Chicken Pox Parties

[Anonymous]

Exemptions are available in DC, MD, or VA.

[Anonymous]

At six months of age my DS was exposed to my father, who had shingles.  I really didn't worry about it because he was nursing, and had my antibodies.  Well, just because he didn't come down with spots, didn't mean that he didn't have the virus.  It was just over three years after his exposure that he came down with a bad case of shingles.  He didn't get the band around his midsection, but they went down his arm and were all over his hand.  The poor little guy was on Tylenol with codeine for the pain and we couldn't leave the house (except for doctors appointments) for more than a week.  DS was in daycare at the time, and warnings had to go out to other parents, because you can catch chicken pox from someone with shingles.  I don't know if any of the other kids had gotten sick, but if they had, my child was the one who shared the virus.Knowing what I know, I wouldn't choose to risk that exposure to the virus.  I also remember how awful chicken pox were when I was a kid.  My head hurt like hell, my joints all ached, I couldn't eat or drink because of pox in my mouth, and I had unbearable itching on top of that.  I was seven, and my mother would have to take me in the shower to gently clean me.  Poor woman, my dad had moved ahead of us, and all five children (aged 5-15) got the chicken pox at once.   The two oldest were 14 and 15 and had them the worst.  I can't imagine how bad it was for them, because I have such a clear memory of how terrible it was for me.

[Anonymous]

As another PP pointed out -- Chicken Pox is contagious before the spots appears (it is spread through coughing and sneezing). Sooooo, if you and your child do attend a Chicken Pox party please stay very far away from infants and pregnant women until you are sure that you are free of the disease. As with many childhood illnesses, the rate of complication in infants is much higher than for older children. Also chicken pox can cause birth defects or complications for a newborn if the mother comes down with the disease while pregnant.