A question for those who don't vaccinate their children...

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I really wish you could have spent the last few days (and indeed, the next week or so) at my house.

My 12 month old has chicken pox. Here, they don't give kids the chicken pox vaccination until 18 months, so he hadn't had it yet. He is still breastfed, but my immunity wasn't enough for him. He is absolutely covered in spots, and totally miserable!

The poor little man can't get comfortable. He kicks and cries and grizzles all day... and night! He will sleep when he is being held, but not for long. Putting him in his own bed is almost impossible.

I am furious! This is a disease that children should no longer have to suffer, yet my child, who I was planning to have vaccinated as soon as he was old enough (as my older child was), suffering, horribly!

I have heard too many people say "Oh, chicken pox isn't so bad". Let me tell you, YES IT JOLLY WELL IS!! Anyone who thinks it isn't so bad should come for a visit - preferably at around 3am, and stay for an hour or so listening to my poor baby crying and unable to be comforted. Better yet, let them experience one of these horrible diseases for themselves (not that I wish them ill, but perhaps if they experienced one of these diseases in all of their nastiness, they might be more willing to promote vaccination!).

Vent over... for now...

I'm sorry your baby is sick! It's horrible when you can't help them feel better.

Having said that:
I don't think non-vaxers think the injection is worse than the disease. It's the potential side-effects that could be worse than the disease. Add to that that some vaccines are cultivated in aborted tissue, which becomes an ethical issue, and the fact that vaccines aren't 100% effective anyway, vaccinating isn't as compelling a case as you may think.

My daughter is vaccinated, by the way, but I totally understand why some may choose not to vax.

Hm...so when I first read this, I thought it was going to be a sincere question. While reading it it appeared to be bait for an argument. After reading it, clearly it's a vent.

Regardless, I'll save my discussion on why I have chosen not to vax my daughter for a time when emotions are a bit calmer. =)

Sorry your baby is sick, hope he feels better soon!

One of my kids got the cp when he was 12 months old. It was ONE week of his life. And then it was over... and he'll never get them again. He doesn't even remember anything about it.

I wish my younger 3 would get them and get it over with.

Manna said:

Hm...so when I first read this, I thought it was going to be a sincere question. While reading it it appeared to be bait for an argument. After reading it, clearly it's a vent.

Regardless, I'll save my discussion on why I have chosen not to vax my daughter for a time when emotions are a bit calmer. =)

Sorry your baby is sick, hope he feels better soon!

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Ditto. I'm not going for the bait.

I'm sorry your kiddo is sick though. NO ONE likes to see their child suffer.

gracepaints said:

Ditto. I'm not going for the bait.

I'm sorry your kiddo is sick though. NO ONE likes to see their child suffer.

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Double ditto here.

It's rough when the kids are down ... whether it's temporary or permanent.

Because we're stupid thoughtless people....

...oh no wait--it's that varicella is cultured from aborted fetal cell tissue, and that the vaccine doesn't predictibly confer immunity....there was just a local CP outbreak- all amongst vaccinated and even some booster shot-ed children.

Things like autism, etc are for a lifetime--immune system disorders-again, lifetime....it's not a matter of sparing children a wee pinprick. But again, I'm stupid and thoughless so what do I know....

I hope your child gets better! Hugs.

To an extent I agree with you.

Although I can see the other side of the argument. I am not so sure about the proof that the vaccine has aborted foetal tissue, but it's enough to make me look into it if I have to make that decision.

Both my children have immunisations up to date, except neither had chicken pox vaccine.

Yes my dd had chicken pox at 14 months. She was very very very miserable. but she is through it now. The only thing we found is that she did have a very infected spot near her eye, which could have permanently affected her eyesight. I had to take her to the doctor nearly every day until it had cleared and put cream on the spot.

Varicella is a live vaccine. If you don't know what that means, that means your child could have easily gotten it from a recently vaccinated child because live vaccines are contagious.

My boys get everything but the cp vaccine (we have a family history of seizures and the risk outweighs the benefits in our case) if they have a reaction, such as my older son did, we delay and separate. CP is not the worst thing in the world. My boys had a stomach bug this past winter. It was awful. I felt bad. It passed. Neither of them remember it.
OP, your tone is baiting and argumentative. I am sorry you are going through but each family must make this decision based on their family history and their concerns.

All of my children have had or will have the vaccine. Vaccines help kids stay healthy. I had the chicken pox at 10, and it wasn't so bad but I wouldn't wish it on my kids cuz they're so young and I hate when they're sick.

I knew my child could be contagious after they got vaccinated so I stayed home as if they were.

Every parent should do what they feel is best for their child.

Sorry your baby isn't feeling good.

As for the bait, looks tempting but nah.

Even my pediatrician TOLD ME that when my child was given the chicken pox vaccine that they could develop real chicken pox. So "disease that children should no longer have to suffer" is not true.

Bait tastes good.

Leanna said:

Bait tastes good. Even my pediatrician TOLD ME that when my child was given the chicken pox vaccine that they could develop real chicken pox. So "disease that children should no longer have to suffer" is just ignorance.

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Plus, when they grow up and the vax wears off, practically the entire adult workforce will be vulnerable to outbreaks of the shingles. Can you imagine a whole office or the entire faculty of school out with the chickenpox? This vax was basically invented so that parents wouldn't have to miss work to care for their kids, but it's setting up a situation where in a generation, it will move from the kids being sick for one week to the parents being sick for several. Great idea, folks.

Leanna said:

Even my pediatrician TOLD ME that when my child was given the chicken pox vaccine that they could develop real chicken pox. So "disease that children should no longer have to suffer" is not true.

Bait tastes good.

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Exactly! My kids' chickenpox was only a week and that's brief compared to my son who developed autism through his shots.

Do you eat worms? :o

Varicella vaccine is a live ATTENUATED virus. If your baby caught varicella from someone who had an outbreak from vaccination, they got the attenuated virus, not the wild virus. Based on your description of symptoms, this is very unlikely.

Varicella, attenuated or not, lives forever in your nerve cells once you get it. Shingles is caused by reactivation of varicella in a previously infected individual. The difference is that vaccinated individuals have a reactivation of the ATTENUATED virus. Shingles is worse in people who develop it and had chicken pox naturally rather than the vaccine.

Neither vaccination nor natural case of chickenpox definitively confers lifelong immunity to varicella.

Lastly, no epidemiological survey has found statistically significant correlation between vaccination and autism. This doesn't mean it doesn't exist, it simply means nobody has any way of knowing this has happened.

Oh, AJ, I hope things get better. Chicken Pox in infants is always worse than in children. Sending and your way.

I know that you are just venting and I don't even see any bait in your OP. Sometimes I do that myself (compare my suffering to another's suffering) as it can help my ego feel happier with a situation and sometimes (I'll admit it) I like to pacify my ego too.

My son's doctor and I had some long discussions about vaccines. She admitted the CP vaccine didn't work as well as they'd originally thought which is now why it has 2 doses[12 months and 5 years] instead of just one. I also asked about so many of my friend's kids getting CP within days of being vaccinated for it and she said that was common too. She also said he will probably get CP anyway.

So maybe you have more faith in the vaccine than even a doctor does. Although I'm sorry your baby is sick - that's not fun.

My mom didn't vaccinate me for it. I got it when I was 4 or 5, I remember it. It wasn't that bad. I didn't feel good for maybe 2 days, and anti itch cream kept me from itching those spots too badly.