5 ms·

Because Shingles is awful, for one. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shingles https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shingles

by jesseb 8y ago

RobertRoberts 8y ago
This is _exactly_ the reason why we wanted our kids to get chicken pox! Or at least that is the story we have all been told. I know personally at least 3 elderly people that have had shingles (or do right now) that had chicken pox as kids.
- shepardrtc 8y ago
  You misunderstand. Shingles are a resurgence of chickenpox when you're old and your immune system is too weak to fight it off. Chickenpox is herpes. It hides in your body, but as long as you're healthy, your immune system doesn't have much issue fighting it off. When you get old, then it can come back and be potentially deadly.
  - RobertRoberts 8y ago
    But don't vaccines make your immune system stronger to fight off diseases?
    - deleted 8y ago
      [deleted]
- cmurf 8y ago
  That's the wrong logic. Getting chickenpox disease makes shingles possible, as the body replicates the virus and then it lies dormant to become reactivated decades later as shingles. If you avoid chickenpox disease through vaccination, you have a 50/50 chance of avoiding shingles entirely and if you do still get it, it will be milder because there was less replication when you had chickenpox. http://www.nfid.org/publications/factsheets/varicellaadult.pdf http://www.nfid.org/publications/factsheets/varicellaadult.p... Getting chickenpox on purpose is not as good or better than getting vaccinated for it.
  - RobertRoberts 8y ago
    This has been the logic up until the day a chicken pox vaccine was created. Some people have worse reactions to vaccines than just scars and itching.
oldgradstudent 8y ago
Shingles and adult chickenpox are the reasons the UK National Health Service does not vaccinate against chickenpox. https://www.nhs.uk/common-health-questions/childrens-health/why-are-children-in-the-uk-not-vaccinated-against-chickenpox/ https://www.nhs.uk/common-health-questions/childrens-health/... They do vaccinate pregnant women who never got chickenpox and people with weakened immune system, though.
- jesseb 8y ago
  That's quite interesting, my government recommends people (specifically children it seems, however) get the vaccination. I'll have to read into that, thanks for the link. https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/immunization/vaccine-preventable-diseases/varicella-chickenpox.html https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/immunization...

Because Shingles is awful, for one. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shingles https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shingles

by jesseb 8y ago

Because Shingles is awful, for one. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shingles https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shingles

This is _exactly_ the reason why we wanted our kids to get chicken pox! Or at least that is the story we have all been told. I know personally at least 3 elderly people that have had shingles (or do right now) that had chicken pox as kids.

shepardrtc 8y ago
You misunderstand. Shingles are a resurgence of chickenpox when you're old and your immune system is too weak to fight it off. Chickenpox is herpes. It hides in your body, but as long as you're healthy, your immune system doesn't have much issue fighting it off. When you get old, then it can come back and be potentially deadly.
- RobertRoberts 8y ago
  But don't vaccines make your immune system stronger to fight off diseases?
  - deleted 8y ago
    [deleted]
cmurf 8y ago
That's the wrong logic. Getting chickenpox disease makes shingles possible, as the body replicates the virus and then it lies dormant to become reactivated decades later as shingles. If you avoid chickenpox disease through vaccination, you have a 50/50 chance of avoiding shingles entirely and if you do still get it, it will be milder because there was less replication when you had chickenpox. http://www.nfid.org/publications/factsheets/varicellaadult.pdf http://www.nfid.org/publications/factsheets/varicellaadult.p... Getting chickenpox on purpose is not as good or better than getting vaccinated for it.
- RobertRoberts 8y ago
  This has been the logic up until the day a chicken pox vaccine was created. Some people have worse reactions to vaccines than just scars and itching.

oldgradstudent 8y ago

Shingles and adult chickenpox are the reasons the UK National Health Service does not vaccinate against chickenpox. https://www.nhs.uk/common-health-questions/childrens-health/why-are-children-in-the-uk-not-vaccinated-against-chickenpox/ https://www.nhs.uk/common-health-questions/childrens-health/... They do vaccinate pregnant women who never got chickenpox and people with weakened immune system, though.

jesseb 8y ago
That's quite interesting, my government recommends people (specifically children it seems, however) get the vaccination. I'll have to read into that, thanks for the link. https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/immunization/vaccine-preventable-diseases/varicella-chickenpox.html https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/immunization...