ChickenPox in Brooklyn Kids sent home

pesek zman

Tue, May 17 2016, 12:58 pm

eema of 3 wrote:

Right, because Jews are the only ones who don't vaccinate....correct me if I'm wrong, but America is one of the few countries that actually vaccinated for chicken pox.

this particular outbreak is among the Orthodox Jews in Williamsburg. I"ve read the NYC DOH report. Happy to post if for those who haven't seen it

amother

Lime

Tue, May 17 2016, 12:59 pm

amother wrote:

The vaccine somehow doesn't always work and when you catch it when you're older you're in trouble...

And no, I don't believe in chicken pox parties. No mother should ever intentionally bring this disease on her kids...

If she has the chance then why on earth not?? It prevents her kids from getting it when they are older and it is more dangerous. I'd love to meet up with the sick kids in Brooklyn to keep my kid safe for later on.

Ema of 5

Tue, May 17 2016, 1:00 pm

pesek zman wrote:

this particular outbreak is among the Orthodox Jews in Williamsburg. I"ve read the NYC DOH report. Happy to post if for those who haven't seen it

That's great, but that's not what you said. What you said was that chicken pox had nearly been eradicated and because of "our people" who don't vaccinate, it's not. That's just not true. Even if this outbreak was from a Jewish source, it's is NOT solely because some Jews don't vaccinate that it has not been eradicated.

amother

Babyblue

Tue, May 17 2016, 1:09 pm

Getting chickenpox DOES NOT mean you won't ever get it again. I had it twice. So did some friends of mine. Getting it doesn't mean full immunity so EVERYONE needs their titers checked if they got it or the vaccine.
And getting chickenpox means you are likely to get shingles later.

suremom

Tue, May 17 2016, 1:14 pm

amother wrote:

if the actual disease doesnt confer immunity 100% of the time, I have even less faith that a vaccine will.
on the contrary, if you get chickenpox and are re-exposed to it from time to time, you have a way less likelihood to get shingles.

amother

Sienna

Tue, May 17 2016, 1:41 pm

Maybe wrote:

before the vax, which adult wasn't immune ? anyway it reduces risk of cancer

Ummm, any adult that didn't have it as a kid was not immune. My grandfather caught it from my mother when he was nearly 30. he was hospitalized for weeks and nearly died, and it is believed that this is the reason my mother has no siblings. This was many years before most of the vaccines given today. Also, you can get it twice, I did. Got it as an infant and then again in kindergarten. My parents were shocked the second time, but the doctor said before age 1 it doesn't confer full immunity. The chicken pox vaccine didn't exist yet then either.

Hashem_Yaazor

Tue, May 17 2016, 2:19 pm

Chickenpox was never eradicated and since it's a live virus vaccine, it would be hard to do so while it's still every so often causing mild forms of the disease itself (which is contagious).

amother

Royalblue

Tue, May 17 2016, 2:22 pm

amother wrote:

dont mean to nitpick (although im doing just that...) but your mom was an only child when her father was thirty. was she born right after marriage (or ttc) or did they wait a few years until they had her?

amother

Periwinkle

Tue, May 17 2016, 2:23 pm

amother wrote:

Chicken pox is really one of the no-big-deal diseases.

20 years ago, no one was vaccinated for it.

Except for those who have it internally, or pregnant women or boys becoming sterile...

dancingqueen

Tue, May 17 2016, 2:25 pm

pesek zman wrote:

this particular outbreak is among the Orthodox Jews in Williamsburg. I"ve read the NYC DOH report. Happy to post if for those who haven't seen it

Williamsburg is largely chassidish right? What's the reason that that community is against vaccinations (if they indeed are)?

amother

Coffee

Tue, May 17 2016, 2:25 pm

eema of 3 wrote:

Literally, like in the ICU, or figuratively?

I too had it in adulthood. I was miserable for a really long time. I got it internally, (my private part and throat), and had to take steroids. The steroids messed my system up, and I have since been suffering from hormonal imbalances etc. Not to mention the terrible scarring allover my body (including my face Sad

) It was no picnic. My older brother also got it at the time, and was hospitalized for a while, as he needed IV, meds etc.

mommyla

Tue, May 17 2016, 2:26 pm

amother wrote:

What does that have to do with anything?

My father got the chicken pox as an adult when we caught it as kids. It was absolutely miserable. He was hospitalized. Adult chicken pox is not a joke.

I was not immunized - nobody was then - but I give the vaccine to my kids.

dancingqueen

Tue, May 17 2016, 2:27 pm

amother wrote:

Chicken pox is really one of the no-big-deal diseases.

20 years ago, no one was vaccinated for it.

And 40 years ago no one thought that smoking was a big deal. You know there was no vaccine for it 20 years ago right?

pesek zman

Tue, May 17 2016, 2:29 pm

dancingqueen wrote:

Williamsburg is largely chassidish right? What's the reason that that community is against vaccinations (if they indeed are)?

I wish I knew. I work in a major NYC childrens hospital and we see tons and tons of unvaccinated Chassidic children (worse is when the doctors engage them in conversation about vaccination and they cite religious reasons!)

Chayalle

Tue, May 17 2016, 2:29 pm

Newsflash: In most cases, like everyone here posted, chicken pox is uncomfortable and itchy but not a big deal. But in some cases there can be complications. My sis told me that when she was doing her residency in Staten Island University Hospital, she saw a child who died of complications from chicken pox.

I myself had a traumatic second-hand experience with chicken pox (with my little sister) and vaccinated my own kids (except my youngest, who caught the chicken pox at 11 months). My little sister had a very bad case when I was 16. We realized it just a few hours after my parents left for an overseas vacation and my cousin's Bar Mitzva. I spent the weekend taking care of my very sick two-year-old sister, who was covered in terrible spots from head-to-toe, ran high fevers and cried and moaned all weekend. I just kept giving her tylenol and kept her hydrated. It was awful, and looking back, I'm just grateful she was okay, and I think she had a much-worse-than-usual case, not at all like a pajama party some describe (and I remember from my own experience at age 5). I'm grateful that no further complications developed, as honestly I don't know if I would've known how to handle.

Ema of 5

Tue, May 17 2016, 2:31 pm

mommyla wrote:

The first amother said that having chicken pox as an older adult was the reason she was an only child, but at the time she had chicken pox (and he subsequently caught it) she was 39 and already an only child. The second amother was just asking a question about the first ones post.

HonesttoGod

Tue, May 17 2016, 2:32 pm

In general chicken pox is not a dangerous illness for kids. BUT it can be. And if any adult or pregnant lady gets it it can be severe and often very very dangerous.

My grandmother caught it from my little brother (this was before the vaccination) and she was extremely sick from it, she had shingles shortly afterwards and was hospitalized.

They create vaccines for a reason.
I SINCERELY hope it does not come to other parts of Brooklyn, I seriously can't afford my kids to catch it (even with the vaccinations it can be caught from others with the actual virus). Ugh.

Last edited by HonesttoGod on Tue, May 17 2016, 2:38 pm; edited 1 time in total

gp2.0

Tue, May 17 2016, 2:32 pm

suremom wrote:

This is a common misconception and the amother is right. Only people who get chickenpox can get shingles.

Person A who never had chicken pox can never get shingles.
Person B who was vaccinated against chicken pox will probably never get shingles.
Person C who had chicken pox may at some point get shingles.

I believe it's because the body never really eradicates chicken pox completely, the virus stays in the body, and in elderly people with lowered immunity who have had chicken pox it surfaces again as shingles.