Chicken pox vaccinations.

"Benefits and chickenpox vaccine side effects"

Chicken pox vaccinations are available from 1995. Before this vaccination was available about 50 children and 50 adults died from chicken pox in the US each year.

Many parents still belief that their child should obtain natural immunity from chicken pox and deliberately bring them in contact with infected children.

This can be dangerous because you never know if your child will develop a mild case or a life threatening case of chicken pox.

Another argument against this theory is that their have been cases where completely healthy adults contracted chicken pox from their children and died.

This is why chicken pox vaccinations are recommended for children.

The Chicken pox vaccine.

The chicken pox vaccine Varivax is a much weaker strain of the varicella virus. By injecting a weaker virus the body will start producing anti-bodies but the virus is not strong enough to cause the symptoms of an infection with chicken pox.

Still it will provide the child with long lasting immunity. But about 15 to 20% of all children that have been vaccinated still get chicken pox but in a much milder form.

Chicken pox while pregnant.

Infant chicken pox is rare nowadays because most expecting mothers have been infected with chicken pox in the past or have been vaccinated. A mother that has obtained natural immunity does not have to worry during her pregnancy.

But if you do not have immunity and get infected during pregnancy the virus can pass the placenta and infect the fetus. Infection in the first 28 weeks of pregnancy can lead to severe malformations of the unborn child like:

Braindamage.
Eye damage.
Neurologic problems.
Damage to body extremeties.
Skin disorders.

We call this the congenital varicella syndrome.
Infection in late pregnancy or shortly after birth we call neonatal varicella.

Newborn babies that get infected with chicken pox can have very serious complications and is often fatal.

In this case an injection of varicella- zoster immunoglobulin can help to reduce the infection to a milder form. The anti viral drug Acyclovir is also given if there are serious complications.

A dangerous complication of chicken pox for the mother is developing varicella pneumonia. Treatment with the anti-viral drug acyclovir may save the mother from this potential life threatening infection.

Chicken pox vaccine side effects.

After tens of millions chicken pox vaccinations in the USA studies show that the vaccine is safe. In rare cases children may have a low grade fever or develop a mild rash where the injection is given.

A benefit of chicken pox vaccinations is that it protects children also from getting Herpes Zoster (shingles). After an infection with chicken pox the varicella zoster virus may remain in certain nerve cells of the body and cause at a later point shingles.

Shingles is an acute skin infection caused by the varicella zoster virus. Studies show that shingles are rare in children that have been vaccinated against chicken pox.
Another benefit is the reduced risk of chicken pox scars if a child gets a milder form of the infection despite the vaccination.

Chicken pox vaccinations should not be given to:

Pregnant women.
People allergic to neomycin.
Someone with supressed immune system.
People allergic to gelatin.
People that have had a allergic reaction to the varicell vaccin in the past.

The American Academy Of Pediatrics recommends chickenpox vaccinations in two doses. The first dose of the vaccine should be given at 12 to 15 months of age and the second at 4 to 6 years of age (before starting school).