimes the case with children of Aboriginal descent. The last time Cub had chickenpox, it was so bad that he had blisters in his ears, down his throat, under his eyelids, up his nose and more. He had blisters the size of nickels and dimes on the bottom of his feet and he could NOT walk without being in great pain and running the risk of breaking some of those blisters.Each time the doctor said he wouldn't need to be vaccinated as having chickenpox would guarantee immunity. Not so! He only developed this immunity after the fourth time he had chickenpox, at age 7. Had he been vaccinated after the first case of chickenpox, perhaps he would not have had any subsequent cases and that were progressively worse and

worse.Raven

Yahoo! Canada Toolbar : Search from anywhere on the web and bookmark your favourite sites. Download it now!

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I too had Chickenpox as a child, but don't particularly recall it, was very

young, caught it off my brother. However I do recall my son having Chickenpox,

he was covered in them. He has all the vaccines going. I have heard from others

that sometimes despite being vaccinated one can still catch things like

Chickenpox and measels - whether one has a less severe case I do not know.

>

> I had Chickenpox as a child. Fortunately I don't recall too much of it,

> mostly taking oatmeal baths to ease the itchy, which I don't remember as being

> too bad in my case. All the blisters I remember very well, but not so much

> itching.

>

> If they have a vaccine for it these days, getting it doesn't sound like a

> bad idea.

>

>

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