Leery of Vaccine, Some Parents Hold 'Chickenpox Parties'

Fox News ^ | 10/19/2001

[Mr. K]

My three little girls just went through the same thing. They were a little warm and tired and cranky, but it went through all three of them and no difficulties at all. Were all under the age of 5 at the time, and they rarely stopped playing or watching cartoons or behaviom mostly normal during the whole time.

[wi jd]

For the past 15 years I've been getting hit with shingles every two years or so.

When you see roofers on the tops of houses, my advice to you would be to stay away.

[BornOnTheFourth]

cajungirl,

Thank you for your post. My daughter was vaccinated against chicken pox when she turned one. (she's now six) About a year later, her babysitter's kids all contracted chicken pox and my daughter did, too. However, since she was vaccinated, she only had a few "dots" for a couple days--no itching or fever. I would do it all over again.

AND, for the comment that someone made about single moms not wanting to miss work--that wasn't the reason my daughter was vaccinated, but let's face reality. When you are a single parent, you are the one to stay home from work. Your child's health is the first priority, but providing for them is also ciritical.

[Aurelius]

Certainly modern medicine has its positive aspects. It also has negative ones.

US medicine in particualar is characterized by overreliance on surgery and, worst in my opinion, on developing and using drugs with numerous poisonous side effects. I find it humorous to listen to TV ads for prescription drugs, which must mention side effects, which often times seem worse than the condition the drug is used to treat. Funniest of all are those which compare the effectiveness of the drug with a placebo with the drug only marginally more effective. The FDA procedure for determing safety of drugs is obviously inadequate, as numerous recent examples have shown.(*) It is often only after the whole population have been used as laboratory subjects that unacceptable side effects are discovered. Thus my preference for the hundred year rule, (actually 50 would probably be adequate). Twenty five years ago it was reported that 30,000 people died annually from prescription drugs taken in accordance with the physicians instructions. I have not heard a current estimate but I am sure the toll is higher now.

(*)The fact that the FDA did not approve thalidomide was a fluke. The FDA bureaucrats were ready to approve it. It was only a teaching, practicing woman physician, on leave from her institution and visiting at the FDA, who saw problems and whose subsequent investigation eventually led to rejection of the drug.

[wi jd]

The side effects from the vaccine can be worse than the side effects from the disease.

It is a tough choice for a parent to make. Do you want to take the risk of your child suffering ill effects from chicken pox?

Or do you want to take the risk of your child suffering ill effects from the vaccine?

My wife and I are opting out for our 2 y/o daughter.

[wi jd]

ping

[wi jd]

bttt

[wi jd]

self bump

[stumpy]

Will this woman also give polio parties to her children?????

[wingnuts'nbolts]

Some parents are truly uninformed or mentally challenged. Chicken Pox is not a horrible disease, but it leads in some intances to shingles later on in life, and shingles is a very painful dibilitating thing. Whooping cough is very serious. Measles is serious and dangerous. Polio was a scourge at one time not too long ago along with small pox.

I don't know what shots are given today, as I have no little children around any more, but I'd rather be safe than sorry.

[aruanan]

Wasn't this on an episode of South Park?

[aruanan]

My own practice is to try to avoid any medical treatment that hasn't been in use for at least 100 years. The most effective and most trustworthy drugs are those based on naturally occuring substances that were known and used by paleolithic peoples.

This is scientific, medical, and historical nonsense. Yeah, Paleolithic science was just so advanced.

[Aurelius]

"...scientific, medical and historical nonsense."

A number of drugs have exactly the origin stated.

[Aurelius]

The paleolithic peoples had a "collective memory". What one generation learned was passed on to the next. Being given thousands of years there would have resulted accidental discoveries and subsequent testing of those by experience of generation after generation. This confers advantages that the methods of modern scientific and medical research cannot duplicate. It is foolish to disparage the "primitive technology" that these peoples possessed.

[Texas Yellow Rose]

Health officials, however, discourage such gatherings.

"Officials" may discourage these gatherings, but my old doctor ENCOURAGED me to expose my son to mumps in the late 70's before he had to get his vaccine for school. Doc Hayes was concerned that the vaccine would not last and he would contract mumps as an adult.

I looked and looked for someone with the mumps ... all to no avail!! No mumps were to be found!

[TomB]

So I suppose it is only an accident that almost all major diseases that have been cured, prevented or brough under control in history have been done so in the past 100 years?

[Politicalmom]

My children are not vaccinated, and I am not ignorant, ill-informed, or "loopy". I have read thousands of pages on vaccinations, which I guarantee is far more than most parents who just do what they are told. My nephew has severe brain damage and a seizure disorder from his DPT shot. He is 17 and functions on the level of a 3-4 year old. Some of these people who advocate forced vaccinations should have to spend a few days with vaccine damaged children. As a young mother, I allowed myself to be pressured into a DPT shot for my son. He had a severe reaction. NO MORE. I will not discount the genetic factors that may be present. There ARE children who should not be vaccinated, but the "vaccine nazis" don't even ask any background questions, or even follow the recommendations on the vaccine inserts. They just line everybody up and give them shots. Would they do that with any other medical treatment? NO.

[pops88]

20 years ago when I was in nursing school, being taught by 50-60-somethings, I was taught that this was standard practice going back years. It was considered a good thing and encouraged by the medical establishment. It was obviously something one didn't do with an already sick or compromised child. In small communities, it allowed children to develop immunity and all be out of school and sick at the same time. It was considered safer than allowing children to reach adulthood without immunity. So, before vaccines, this was socially acceptable. On a side note, I personnally wouldn't vaccinate a healthy child for chicken pox. It isn't known yet whether it will provide lifelong immunity nor what the long term effects are. Also, I personally knew a highly respected pediatrician that spoke out against it and refuse to administer it. Didn't make him popular with the pc crowd.

[clamper1797]

Chicken Pox can be FATAL to adults. Lost my brother in law to it. He was 38

[Chemnitz]

I don't think there is a direct connection between shingles and chicken pox. I am no doctor, but I think that has been refuted. I had cp and I don't have shingles. Very few have it, but I know it is horrible to live with.