Chicken Pox Parties

[Guest guest]

http://www.msnbc.com/news/480592.asp

FULL STORY

Question: My sister-in-law says that when one of our kids comes down

with chickenpox, we should have a sleepover so all the kids will get it at

once and get it over with. Is this a good idea?

Answer: No. Save your sleepover for when the kids are well. It’s true

that for most of us, chickenpox was just an itchy rite of passage. But it

isn’t always harmless. And now that there is an effective vaccine, there is

little reason for your children to ever get chickenpox in the first place.

Parties like the one your sister-in-law is suggesting went out in

1995 with the introduction of the varicella vaccine that protects against

the chickenpox virus. Before the vaccine, parents tried to control when

their children got chickenpox by exposing them to another infected child — a

risky way to “get it over with” because of the small but real potential for

severe complications. Furthermore, once chickenpox took hold in a community,

it could be passed to those at risk for severe infection: infants, pregnant

women, and patients with cancer, for example.

Before 1995, the CDC estimated that of the 4 million people who

caught chickenpox each year, 10,000 would require hospitalization

(two-thirds of them children), and 100 would die (half of them children).

Because of these health risks, many states, schools, and child care centers

now require proof of vaccination against chickenpox or documentation of past

infection.

Are your child's shots up-to-date?

The chickenpox vaccine (known as Varivax) is given as a single

injection to children aged 1 to 12. Adults and kids 13 and over receive two

shots four weeks apart. Most of the side effects are mild and include pain,

redness, swelling at the injection site, and fever. It appears that the

immunity people develop is long lasting and that a booster shot isn’t

needed.

The safety and effectiveness of the varicella vaccine has been

studied for 20 years in Japan and 11 years in the United States. It prevents

chickenpox in 85 percent to 95 percent of recipients and blocks severe

infection in nearly 100 percent. And those few people who do get chickenpox

despite being vaccinated can expect a milder infection with a few dozen

spots instead of hundreds.

Some people who get chickenpox get shingles later in life when the

virus, which remains dormant in nerve cells after the infection,

reactivates. This can also happen to people who get the vaccine, although it

appears to happen less frequently.

Advertisement

Bottom line: If you or your children have never had chickenpox and

have never had the vaccine, ask your doctor if some members of your family

should get the shot. And if your children are exposed to chickenpox in the

meantime, call your pediatrician promptly. Given within three days of

exposure, the vaccine can help limit the infection. If more than three days

have passed, doctors sometimes prescribe acyclovir, a medication that fights

the chickenpox virus, among others. It may shorten the infection and

decrease the extent of the rash.

Last year, nearly 60 percent of children aged 19 to 35 months

received the varicella vaccine. As these immunized children join the older

children who are already immune to chickenpox because they were infected,

the chickenpox rite of passage may become a thing of the past. And that’s

something we can all celebrate.

Dr. M. Asta is a pediatrician in Walnut Creek, Calif., and an

assistant clinical professor of pediatrics at the University of California,

San Francisco.

WebMD content is provided to MSNBC by the editorial staff of WebMD.

The MSNBC editorial staff does not participate in the creation of WebMD

content and is not responsible for WebMD content. Remember that editorial

content is never a substitute for a visit to a health care professional.

_________________________________________________________________________

Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com.

Share information about yourself, create your own public profile at

http://profiles.msn.com.