Should You Have a Chicken Pox Party?

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• Board: Chicken Pox Parties?

Pediatricians recommend the vaccine instead

By Jennifer Cox

Chicken pox conjures up (icky) memories of being covered in itchy spots, reluctantly soaking in a tub of (icky) oatmeal and then being slathered with (icky) calamine lotion afterward. I caught it from the neighbours across the street. My mother rushed me over there one afternoon "to play" after they had caught it. Within two weeks I had it.

By today's standards, I was brought to an impromptu "chicken pox party" where I was intentionally exposed to the pox so I could catch it, get over it, and (hopefully) never have it again. Despite the fact that there's now a vaccine for the chicken pox, many parents who are hesitant about vaccinations prefer to go the old-fashioned way and expose their kids to the illness, the same way I had been. But is this safe?

Here are five things to consider before hosting or bringing your child to a chicken pox party.

1. Know what the pox are.

Dr. Marina Salvadori is a paediatrician and Infectious Diseases Specialist at the Children's Hospital of Western Ontario at LHSC. "Chicken pox is a virus that is transmitted through the air — how sick you get depends on how much you breathe in," she explained. "Frequently in a family the first child gets it at school and doesn't breathe in all that much — they get on average 50 spots. But then it's in the air of the home and all of the other kids breathe in a lot — they break out in a rash 10-12 days afterward and the second and third child get around 300-500 lesions. They tend to get really sick."

2. Know the possible side effects of having the chicken pox.

While the chicken pox is unpleasant, it's the possible side effects that pose the biggest risks. "No matter how many pox you get each one of those spots can be a doorway into your blood stream for other serious infections," Dr. Salvadori said. Besides brain inflammation, liver inflammation and death, one of the worst complications is flesh-eating disease.

3. Know the pros and cons of the vaccine.

"The vaccine is manufactured to extremely stringent standards and carefully regulated to know exactly how much is going into each person and you don't get the serious side effects," Dr. Salvadori said. Yet the one downside of the vaccine is that you're not 100% immune for life. "You need two doses to give you long-term protection." When these two vaccines are administered varies by province, but both are usually given to children between 12 months and age sic.

4. Know who is recommending the vaccine.

"It's important for me to explain that the vaccine is a better choice and I strongly recommend it, as does the Canadian Paediatric Society and the Centre for Disease Control — big healthcare organizations all recommend it," Dr. Salvadori said.

5. Know scientifically how chicken pox parties work.

"The idea is based on a tiny bit of correct science — if you go to a place where a person has chicken pox and you have exposure, you should get a mild case and be immune for life, however the problem with the party is how much you breathe in is totally dependent on how many lesions the kids have, how much is in the air, and how many other people are incubating chicken pox," she said. "You're most infectious two days before you even break out in a rash so you don't know you have it. At a 'party' you have no control of the dose — we all hope it's mild, but there's a risk of severe complications and even death."

Given the risks, would you consider hosting or sending your child to a chicken pox party? Let us know in the comments!