Deliberate Exposure of children to Chicken pox

There is this idea going on that it is good to catch chicken pox while young because that will boost your immune system and keep you safe against future infections. Because of this, some mothers are deliberately exposing their children to the chicken pox virus.

They sometimes organize chicken pox parties where children with chicken pox and those without the virus are allowed to mingle together so that the healthy ones can get chicken pox which they believe will help boost their immune system.

It sounds weird but this is the true story. Just recently on the Tyra Banks Show, some mothers confirmed the fact that they deliberately expose their children to chicken pox. what do you think?

[CountryBoy]

As long as the child is otherwise healthy I don't think there's a problem with it. The reason there is so much disease around now is because children have been sheltered from the normal rough and tumble of childhood. The efficacy of antibiotics has also declined due to unnecessary prescribing.

When scientists were still working on a small pox vaccine they realized that farm workers working with cattle were immune. The reason they were immune to small pox was because they had acquired an immunity to cow pox, which is very similar to the human form.

[Ami69]

I personally will never expose my child to chicken pox deliberately. If it does happen naturally then there is nothing I can't do about it but as to exposing my children to chicken pox, that is outside my realm of thought because it is not as if chicken pox is not painful. Chicken pox is painful and I don't want any of my children to suffer. If it does happen naturally, I will take them to the hospital and follow doctor's advice.

Actually my mom did the same thing with all her children and it is very beneficial because you have the immunity already to fight future infection and it is better to get it while you are young than to get chicken pox when you are an adult.

[AltMvz]

This is terrible!!! Deliberately exposing children to chicken pox. What are ye doing? grabbing children and bunging them together so they get the pox? Sickos. What kinda sick game is this. Ye should be arrested.

Originally Posted by AltMvz

This is terrible!!! Deliberately exposing children to chicken pox. What are ye doing? grabbing children and bunging them together so they get the pox? Sickos. What kinda sick game is this. Ye should be arrested.

I agree with you. Not everybody gets chicken pox and the kids you are exposing to the virus will get the virus for sure. Some people have natural immune responses which helps them withstand some of these diseases. I didn't get chicken pox but i would have suffered from chicken pox for nothing if my parents deliberately exposed me to the virus

I agree with you. Not everybody gets chicken pox and the kids you are exposing to the virus will get the virus for sure. Some people have natural immune responses which helps them withstand some of these diseases. I didn't get chicken pox but i would have suffered from chicken pox for nothing if my parents deliberately exposed me to the virus

To this I say: NOT TRUE!!! You could still in your life time get Chicken Pox and they will be worse and more dangerous now that you are older b/c you didn't get them when you were younger. The norm is the younger the child the lesser the symptoms, spots and itch. I had them when I was 5 and yes they were far from pleasant but now as a mother I can rest easy that when our time comes to deal with Chicken Pox I have natural immunity built up and natural is better than any crap they would/could inject you with. I will be exposing my children to the Chicken Pox. You can say I should be arrested or that this is terrible but I'd rather them sit on the couch with juice and TV hanging out cuddling for a few days then developing sever complications later in life and sitting bedside in a hospital scared of whats to come!

A very good family friend of mine who is in his 60's got chicken pox just a very few years ago. He almost died from them. This is one the diseases that for some unknown reason, (or maybe known) it is better to get them when young. I had chicken pox when I was 3 months old. 3 MONTHS! I survived, lived, and don't even have any scars to show for them. Well, maybe one, but not sure if its from the pox or not. My son has been vaccinated, but I still want to expose him the virus itself. Only sure way to know if the vaccine is working or not. And if he gets the chicken pox, well then, he got it. No big deal. How are us parents that want to expose our children to this terrible parents? How are we "Sickos"? This is a way of protecting our children in the future. So go get some pox!

[Doug]

Quote:
Originally Posted by AltMvz
This is terrible!!! Deliberately exposing children to chicken pox. What are ye doing? grabbing children and bunging them together so they get the pox? Sickos. What kinda sick game is this. Ye should be arrested.

I suggest we form a club for these kind of people. The Tree Hugging folk. The Kid Hugging folk. The Global Warming folk The Eco folk along with the the world is going to end on monday folk. What shall we call it? Please post any good names you might think of and we will have a vote and a ball laughing at the sorry mess of humankind.

some ladies confirmed to deliberately exposing their kids to chicken pox on tv the today. the video is on yahoo news. very sick.

nothing wrong with that. getting it young is quite beneficial cos you dont have to worry about it later on in life. just imagine your daughter getting it at 16 with all the crazy spots on her face.

it isn't as bad as you're making it sound. even some health professionals recommend it.

It really is VERY beneficial to get the varicella zoster virus at a young age. Catching this virus as an adult is often fatal. For those of you who don't agree or think we're all monsters for doing so, do a little bit of research before attacking those of us who are educated in the field if immunology.

my cousin has had chicken pox 3 times in her life. i personally wouldnt deliberately expose my kids to chickenpox, its not pleasant at any age, but its harder for a little to to understand why they shouldnt scratch! there seems to be a common belief that kids just get a bit ill, but there is a risk of serious illnes and death at any age!!!!!

Originally Posted by Unregistered

my cousin has had chicken pox 3 times in her life...!

Agreed! And I speak from experience not a medical qualification so sorry if it upsets some people, anyway obviously in life people come into contact with all types of viruses and germs- all well and good you cant help that, now..my family recently all had the seemingly innocent chickenpox virus, re the children-my 11 month old now has asthma due to scaring on her lungs from the virus and she was very unwell and still is, my 6 year old has hearing problems due to a chickenpox blister getting infected and damaging his ear drum, my 8 year old has also had chickenpox for the third time(all conditions been diagnosed at hospital by doctors,plus previous c.pox infections diagnosed as such so being exposed before obviously doesn't guarantee immunity) my husband who also has had c.pox before as a teenager has just spent 16 days in hospital on 6 medications due to chickenpox and it going to the brain...you shouldn't deliberately expose anyone especially a child who has no way of communicating their like or dislike to anything potentially harmful as you don't know for sure how their immune system will react or if the person/child has a unknown undiagnosed medical condition which could cause complications.