Nanny Diaries: chicken pox vaccine could make a real difference
There’s not always good news in the media but I find the recent announcement by the Department of Health that children are to be offered the chicken pox vaccine a step in the right direction.
Chicken pox (or Varicella) is a highly contagious virus common amongst young children.
Part of the Herpes group of viruses, well known symptoms include uncomfortable blisters, often itchy and very unpleasant. These tend to appear after a fever, headache and tiredness, with occasional loss of appetite.
Though not as dangerous for older children, chicken pox could prove deadly for a tiny baby, the virus wreaking havoc with their immature immune systems attacking their brain, lungs and liver.
Even for children over two, complications can arise like dehydration or skin infections.
There is also the risk that a child could pass the virus onto a vulnerable adult such as an expectant mother or elderly person.
In the case of a lady more than 20 weeks pregnant, it’s possible for the virus to enter her blood stream and endanger the baby.
Or she herself could become seriously ill as there is a risk she could develop pneumonia.
Chicken pox also means many missed days of school or nursery as current guidelines do recommend five days after the start of the rash at LEAST or until the spots have dried up. But this could come after the child has already missed days due to feeling rotten anyway.
Then of course a parent needs to be off work to care for them so there’s missed days of employment.
All good reasons to have the vaccine!
The new vaccine will be offered alongside the current MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine and given in two stages, one at 12 and one at 18 months.
We are very lucky we live in a country where we have access to such treatments. For our children and their future.