In article <10…@ihlpb.ATT.COM>, k…@ihlpb.ATT.COM (Casali) writes:
> Can I give my daughter chicken pox just
> by going to their house (I already had chicken
> pox)? My husband never had it, is he also
> suseptiable? Am I just worring too much? By
> the way my daughter is 18 months if that figures
> into anything.
I am under the impression that you cannot give your daughter
chicken pox. If you have already had it then the virus is
probably still present in your body, and may give you shingles,
but barring that you are not contagious.
Unless a vaccine is developed soon your daughter is better off
getting chicken pox now. Children may be uncomfortable for a few
days, but are highly unlikely to suffer severe complications.
In return, they acquire a lifetime of immunity from an extremely
contagious disease, *which can be fatal to adults*. If your husband
never had it (and he might have had an undiagnosed case) then he
is extremely vulnerable to it. If your daughter does catch the
disease you should consult your physician about how to minimize
the chances of your husband getting *very* ill.
—
I’m not afraid of dying Ethan Vishniac, Dept of Astronomy, Univ. of Texas
I just don’t want to be {charm,ut-sally,emx,noao}!utastro!ethan
there when it happens. (arpanet) et…@astro.AS.UTEXAS.EDU
– Woody Allen (bitnet) ethan%astro.as.utexas….@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU
These must be my opinions. Who else would bother?
Links
A friend’s kid has chicken pox. She also has a
kitten that I am going to take from her. The
kid is always holding the kittens. If I pick up
the kitten and my daughter holds or pets it, can
she get chicken pox? Should I wait to pick up the
kitten until the kid no longer shows any signs?
Should I put the kitten in some quarentine for
some amount of time before my daughter plays
with it? Can I give my daughter chicken pox just
by going to their house (I already had chicken
pox)? My husband never had it, is he also
suseptiable? Am I just worring too much? By
the way my daughter is 18 months if that figures
into anything.
Thanks in advance,
Kathy
In article <13…@ut-emx.UUCP>, et…@ut-emx.UUCP (Ethan Tecumseh Vishniac) writes:
> In return, they acquire a lifetime of immunity from an extremely
> contagious disease, *which can be fatal to adults*.
It is certainly extremely unpleasant. My sister’s boyfriend ended up
in the emergency room from a case just a few months ago.
> If your husband
> never had it (and he might have had an undiagnosed case) then he
> is extremely vulnerable to it.
There is a test that your doctor can perform to tell you if you’re
immune or not. We went through this a few years ago, when we refused
to go to my wife’s brother’s house, because his son had chicken pox.
This was a major to-do; her parents were up from Florida for Passover,
and we refused to go, and refused to help them go, because my neither
my wife nor her brother nor their father had ever had chicken pox.
(And my wife was pregnant at the time!) We were more or less called
paranoid — but the immune assay confirmed it; she was not immune.
Of course, a few days later my brother-in-law *did* come down with
chicken pox, confirming our point. Given his father’s age and health,
it could easily have been fatal.
I’m not sure I agree with the advice to expose an 18-month-old, though.
That’s a bit young; you can’t even explain to the child not to scratch,
nor hear about other symptoms. And the vaccine is close to approval,
I believe. I’d wait a few years; there’s still lots more time before
adulthood.
In article <10…@ihlpb.ATT.COM> k…@ihlpb.ATT.COM (Casali) writes:
>A friend’s kid has chicken pox. She also has a
>kitten that I am going to take from her. The
>kid is always holding the kittens. If I pick up
>the kitten and my daughter holds or pets it, can
>she get chicken pox? Should I wait to pick up the
>kitten until the kid no longer shows any signs?
[more questions about kitten, etc., deleted]
>Am I just worring too much? By
>the way my daughter is 18 months if that figures
>into anything.
Why are you so worried about your 18 month-old getting chicken pox?
It is a benign disease, best contracted in childhood (which generally
results in lifetime immunity). If your daughter fails to get CP as
a child, she runs the risk of contracting it as an adult; in adults,
CP is a far more serious ailment that can kill you. Some parents have
actually held "chicken pox parties" in which all of the neighborhood
kids were brought together when one contracted CP, so they would all
get it at once.
A vaccine is on the horizon, and may prove useful for kids with
leukemia, etc., who run serious risks with CP. I would not recommend
it for healthy kids, because the immunity may not be lifelong, and
you only delay the inevitable. The vaccine has not been around long
enough to know its duration of efficacy.
One more thing. Please don’t bring your child to the doctor when
he/she gets chicken pox. Your doctor will just scratch his/her
head and say "take some Tylenol".
——————————————————————-
Brian Hjelle, UCSF Dept. Lab Medicine:
UUCP: …{ucbvax,uunet}!daedalus.ucsf.edu!hjelle
Internet: hje…@daedalus.ucsf.edu
——————————————————————-
In article <2…@ucsfcca.ucsf.edu>
hje…@daedalus.UUCP (Brian Hjelle) writes:
[Chicken pox] is a benign disease, best contracted in childhood
(which generally results in lifetime immunity). If your daughter
fails to get CP as a child, she runs the risk of contracting it
as an adult; in adults, CP is a far more serious ailment that
can kill you.
I had chicken pox two years ago (age 35). I got it from a friend’s
children.
At first, I thought I was getting the flu. I even went to the doctor,
and he concluded I probably had a flu bug (the rash didn’t appear until
the next day). My temperature reached a high of about 39C on the second
or third day — but rarely exceeded 38C thereafter. Except for that one
night with the 39C temperature (when I was very uncomfortable and even
slightly delerious), I felt reasonably OK throughout the ordeal.
My rash was fairly mild and didn’t itch much (I used Caladryl cream).
All told, I was "under the weather" for about a week. My roommates had
both had chicken pox as kids, so (of course) they had nothing to worry
about.
My mother, to her credit, tried several times to expose me to chicken
pox when I was young — but it never worked.
When I called my doctor after the rash appeared, he naturally did *not*
want me to come back to his office for another checkup! But one thing
he said has perplexed me: he cautioned me not to go outside without
dark glasses until I was well again, because otherwise my eyes could be
damaged by the bright sunlight. Can anyone explain this (if, indeed,
it makes any sense at all)?
– Rich Wales // UCLA Computer Science Department // +1 (213) 825-5683
3531 Boelter Hall // Los Angeles, California 90024-1596 // USA
wa…@CS.UCLA.EDU …!(uunet,ucbvax,rutgers)!cs.ucla.edu!wales
"This is yet another example of how our actions have random results."
The advice to wait a few years for the vaccine seems very sound. Complications
OO YOUNG to have ANY illness. We see 18month old children hospitalized often &
No you are probably concerned enough not over worried. Chicken pox isen the .
I would recommend exposing your children to chicken pox NOW.
There are no guarantees for immunity with the vacine (when it
does become available)
I have two daughters (ages 10 and 3) they have *BOTH* had the
chicken pox at least TWICE. Yes, I said twice…doctor confirned
in each case. (My 10 year old has had it 3 times!!!)
They each contracted CP the first time when they were less than
. And again she had enough immunity to have only a mild casee
six months old, and apparently they still had sufficient immuntiy
from me to allow them only amild case without recieving the benefit
of developing their own immunity. My ten year old developed her
second case when she was about 2 (visiting her paternal grandmother
when some of her cousins were contagious…I thought she was immune
without developing sufficient immunity to prevent catching it
*again*. She had her last case when she was in kindergartne and
that time appeared to have done the trick
My 3 year old got her first case at about 6 months and then again
about 3 months ago….the doctor feels that the last bout
will afford her life long immunity. She has been exposed twice
since then and no sign of the CP.
I had never heard of multiple cases of CP in anyone until
it happened to my girls (and I come from a *very large* extended
family). Good Luck.
Pam Furlong
In article <10…@ihlpb.ATT.COM> k…@ihlpb.ATT.COM (Casali) writes:
>A friend’s kid has chicken pox. She also has a
>suseptiable? Am I just worring too much? By
>the way my daughter is 18 months if that figures
>into anything.
Send your kid over to play with the neighbor’s kid. I’m
dead serious. I got chicken pox at the age of 21.
It was no picnic. The doctor told me that childhood disease
are best had during childhood. Might as well just get
it over with, as it is in your daughter’s best interests.
And enjoy your new kitten.
> In article <2…@ucsfcca.ucsf.edu>
> hje…@daedalus.UUCP (Brian Hjelle) writes:
> [Chicken pox] is a benign disease, best contracted in childhood
> (which generally results in lifetime immunity). If your daughter
> fails to get CP as a child, she runs the risk of contracting it
> as an adult; in adults, CP is a far more serious ailment that
> can kill you.
-
–
Chicken pox is NOT always so benign in children. My little brother got
chicken pox while only a few months old. He suffered a long time and was
very seriously ill. Today he bears visible scars from his armpits to his
knees.
" I don’t want to imply I’m underpaid, but …
Last time I took my paycheck to the bank to be cashed, the teller
asked me, ‘How would you like that, sir, Heads, or Tails?’ "
Jerry ( je…@starfish.Convergent.COM )
—–
In article <10…@ihlpb.ATT.COM> k…@ihlpb.ATT.COM (Casali) writes:
>A friend’s kid has chicken pox. She also has a
>kitten that I am going to take from her. The
>kid is always holding the kittens. If I pick up
>the kitten and my daughter holds or pets it, can
>she get chicken pox? Should I wait to pick up the
>kitten until the kid no longer shows any signs?
I’ll let the M.D.s tackle most of your questions; however, I can say that
cats are not susceptible to chicken pox, and that therefore the kitten is no
more likely to transmit the infection than an inanimate object is.
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