Post vaccination for chickenpox after contact with somebody affected

[vi2004]

I hope you guys can help me out here.

My wife got the chickenpox from a young girl coming back from her village.

The doctor here in Bangkok told her that in 7 days everything is over.

Well, now I read in the internet that it can make sense for ME to get a vaccination even up to 5 days after I met my wife.

Does anybody has experiences with this?

My mother cannot remember if I had the chickenpox when I was a child.

So now I am thinking if I should go and see the doctor and get a vaccination for chickenpox to reduce my risks or to hope for a more mild process of the disease.

If I go what hospital in Bangkok would you recommend for that kind of issue.

English speaking doctors would be a must (my Thai is ok but not for this kind of conversation).

Thanks a lot

[smileydude]

Since you don't know whether you contracted chickenpox as a child you could opt for a vaccination to play it safe as symptoms are more severe in adults but it might be a matter of protecting yourself a little too late as you might have already caught it.

Its a common misperception that if you had chickenpox as a child that you won't get it as a adult but this is not necessarily true.

Immunity from either naturally acquiring the disease or getting vaccinated is not guaranteed to be lifelong.

I don't know your age or past medical history so I cannot determine whether you are in a high risk group that justifies vaccinaton but

according to the American Academy of Pediatrics, clinical trials have demonstrated that varicella vaccine is 70% to 90% effective for preventing varicella and more than 95% effective for preventing severe varicella, so it comes down to cost benefit to you.

Some people think its better to try to protect yourself while others might think its a little too late for that. Depends on you.

Most of the reputable hospitals in Thailand like Bumrungrad Hospital on Sukumvit soi 3, Samitvej Hospital (Sukumvit soi 49) or Bangkok Hospital on Petchburi Road who have JCI Accreditation are more then capable of providing the vaccination. More importantly is to request a reputable drug like Varivax manufactured by Merck and globally as Varilrix by GlaxoKline Smith. http://www.merck.com/product/usa/pi_circulars/v/varivax/varivax_pi.pdf

Best of luck and hope you don't get it.

Edited March 14, 2014 by smileydude

[atyclb]

http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6228a4.htm

Patient groups for whom VariZIG is recommended. Patients without evidence of immunity to varicella who are at high risk for severe varicella and complications, who have been exposed to varicella or herpes zoster, and for whom varicella vaccine is contraindicated, should receive VariZIG. Patient groups recommended by CDC to receive VariZIG include the following:

• Immunocompromised patients without evidence of immunity.
• Newborn infants whose mothers have signs and symptoms of varicella around the time of delivery (i.e., 5 days before to 2 days after).
• Hospitalized premature infants born at ≥28 weeks of gestation whose mothers do not have evidence of immunity to varicella.
• Hospitalized premature infants born at <28 weeks of gestation or who weigh ≤1,000 g at birth, regardless of their mothers' evidence of immunity to varicella.
• Pregnant women without evidence of immunity.

Treatment in Immunocompetent Adults http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1131785-treatment#a1156

Oral acyclovir should be considered for healthy persons at increased risk of severe varicella infections, most notably patients older than 12 years. Oral acyclovir therapy in this population (800 mg 5 times/d for 7 d), begun within 24 hours of onset of symptoms, has been shown to decrease the duration of lesions and pyrexia, while reducing other symptoms and disease duration.

Valacyclovir, the L-valyl ester of acyclovir, is a prodrug that has higher oral bioavailability than acyclovir. Valacyclovir is used in the treatment of herpes zoster, but no large-based clinical trials yet have demonstrated its efficacy in primary varicella infection of healthy, immunocompetent individuals.

Famciclovir is a prodrug of penciclovir, which is a nucleoside analogue similar to acyclovir. Like valacyclovir, famciclovir has demonstrated efficacy in the treatment of herpes zoster, but it has not been extensively studied for use in primary varicella infection of healthy populations.

A few case reports also have found sorivudine, a nucleoside analogue that is a potent in vivo inhibitor of varicella-zoster virus (VZV) replication, to be effective in the treatment of primary varicella in healthy adults. Larger scale clinical trials are needed to demonstrate the efficacy of this medication.

[Diddl]

Why would you need a vaccination? You have already been in contact with the disease so your immune system is already working to counteract the infection. Vaccinations are supposed to do the same so, in reality, you have already been vaccinated. In any case, you should research the subject of vaccinations and you will see that they contain many toxic poisons so don’t damage your health.

[Lee4Life]

I am no doctor...but based on my recent experience I would strongly suggest getting vaccinated. The chickenpox virus (Herpes Zoster) never leaves your system once contracted, but stays incubated in your nerve ganglia. If your immune system becomes compromised later in your life it can reinstate itself as Shingles. I came down with Pneumonia last August and then before I could recover came down with Facial Shingles as my immune system had been compromised by the sickness and the meds (prednisone), something I would never, ever wish anyone to experience.

As a side note, there is an immunization for Shingles also....sure wish I would have had one!

[mimi9000]

I'm a doctor. Vaccination within 5 days of exposure....only 50% chance of helping. Wear a mask in the house to help prevent getting infected. Don't be around her if she's coughing or sneezing. Sleep in another area. If you had chickenpox when you were a kid, then don't worry about anything. If you had vaccination as a kid, nobody know if you're immune still or not.... lasts anywhere from about 10 to 30 or more years.

[Gsxrnz]

I am no doctor...but based on my recent experience I would strongly suggest getting vaccinated. The chickenpox virus (Herpes Zoster) never leaves your system once contracted, but stays incubated in your nerve ganglia. If your immune system becomes compromised later in your life it can reinstate itself as Shingles. I came down with Pneumonia last August and then before I could recover came down with Facial Shingles as my immune system had been compromised by the sickness and the meds (prednisone), something I would never, ever wish anyone to experience.

As a side note, there is an immunization for Shingles also....sure wish I would have had one!

Ditto your thoughts on facial shingles . Got me on the left side of the face (apparently that is a common trait of the disease, only goes for one side) about 10 years ago and took the doctors in a NZ hospital 4 days to figure out what it was. In the meantime they pumped me full of IV antibiotics thinking it was some sort of weird infection, they even did a CT scan. And then a worldly old doctor wandered past and asked the nurse why they were pumping me full of antbiotics when I clearly had shingles - a viral infection.

He dressed down the young diagnosing doctor and told me sorry, just have to suffer through for 10 more days or so as nothing can be done. It took 14 days before I looked enough unlike Elephant Man to go out in public.

I was later tiold by him that if I ever sense any sort of tingling on my face or nose, accompanied by small weeping blisters, that it was the shingles returning and if I can get anti viral medication within 48 hours then the shingles will either be stopped or severely reduced in its action.

I've never had it since - but I know what to look for. So OP, if it's possible you may have had CP and sense any tingling on your face (started on my nose), get to a doctor.

[Dannyboy6]

I had Shingles, because I had Chicken Pox as a youngster, Avoid Shingles with Vaccination also, Shingles is Miserable, I think you contact it if you are in Contact with somebody with Chicken Pox, I think every mom would remember, it's the Worst, maybe you didn't have it...

[smileplur]

I hate to "hijack" a thread, but I know for a fact that I did not have chicken pox as a child. I was directly exposed to it many, many times. My parents tried everything they could for me to get the virus when I was a child. All of their efforts failed, and I never did get it. I understand that it is much, much worse to contract the virus as an adult. I am 33 years old. I work with children. From time to time, they get the chicken pox which means I am exposed to the virus every so often. I am terrified when I discover that I was exposed.

At this stage, what do you think I should do to attempt to prevent contracting the virus at this stage or later in my life. I certainly don't want to deal with some of the more severe repercussions of the infection as an adult. I would appreciate any advice you can provide at all!

[vi2004]

Thanks a lot to all of you.

In the meantime I have been to the hospital already.

I have been reading different websites from different countries (Germany, UK, USA) and there seems to be a common opinion that after three days (and up tp 5 days) of the initial contact there is a good chance that the vaccination can prevent an outbreak. Or if not then at least it could help to reduce symptoms.

I am 40 now. So nowadays a vaccination for chickenpox is standard procedure in Germany. Back then when I was a kid it was not.

I have also contacted a doctor in Germany and another doctor from the German Health Office. The first doctor said that it might help though chances are not too big.

The second doctor confirmed her opinion after consulting Robert Koch Institute (organization responsible for disease control and prevention in Germany) and advised me to go and get the vaccine today.

So I went to Phram Ram 9 Hospital (JCI accredited) and the Thai doctor confirmed this too.

He also told me that at the moment there are many more people coming for a vaccination as usual.

Regarding my own protection ... well, this is not easy if you live together with a person infected. Of course we don't touch each other, try to use separate things for everything and try not to be too close. I mean how would you protect yourself if your child had the chickenpox? You cannot send your child away or leave it alone.

So, let's hope for the best now.

Edited March 14, 2014 by vi2004

[thepool]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

I hate to "hijack" a thread, but I know for a fact that I did not have chicken pox as a child. I was directly exposed to it many, many times. My parents tried everything they could for me to get the virus when I was a child. All of their efforts failed, and I never did get it. I understand that it is much, much worse to contract the virus as an adult. I am 33 years old. I work with children. From time to time, they get the chicken pox which means I am exposed to the virus every so often. I am terrified when I discover that I was exposed.

At this stage, what do you think I should do to attempt to prevent contracting the virus at this stage or later in my life. I certainly don't want to deal with some of the more severe repercussions of the infection as an adult. I would appreciate any advice you can provide at all!

It is very likely you had "sub clinical" chickenpox as a child which would have conferred immunity.

If you have never been vaccinated maybe it would be worth considering having it done ?

[Diddl]

You don't have to believe me, I am only a researcher and want to help!

How safe is the chickenpox vaccine?
The Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS), the federal organization established by Congress in 1986 to document adverse reactions to vaccines, received nearly 10,000 reports involving the chickenpox vaccine between the months of March 1995 and December 1999, a period of less than five years. The FDA and CDC studied 6,574 of these reports -- those filed between March 17, 1995 and July 25, 1998 -- and published their findings in the Journal of the American Medical Association.(19) Here is a summary of their findings:

Adverse reactions in recipients of the chickenpox vaccine occurred at a rate of 67.5 reports per 100,000 doses sold. Approximately four percent of reports described "serious" adverse reactions. By FDA definition, "serious" reactions refer to deaths, life-threatening events, hospitalizations, persistent or significant disabilities, and other incidents of medical importance. For example, the data analyzed in this report included numerous cases of neurological disorders, immune system damage, blood disorders, brain inflammation, seizures, and death (Figure 1).

These figures do not take into account the FDA's own admission that "potentially substantial under-reporting" made the figures "highly variable fractions of actual event numbers."(20) Nor do these figures take into account that "doses sold" (about 9.7 million through July 1998) is a CDC "projection" for which no reliable documentation can be found. Authors of the study based their figures on "oral" and private "unpublished data" from the CDC.(21,22) In some parts of the country vaccination rates are below 10 percent.(23,24) If the CDC inflated the actual number of doses sold, the true rate of adverse reactions following administration of the chickenpox vaccine is much higher.

[vi2004]

@Diddl: It is always a big risk to spend hours in the internet and research information about diseases.

You will always find information that you don't like and that scares you. And then you tell yourself "I should not have started to research".

In this case I followed the advise of German Robert Koch Institute and doctors in Germany.

I made this decision (also under a certain time pressure) and now I hope for the best.

[thepool]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

You don't have to believe me, I am only a researcher and want to help!

How safe is the chickenpox vaccine?
The Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS), the federal organization established by Congress in 1986 to document adverse reactions to vaccines, received nearly 10,000 reports involving the chickenpox vaccine between the months of March 1995 and December 1999, a period of less than five years. The FDA and CDC studied 6,574 of these reports -- those filed between March 17, 1995 and July 25, 1998 -- and published their findings in the Journal of the American Medical Association.(19) Here is a summary of their findings:

Adverse reactions in recipients of the chickenpox vaccine occurred at a rate of 67.5 reports per 100,000 doses sold. Approximately four percent of reports described "serious" adverse reactions. By FDA definition, "serious" reactions refer to deaths, life-threatening events, hospitalizations, persistent or significant disabilities, and other incidents of medical importance. For example, the data analyzed in this report included numerous cases of neurological disorders, immune system damage, blood disorders, brain inflammation, seizures, and death (Figure 1).

These figures do not take into account the FDA's own admission that "potentially substantial under-reporting" made the figures "highly variable fractions of actual event numbers."(20) Nor do these figures take into account that "doses sold" (about 9.7 million through July 1998) is a CDC "projection" for which no reliable documentation can be found. Authors of the study based their figures on "oral" and private "unpublished data" from the CDC.(21,22) In some parts of the country vaccination rates are below 10 percent.(23,24) If the CDC inflated the actual number of doses sold, the true rate of adverse reactions following administration of the chickenpox vaccine is much higher.

That post seems to include some very dubious claims .

Unless such posts are supported by a reliable reference they should be regarded as mischievous scaremongering.

[arjunadawn]

Having been in the military and taken (and given) shots for nearly everything known to man, I generally shy away from Vaccines now. However, when 23 I contracted Chicken pox while on my first ortho rotation. Textbox: 9-14 days incubation from moment that snot nosed little kid touched me (He had the tell tale vesicular teardrop lesions beginning to form behind the ears), and then my itching, red, then fluid filled vesicles appeared. I was miserable and was myself hospitalized in the very hospital I was working! Had I been able prior I would have taken vaccine but there was none.

A person will remain communicable for varying times, usually less than 10-14 days, but in any case when the vesicles are dry it is considered safe.

This vaccine is an attenuated virus.There are basically three types: Live, dead, and attenuated. The purpose is to expose you enough for you to build an Active Immunity, but not enough to make you a clinical mess. For some viruses just the protein product, dead, is sufficient; others, alive. Still, partially dead- attenuated, is available. With attenuated it is possible to run a sub clinical sickness but usually this will be better than had you gotten the full disease.

What should you do? Your motivation to ask these questions, pursue an answer, when all the information can only be equivocal and hearsay, really suggests to me that you should get the vaccine for peace of mind if nothing else. It is not expensive. I would consult with someone smart if you are over 40, however. These virus tend to lie dormant in the human body (nerve root- Thus Zoster). It is possible to be exposed previously but never having been symptomatic due to excellent immune response (similar to a positive TB test with no TB).

I had overlooked that THEPOOL had also suggested a thought about subclinical exposure. While this may be true, my thoughts were related to both your age and potential vulnerability to zoster. I am not a virologist but it is not unheard for primary chicken pox to present as zoster in adult in elder age. Basically brother, if your 40-50, healthy, no allergies to foods, take a deep breath, suck it up, get the shot.I have given countless immunizations in military and never had any reactions other than the occasional influenza blowback.

Edited March 14, 2014 by arjunadawn

[attrayant]

In any case, you should research the subject of vaccinations and you will see that they contain many toxic poisons so don’t damage your health.

Only if you do all of your "research" on naturalnews dot com.

[vi2004]

As a side note, but maybe interesting for some:

Costs for the vaccination: 2300 Baht.

Plus the expenses for the doctor and service.

[Diddl]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

You don't have to believe me, I am only a researcher and want to help!

How safe is the chickenpox vaccine?

The Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS), the federal organization established by Congress in 1986 to document adverse reactions to vaccines, received nearly 10,000 reports involving the chickenpox vaccine between the months of March 1995 and December 1999, a period of less than five years. The FDA and CDC studied 6,574 of these reports -- those filed between March 17, 1995 and July 25, 1998 -- and published their findings in the Journal of the American Medical Association.(19) Here is a summary of their findings:

Adverse reactions in recipients of the chickenpox vaccine occurred at a rate of 67.5 reports per 100,000 doses sold. Approximately four percent of reports described "serious" adverse reactions. By FDA definition, "serious" reactions refer to deaths, life-threatening events, hospitalizations, persistent or significant disabilities, and other incidents of medical importance. For example, the data analyzed in this report included numerous cases of neurological disorders, immune system damage, blood disorders, brain inflammation, seizures, and death (Figure 1).

These figures do not take into account the FDA's own admission that "potentially substantial under-reporting" made the figures "highly variable fractions of actual event numbers."(20) Nor do these figures take into account that "doses sold" (about 9.7 million through July 1998) is a CDC "projection" for which no reliable documentation can be found. Authors of the study based their figures on "oral" and private "unpublished data" from the CDC.(21,22) In some parts of the country vaccination rates are below 10 percent.(23,24) If the CDC inflated the actual number of doses sold, the true rate of adverse reactions following administration of the chickenpox vaccine is much higher.

That post seems to include some very dubious claims .

Unless such posts are supported by a reliable reference they should be regarded as mischievous scaremongering.

The references are there. Why don't you do the homework yourself because I have better things to do, and I am not scaremongering, I am just trying to help. That is the problem with a lot of people of TV, they don't want the truth, they just want people to agree with them!

[Diddl]

In any case, you should research the subject of vaccinations and you will see that they contain many toxic poisons so don’t damage your health.

Only if you do all of your "research" on naturalnews dot com.

No, not only! Why don't you look at the medical research papers. People are too lazy and they need a big daddy to tell them what to do!

[vi2004]

@Diddl: I cannot judge on which source is correct. I simply don't know that.

But, and this is just my personal opinion, if I have to make a decision then I rather believe the German Robert Koch Institute than the source you provided.

This has nothing to do with looking for people who agree.

It is just a personal preference on who I believe (trust) more.

[attrayant]

You don't have to believe me, I am only a researcher and want to help!

How safe is the chickenpox vaccine?

[remainder snipped for brevity]

Your cut & paste contribution comes from a web site called "ThinkTwice", which seems to have done nothing more than a cut & paste job itself (because it omitted the sources but left the page and figure numbers intact some strange reason). Their "about us" page made my eyes roll and they have a link to something called the vaccine safety manual, which I notice is pushing the vaccine=autism myth.

This thread isn't really the place for a vaccine debate. I suggest opening a new one if that's what you want to do.

Why don't you look at the medical research papers.

See my previous sentence. Edited March 14, 2014 by attrayant

[Diddl]

@Diddl: It is always a big risk to spend hours in the internet and research information about diseases.

You will always find information that you don't like and that scares you. And then you tell yourself "I should not have started to research".

In this case I followed the advise of German Robert Koch Institute and doctors in Germany.

I made this decision (also under a certain time pressure) and now I hope for the best.

What is the risk? I have been doing research for years and if I hadn't done so, the medical profession would have killed me! I left the medical profession because of what I discovered.

How do you know I spend hours on the internet? - always assuming people around! Why don't you look at my icon and you will see how many hours I spend on TV.

And no, the truth does not scare me, lies and ignorance do though.

I will never tell myself, "I should not have started to research" as it has not only helped me but others too.

Do as you please, it is your privilege, as researching is my privilege. And, good luck.

[Diddl]

You don't have to believe me, I am only a researcher and want to help!

How safe is the chickenpox vaccine?

[remainder snipped for brevity]

Your cut & paste contribution comes from a web site called "ThinkTwice", which seems to have done nothing more than a cut & paste job itself (because it omitted the sources but left the page and figure numbers intact some strange reason). Their "about us" page made my eyes roll and they have a link to something called the vaccine safety manual, which I notice is pushing the vaccine=autism myth.

This thread isn't really the place for a vaccine debate. I suggest opening a new one if that's what you want to do.

Why don't you look at the medical research papers.

See my previous sentence.

Yes, I cut and paste because I don't have the time to look through all my documents. In any case, most people are not intereste so why should I bother doing the work for others. Those who are interested might look into it more thoroughly - I have just given people an idea.

I don't bother opening up new forums on such subjects because most people are afraid of the truth and don't want to know. Also, I don't have the time to do the work for others. I just pass on information that I know is true.

[Sheryl]

There are adverse effects to all vaccines although they affect only a small number of people. The rate of "adverse effects" for the varicella (chickenpox) vaccine is indeed 67.5 per 100,000 doses (or 6.75% i.e. >95% have no adverse reaction). HOWEVER contrary to what @Diddl posted that is the rate of all adverse effects, not of serious ones. Only 4% of the 6.75% were serious adverse effects (and it is not clear that they were all vaccine related) , the vast majority were things like a sore arm for a day or two at the site of the injection or a brief fever (most of the vaccination was in children; fever for a few hours or a day post vaccination is normal). So the actual incidence of serious adverse effects if 6.75% x 4% = 0.27% i.e. it is 99.7% without serious adverse effect. Pretty much nothing is any safer than that.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10979114

The risks of a serious adverse effect from chickenpox is far greater, especially in adults, but also in children.

The number of varicella-related deaths in the US dropped dramatically after vaccination became widespread even when the most severe vaccine reactions are factored in to the equation. this is why the vaccine is recommended: not because there is absolutely zero risk associated with the vaccine but because the risks of the vaccine are far smaller than the risks of being unvaccinated.

And this does not even factor in the suffering factor if you have even "uncomplicated" chickenpox (and quite possibly later, shingles...)

Anyone who has not been vaccinated and has not had or does not know if they had chickenpox should be vaccinated unless they have a condition in which the vaccine is contraindicated.

[Diddl]

There are adverse effects to all vaccines although they affect only a small number of people. The rate of "adverse effects" for the varicella (chickenpox) vaccine is indeed 67.5 per 100,000 doses (or 6.75% i.e. >95% have no adverse reaction). HOWEVER contrary to what @Diddl posted that is the rate of all adverse effects, not of serious ones. Only 4% of the 6.75% were serious adverse effects (and it is not clear that they were all vaccine related) , the vast majority were things like a sore arm for a day or two at the site of the injection or a brief fever (most of the vaccination was in children; fever for a few hours or a day post vaccination is normal). So the actual incidence of serious adverse effects if 6.75% x 4% = 0.27% i.e. it is 99.7% without serious adverse effect. Pretty much nothing is any safer than that.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10979114

The risks of a serious adverse effect from chickenpox is far greater, especially in adults, but also in children.

The number of varicella-related deaths in the US dropped dramatically after vaccination became widespread even when the most severe vaccine reactions are factored in to the equation. this is why the vaccine is recommended: not because there is absolutely zero risk associated with the vaccine but because the risks of the vaccine are far smaller than the risks of being unvaccinated.

And this does not even factor in the suffering factor if you have even "uncomplicated" chickenpox (and quite possibly later, shingles...)

Anyone who has not been vaccinated and has not had or does not know if they had chickenpox should be vaccinated unless they have a condition in which the vaccine is contraindicated.

Wrong! The outbreak of the disease was going down before vaccinations were introduced if you look at the statistics and this due to better standards of hygienic living. What they tell you is based on such a fact and not due to vaccines – they are trying to take the credit for what was already happening. You will find that a lot of diseases were eradicated or nearly before vaccines were introduced and these have now appeared again. Believe the propaganda if you want, I only seek the truth.

[atyclb]

There are adverse effects to all vaccines although they affect only a small number of people. The rate of "adverse effects" for the varicella (chickenpox) vaccine is indeed 67.5 per 100,000 doses (or 6.75% i.e. >95% have no adverse reaction). HOWEVER contrary to what @Diddl posted that is the rate of all adverse effects, not of serious ones. Only 4% of the 6.75% were serious adverse effects (and it is not clear that they were all vaccine related) , the vast majority were things like a sore arm for a day or two at the site of the injection or a brief fever (most of the vaccination was in children; fever for a few hours or a day post vaccination is normal). So the actual incidence of serious adverse effects if 6.75% x 4% = 0.27% i.e. it is 99.7% without serious adverse effect. Pretty much nothing is any safer than that.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10979114

The risks of a serious adverse effect from chickenpox is far greater, especially in adults, but also in children.

The number of varicella-related deaths in the US dropped dramatically after vaccination became widespread even when the most severe vaccine reactions are factored in to the equation. this is why the vaccine is recommended: not because there is absolutely zero risk associated with the vaccine but because the risks of the vaccine are far smaller than the risks of being unvaccinated.

And this does not even factor in the suffering factor if you have even "uncomplicated" chickenpox (and quite possibly later, shingles...)

Anyone who has not been vaccinated and has not had or does not know if they had chickenpox should be vaccinated unless they have a condition in which the vaccine is contraindicated.

A welcome logical and coherent explanation and interpretation of data.

[Suradit69]

Since you don't know whether you contracted chickenpox as a child you could opt for a vaccination to play it safe as symptoms are more severe in adults but it might be a matter of protecting yourself a little too late as you might have already caught it.

Its a common misperception that if you had chickenpox as a child that you won't get it as a adult but this is not necessarily true.

Immunity from either naturally acquiring the disease or getting vaccinated is not guaranteed to be lifelong.

I don't know your age or past medical history so I cannot determine whether you are in a high risk group that justifies vaccinaton but

according to the American Academy of Pediatrics, clinical trials have demonstrated that varicella vaccine is 70% to 90% effective for preventing varicella and more than 95% effective for preventing severe varicella, so it comes down to cost benefit to you.

Some people think its better to try to protect yourself while others might think its a little too late for that. Depends on you.

Most of the reputable hospitals in Thailand like Bumrungrad Hospital on Sukumvit soi 3, Samitvej Hospital (Sukumvit soi 49) or Bangkok Hospital on Petchburi Road who have JCI Accreditation are more then capable of providing the vaccination. More importantly is to request a reputable drug like Varivax manufactured by Merck and globally as Varilrix by GlaxoKline Smith. http://www.merck.com/product/usa/pi_circulars/v/varivax/varivax_pi.pdf

Best of luck and hope you don't get it.

"Its a common misperception that if you had chickenpox as a child that you won't get it as a adult but this is not necessarily true."

Very true. I had it as a child and again around 29 years. Don't remember what it was like as a child, but I do remember it was pretty bad as an adult.

[Sheryl]

There are adverse effects to all vaccines although they affect only a small number of people. The rate of "adverse effects" for the varicella (chickenpox) vaccine is indeed 67.5 per 100,000 doses (or 6.75% i.e. >95% have no adverse reaction). HOWEVER contrary to what @Diddl posted that is the rate of all adverse effects, not of serious ones. Only 4% of the 6.75% were serious adverse effects (and it is not clear that they were all vaccine related) , the vast majority were things like a sore arm for a day or two at the site of the injection or a brief fever (most of the vaccination was in children; fever for a few hours or a day post vaccination is normal). So the actual incidence of serious adverse effects if 6.75% x 4% = 0.27% i.e. it is 99.7% without serious adverse effect. Pretty much nothing is any safer than that.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10979114

The risks of a serious adverse effect from chickenpox is far greater, especially in adults, but also in children.

The number of varicella-related deaths in the US dropped dramatically after vaccination became widespread even when the most severe vaccine reactions are factored in to the equation. this is why the vaccine is recommended: not because there is absolutely zero risk associated with the vaccine but because the risks of the vaccine are far smaller than the risks of being unvaccinated.

And this does not even factor in the suffering factor if you have even "uncomplicated" chickenpox (and quite possibly later, shingles...)

Anyone who has not been vaccinated and has not had or does not know if they had chickenpox should be vaccinated unless they have a condition in which the vaccine is contraindicated.

Wrong! The outbreak of the disease was going down before vaccinations were introduced if you look at the statistics and this due to better standards of hygienic living. What they tell you is based on such a fact and not due to vaccines – they are trying to take the credit for what was already happening. You will find that a lot of diseases were eradicated or nearly before vaccines were introduced and these have now appeared again. Believe the propaganda if you want, I only seek the truth.

No, not wrong. And it seems to be you who are belieiving propaganda rather than actually looking at and analyzing data.

While many infectious diseases did decrease in prevalance before vaccines were introduced (decrease over horrendously high levels, not disappear or be eradicated, mind you), chickenpox remained extremely prevalent. "They" are not "trying to take credit" for anything. The data referred to is from serious scientific research not funded by or supported by vaccine manufacturers.

None of the diseases for which vaccination is recommended were "eradicated" prior to the introduction of vaccines (though one disease, smallpox, was eradicated completely through a successful vaccination effort, making it no longer a necessary vaccine. There is hope to achieve the same for polio). No government health authority would recommend or require vaccination for an eradicated disease, that is crazy. the decision to recommend a specific vaccine generally costs governments considerable money and is made only after careful research comparing the risks, benefits and costs.

http://www.nejm.org/action/showImage?doi=10.1056%2FNEJMoa042271&iid=f01

http://www.nejm.org/action/showImage?doi=10.1056%2FNEJMoa042271&iid=f02

http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa042271

[smileydude]

Since you don't know whether you contracted chickenpox as a child you could opt for a vaccination to play it safe as symptoms are more severe in adults but it might be a matter of protecting yourself a little too late as you might have already caught it.

Its a common misperception that if you had chickenpox as a child that you won't get it as a adult but this is not necessarily true.

Immunity from either naturally acquiring the disease or getting vaccinated is not guaranteed to be lifelong.

I don't know your age or past medical history so I cannot determine whether you are in a high risk group that justifies vaccinaton but

according to the American Academy of Pediatrics, clinical trials have demonstrated that varicella vaccine is 70% to 90% effective for preventing varicella and more than 95% effective for preventing severe varicella, so it comes down to cost benefit to you.

Some people think its better to try to protect yourself while others might think its a little too late for that. Depends on you.

Most of the reputable hospitals in Thailand like Bumrungrad Hospital on Sukumvit soi 3, Samitvej Hospital (Sukumvit soi 49) or Bangkok Hospital on Petchburi Road who have JCI Accreditation are more then capable of providing the vaccination. More importantly is to request a reputable drug like Varivax manufactured by Merck and globally as Varilrix by GlaxoKline Smith. http://www.merck.com/product/usa/pi_circulars/v/varivax/varivax_pi.pdf

Best of luck and hope you don't get it.

"Its a common misperception that if you had chickenpox as a child that you won't get it as a adult but this is not necessarily true."

Very true. I had it as a child and again around 29 years. Don't remember what it was like as a child, but I do remember it was pretty bad as an adult.

Same here. My mum told me I got it when I was less then a year old and I contracted it again from my daughter when I was 35. It was a week of being unable to sleep due to the pain and still have scars to show till today. Sometimes when you get it at too young of an age your immune system's reaction isn't strong enough to maintain lifelong immunity (weak B cell memory response). Edited March 14, 2014 by smileydude

[Diddl]

There are adverse effects to all vaccines although they affect only a small number of people. The rate of "adverse effects" for the varicella (chickenpox) vaccine is indeed 67.5 per 100,000 doses (or 6.75% i.e. >95% have no adverse reaction). HOWEVER contrary to what @Diddl posted that is the rate of all adverse effects, not of serious ones. Only 4% of the 6.75% were serious adverse effects (and it is not clear that they were all vaccine related) , the vast majority were things like a sore arm for a day or two at the site of the injection or a brief fever (most of the vaccination was in children; fever for a few hours or a day post vaccination is normal). So the actual incidence of serious adverse effects if 6.75% x 4% = 0.27% i.e. it is 99.7% without serious adverse effect. Pretty much nothing is any safer than that.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10979114

The risks of a serious adverse effect from chickenpox is far greater, especially in adults, but also in children.

The number of varicella-related deaths in the US dropped dramatically after vaccination became widespread even when the most severe vaccine reactions are factored in to the equation. this is why the vaccine is recommended: not because there is absolutely zero risk associated with the vaccine but because the risks of the vaccine are far smaller than the risks of being unvaccinated.

And this does not even factor in the suffering factor if you have even "uncomplicated" chickenpox (and quite possibly later, shingles...)

Anyone who has not been vaccinated and has not had or does not know if they had chickenpox should be vaccinated unless they have a condition in which the vaccine is contraindicated.

Wrong! The outbreak of the disease was going down before vaccinations were introduced if you look at the statistics and this due to better standards of hygienic living. What they tell you is based on such a fact and not due to vaccines – they are trying to take the credit for what was already happening. You will find that a lot of diseases were eradicated or nearly before vaccines were introduced and these have now appeared again. Believe the propaganda if you want, I only seek the truth.

No, not wrong. And it seems to be you who are belieiving propaganda rather than actually looking at and analyzing data.

While many infectious diseases did decrease in prevalance before vaccines were introduced (decrease over horrendously high levels, not disappear or be eradicated, mind you), chickenpox remained extremely prevalent. "They" are not "trying to take credit" for anything. The data referred to is from serious scientific research not funded by or supported by vaccine manufacturers.

None of the diseases for which vaccination is recommended were "eradicated" prior to the introduction of vaccines (though one disease, smallpox, was eradicated completely through a successful vaccination effort, making it no longer a necessary vaccine. There is hope to achieve the same for polio). No government health authority would recommend or require vaccination for an eradicated disease, that is crazy. the decision to recommend a specific vaccine generally costs governments considerable money and is made only after careful research comparing the risks, benefits and costs.

http://www.nejm.org/action/showImage?doi=10.1056%2FNEJMoa042271&iid=f01

http://www.nejm.org/action/showImage?doi=10.1056%2FNEJMoa042271&iid=f02

http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa042271

Believe what you want. I am not here to convince you but I can tell you that you are wrong.