# Oh. My. God. Bonehead parents taking their kids to 'Chicken Pox Parties' **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 9, 2005, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-my-god-bonehead-parents-taking-their-kids-to-chicken-pox-parties/293712 "2005-03-09T20:26:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![sweetfreak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/958977/32.png) [@sweetfreak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sweetfreak)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2005, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-my-god-bonehead-parents-taking-their-kids-to-chicken-pox-parties/293712/21 "2005-03-09T21:31:01Z")
> [@World Eater](#): > > What do they do, shove them in a tent and make them cough on each other? Watch the “Chicken Pox” episode of South Park. Or don’t. It’s rather disturbing and exaggerated, but probably not too far from the mark. ---
**Author:** ![Q.N.Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/3da27b/32.png) [@Q.N.Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.N.Jones)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2005, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-my-god-bonehead-parents-taking-their-kids-to-chicken-pox-parties/293712/22 "2005-03-09T21:31:53Z")
> [@Maureen](#): > > I’d like to point out that it’s possible to get chicken pox more than once. I got it when I was 7, and again at 24. I got it three times, but it was much less severe last two times, even though I was much older. It was basically just a bit of an itchy nuisance. Was that your experience? ---
**Author:** ![Q.N.Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/3da27b/32.png) [@Q.N.Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.N.Jones)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2005, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-my-god-bonehead-parents-taking-their-kids-to-chicken-pox-parties/293712/23 "2005-03-09T21:33:32Z")
> [@Maureen](#): > > I’d like to point out that it’s possible to get chicken pox more than once. I got it when I was 7, and again at 24. I got it a second time, too, but it was much less severe the second time, even though I was much older. Was that your experience? ---
**Author:** ![Brendan\_Donovan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bbce88/32.png) [@Brendan\_Donovan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brendan_Donovan)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2005, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-my-god-bonehead-parents-taking-their-kids-to-chicken-pox-parties/293712/24 "2005-03-09T21:33:36Z")
Actually it sounds like a lot of fun for the kids. How many days off school are one of these things worth? Besides, if I were a parent I would rather manage a disease that I can prepare for. ---
**Author:** ![Cemetery\_Savior](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/439d5e/32.png) [@Cemetery\_Savior](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cemetery_Savior)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2005, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-my-god-bonehead-parents-taking-their-kids-to-chicken-pox-parties/293712/25 "2005-03-09T21:38:29Z")
Whoa…count me as another who had never heard of Chicken-Pox Parties until five minutes ago. Is this a whoosh? I’d love to hear what QtM would have to say about purposeful exposure to a live virus. Vaccines are OK because they’re weakened. Exposing a child to a virulent strain sounds ignorant at first blush, sounds somewhat reasonable on second thought, and then absolutely moronic on the third. Chicken Pox is _mostly_ harmless for children. It doesn’t mean it’s not worse on occasion. I believe that life-long sterility can still be a result of childhood chicken pox, a twitchy, scratchy child could have scarring from the sores, etc. If this was a practice in the past, then it should have stayed there, soaked in that pink stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2005, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-my-god-bonehead-parents-taking-their-kids-to-chicken-pox-parties/293712/26 "2005-03-09T21:39:50Z")
> [@Maureen](#): > > I’d like to point out that it’s possible to get chicken pox more than once. I got it when I was 7, and again at 24. That is very uncommon. Most cites say that you can get it again but I have not been able to find a what percentage get re-infected, but it is small. Shingles are thing to worry about if you have had the Chicken Pox. ---
**Author:** ![Corii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/aeb1de/32.png) [@Corii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Corii)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2005, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-my-god-bonehead-parents-taking-their-kids-to-chicken-pox-parties/293712/27 "2005-03-09T21:41:43Z")
I caught the chicken pox when I was in 2nd grade and was sick for two weeks. I guess I had a pretty severe case, I had boils everywhere (inside my lips! ew!!) and, at 31, I still have scars. My little brother fared much better than I did, but I’d be pretty uncomfortable intentionally exposing a child to chicken pox. ---
**Author:** ![tremorviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47774/32.png) [@tremorviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tremorviolet)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2005, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-my-god-bonehead-parents-taking-their-kids-to-chicken-pox-parties/293712/28 "2005-03-09T21:45:37Z")
Heh. My mom sent my brother and I to a chicken pox party when we were five-ish. He got it I didn’t. Fifteen years later, I got it at age twenty. Totally sucked (imagine blisters on your unmentionables) and I can still see some of the scars. Anyway, here’s an interesting [article](http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/archive/2004/01/29/chxpox.DTL) on the trend which has quotes from doctors. ---
**Author:** ![Syntropy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/65b543/32.png) [@Syntropy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Syntropy)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2005, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-my-god-bonehead-parents-taking-their-kids-to-chicken-pox-parties/293712/29 "2005-03-09T21:46:50Z")
> [@Q.N. Jones](#): > > I got it a second time, too, but it was much less severe the second time, even though I was much older. Was that your experience? Yes, it was much less severe the second time. I was relieved, especially considering all the horror stories of how horrible it is to get chicken pox as an adult. **adam yax** , I wasn’t trying to say it was common. Just that it does happen, and infecting your child doesn’t preclude him from getting them again. ---
**Author:** ![Syntropy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/65b543/32.png) [@Syntropy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Syntropy)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2005, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-my-god-bonehead-parents-taking-their-kids-to-chicken-pox-parties/293712/30 "2005-03-09T21:55:47Z")
[Here’s an interesting article](http://www.drgreene.com/21_510.html) on why people may be getting the virus again as they get older: > [@](#): > > In the recent past, the primary benefit of getting chickenpox as a child was the likelihood of attaining lifetime immunity. While 10-20% of people who had had chickenpox would eventually develop shingles (a condition characterized by numbness, itching, or severe pain that lasts for 2-3 weeks), most would not get chickenpox again. This may now be changing in areas where the chickenpox vaccine is common. In the past, multiple re-exposures helped to keep people’s immunity high. Since the vaccine is now standard in the United States, the frequency of the natural disease should decline. Those who have had chickenpox as children will not be re-exposed as often, if at all. Their immunity may wane over time, making shingles and adult chickenpox even more common than they are now. Studies are currently underway to look for any evidence of waning immunity with the chickenpox vaccine. They cite the 2000 CID as the source. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2005, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-my-god-bonehead-parents-taking-their-kids-to-chicken-pox-parties/293712/31 "2005-03-09T21:55:55Z")
I’m surprised that people haven’t heard of this. When I was six, my cousins cought the chicken pox and my mom popped me in the car and drove me over to play with them. Worked like a charm. I had it pretty bad-two weeks, lots of spots, (and just when I got over it and was well enough to go back school, I came down with strep throat!), but it wasn’t life-threatening, and I’m glad we got it over with. ---
**Author:** ![elfbabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b782af/32.png) [@elfbabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfbabe)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2005, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-my-god-bonehead-parents-taking-their-kids-to-chicken-pox-parties/293712/32 "2005-03-09T21:58:36Z")
> [@Cemetery Savior](#): > > I’d love to hear what QtM would have to say about purposeful exposure to a live virus. Well, when I was about nine, he sure seemed to think it was a good idea. 😛 Hanging out with kids with chicken pox didn’t work, though… but I eventually picked it up from a teacher at school who hadn’t had it before. If I remember correctly, it made her VERY sick. Don’t know what his opinion would be now, though. ---
**Author:** ![emarkp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3be4f8/32.png) [@emarkp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emarkp)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2005, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-my-god-bonehead-parents-taking-their-kids-to-chicken-pox-parties/293712/33 "2005-03-09T22:02:20Z")
This is probably a response to schools requiring the vaccine or exposure before kids can start school. Some people distrust the chicken pox vaccine (or vaccines in general), so the only alternative is to get the disease before starting school. ---
**Author:** ![anu-la1979](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/47e85d/32.png) [@anu-la1979](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anu-la1979)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2005, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-my-god-bonehead-parents-taking-their-kids-to-chicken-pox-parties/293712/34 "2005-03-09T22:02:40Z")
My sister and I got it in highschool, I was a junior and she was a freshman and it was damn painful. She was out of school for a month and I was out about 2.5 weeks so I wish I had been exposed as a child. She actually got it first and the doctor gave me some sort of medicine that made my breakout much better than hers but kept my fever before the breakout higher…but gosh, that poor kid, it took years for those CP scars to fade off some parts of her body. ---
**Author:** ![Cemetery\_Savior](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/439d5e/32.png) [@Cemetery\_Savior](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cemetery_Savior)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2005, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-my-god-bonehead-parents-taking-their-kids-to-chicken-pox-parties/293712/35 "2005-03-09T22:03:20Z")
Oh…I’m relatively new here. QtM is your dad? From what I’ve read, it seems you have a pretty smart Pop. Actually (and not to flame your dad if he thinks otherwise), even if a doctor said it was a ood idea, it’s just not intuitive to me. Plus, as a vaccine (and per several posts earlier), I would think it has the ability to mutate (as evidenced by several 2x Pox-owners in the thread), making the Pox-festivities defacto useless. :rolleyes: Unless, of course, there was cake at these pox-parties. Then, I’m all about attendance. I love cake. ---
**Author:** ![elfbabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b782af/32.png) [@elfbabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfbabe)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2005, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-my-god-bonehead-parents-taking-their-kids-to-chicken-pox-parties/293712/36 "2005-03-09T22:05:23Z")
Oh, and I can’t help but notice this from the article: > [@](#): > > “We offer homeopathic doses of the varicella [chicken-pox] virus, which a large population of our clients prefer.” She reports that she and her associates **have not heard of any children contracting chicken pox after receiving the homeopathic treatment.** Gee, I wonder why not. Maybe they’re not diluting it enough. :rolleyes: Gah, homeopathy… :mad: ---
**Author:** ![elfbabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b782af/32.png) [@elfbabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfbabe)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2005, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-my-god-bonehead-parents-taking-their-kids-to-chicken-pox-parties/293712/37 "2005-03-09T22:12:50Z")
> [@Cemetery Savior](#): > > QtM is your dad? Yup. > [@Cemetery Savior](#): > > Actually (and not to flame your dad if he thinks otherwise), even if a doctor said it was a ood idea, it’s just not intuitive to me. Think of it this way: You have a certain percentage chance of getting chicken pox during your lifetime. If you get it as an adult, it’s generally horrible. If you get it as a kid, it’s generally not so bad. You have to decide whether it’s better to be a little sick now or gamble that you’ll be in the percent that won’t get it later. If chicken pox were deadly to adults and a day or two of itching for children and there was a 90% chance of catching it during one’s life, almost everyone would try to have their kids get it as early as possible. If it were two weeks of itching for adults and a week and a half for kids and the chance of ever getting it was 15%, almost no one would try to have their kids get it early. The reality, of course, is in between those two extremes, and you have to make the choice about how much each possible consequence is worth to you. ---
**Author:** ![Neurotik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/91b2a8/32.png) [@Neurotik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neurotik)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2005, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-my-god-bonehead-parents-taking-their-kids-to-chicken-pox-parties/293712/38 "2005-03-09T22:13:51Z")
> [@World Eater](#): > > How about if the Knicks don’t make the playoffs, we lock them in a room and give them chickenpox? 😛 Haha, I’m not a Knicks fan, remember? I just enjoy watching them squirm since a good friend of mine who talks a bit too much trash is a huge fan. 🙂 But I think they should be locked in the room anyway. And they can take Kobe, Mitch Kupchak and Jerry Buss in there with them. ---
**Author:** ![Ghanima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Ghanima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ghanima)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2005, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-my-god-bonehead-parents-taking-their-kids-to-chicken-pox-parties/293712/39 "2005-03-09T22:19:13Z")
I remember that when I had the chickenpox I had a great time because practically all the kids in my class came over to my house at some point. I think my sister and I single-handedly infected most of our classmates. We had caught it on vacation from someone else’s kids so when we came back we were very popular. How long has the vaccine been around? I had it about 25 years ago. Is the vaccine newer than that? ---
**Author:** ![c\_goat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@c\_goat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/c_goat)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2005, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-my-god-bonehead-parents-taking-their-kids-to-chicken-pox-parties/293712/40 "2005-03-09T22:25:49Z")
I remember having it at the same time as my two siblings. Not sure if it was on purpose or just because we all lived together anyway. I’ll have to call mom tonight and find out. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-my-god-bonehead-parents-taking-their-kids-to-chicken-pox-parties/293712.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-my-god-bonehead-parents-taking-their-kids-to-chicken-pox-parties/293712.md?page=3)