So it turns out that kids can now get vaccinated for chicken pox. I suppose the benefit of this is that parents don't have to suffer through their kids' misery as the illness runs its course. The downside, though, is that the protection provided by the vaccination is temporary -- you've got to keep getting it on a regular basis, especially after you've reached adulthood and are are at risk of contracting worse illness than childhood chicken pox.
I opted to not have Tim immunized against chicken pox, thinking it would be better for him to be sick for a bit and be immunized for life. The risk, of course, is that he would never get the disease because most other kids have been artificially innoculated. (Thus, chicken pox parties.) My doctor assured me that we could wait until he was 10 or 12 to see if he caught it naturally, and if not just vaccinate him then.
FFWD to yesterday morning: I noticed spots on Tim's trunk, which I immediately took to be bites. By the end of the day, there were more and they had taken on a decidedly pimply look. This morning, a few more, also pimply... Internet searches rules out Coxsackie (spots are on hands, feet, and mouth), roseola (body rash), fifth disease (rash on cheeks)... etc. I kind of thought it was too good to be true, particularly because Tim was neither feverish or seeming very itchy (though he was starting to squirm a little). I made a call to Info-Santé (Quebec's Tele-health) to go over the symptoms, and the "health professional" on the line assured me that even in the absence of a fever the symptoms I described could be none other than chicken pox.
Huzzah! Life-long immunity!
It may get worse before it gets better, but Tim is notorious for getting the mildest form of illnesses. Dude seems to have the immune system of an elephant. Croup lasted three days, and nobody lost sleep. The gastro bug that felled the rest of the house left him unscathed. Tim doesn't even know how to pick his nose yet, because the rare cold he catches doesn't last long enough to leave nagging crusties behind.(This is awkward when he does have a booger, as he runs to ME to get it out.) Tim is many things, but one thing he is not is a snot-nosed kid.
So anyway, Pox Party at our house!
1 comment:
Good to know about the immunity from vaccinations wearing off! I had my kids vaccinated because I was so miserably sick with chicken pox as a kid.
I'll never forget when the pox first appeared - my mom was packing up at the end of a visit at a friend's cottage and I was amusing myself by counting my mosquito bites. When I got to 80, mom took a good look at me and realized it was chicken pox.
I hope Tim has a nice mild case of it and feels all better soon!
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