# 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:** 10\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2005, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-my-god-bonehead-parents-taking-their-kids-to-chicken-pox-parties/293712/161 "2005-03-13T02:56:52Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > It’ll be interesting to see how public response will be to two major vaccine initiatives that’ll be coming down the line in future years - immunization against HIV and HPV (the papillomavirus that causes cervical cancer). Well, shoot, sign me up for the latter. But aren’t the ones in clinical trials only meant to protect against a couple of the major, more dangerous cancer-causing strains? Or will the eventual generally available vaccine protect against all known strains? And what would happe if someone got the vaccine, but had already been infected with one or more strains? ---
**Author:** ![Pensandfeathers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Pensandfeathers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pensandfeathers)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2005, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-my-god-bonehead-parents-taking-their-kids-to-chicken-pox-parties/293712/162 "2005-03-13T03:02:43Z")
When I had Chicken Pox when I was 5-years-old, the most common thing said to my older brother was, “go hug your sister.” It really is better to just get the stupid things when you’re little when its not very dangerous, than to not get it until your in your 30s when it can really hurt you. I totally forgot there was a vaccine now. ---
**Author:** ![sidle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee59a6/32.png) [@sidle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sidle)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2005, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-my-god-bonehead-parents-taking-their-kids-to-chicken-pox-parties/293712/163 "2005-03-13T14:42:33Z")
**Quadop** - Just out of curiosity, is/can there be a genetic link between a parent’s reaction to the virus and the child’s, as in this example? > [@](#): > > I was one of the freak kids who nearly died from complications from the chicken pox ---
**Author:** ![sidle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee59a6/32.png) [@sidle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sidle)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2005, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-my-god-bonehead-parents-taking-their-kids-to-chicken-pox-parties/293712/164 "2005-03-13T15:03:44Z")
Also, guys, what’s a tin foil hat type? I _think_ I may get the gist, although examples are welcome, but where did the phrase come from? Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![flickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7bcc69/32.png) [@flickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flickster)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2005, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-my-god-bonehead-parents-taking-their-kids-to-chicken-pox-parties/293712/165 "2005-03-13T15:11:02Z")
20 years ago we didn’t call it a chicken pox party. It was more like you were getting redy to go visit a friend, friend calls and say their little one has chicken pox, after a brief discussion you decide to visit anyway and make sure your tike spent the afternoon playing with theirs. It worked. Our discussion was hinged more on the upcoming schedule and if it would be more inconvenient now than later. As a parent back then, it was always an assumption that chicken pox would come along either way. The choice was whether it was at your schedule or out of the blue. ---
**Author:** ![Cardinal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardinal/32/4000_2.png) [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2005, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-my-god-bonehead-parents-taking-their-kids-to-chicken-pox-parties/293712/166 "2005-03-13T19:51:55Z")
> [@Mojo](#): > > As others have said getting chicken pox as a kid is no big deal, getting it as an adult **is** a big deal and can cause severe problems. I got chicken pox as a kid and while I didn’t feel too great, I was back to normal within a few days. I wound up giving it to my mom who had never been exposed and she was basically incapacitated for a week. I thought I was lucky that I hadn’t gotten chicken pox through elementary school. It might have been slightly because my nurse mother ran a clean ship. Anyway, I got it in 7th grade, and I missed a week of school and got a pock in my throat, which SUCKED. My 3 brothers all got it too, but the younger they were the better off they were. The baby got a couple pocks and didn’t seem to mind much. > [@](#): > > So chicken pox parties aren’t necessarily a bad idea and in days of yore were actually quite common (same thing with mumps, no?). I remember in the Great Brain books, set in Utah c. 1848, J.D.'s mom would put all 3 boys in the same bed when one got something like the mumps because she couldn’t afford the time lost with three separate infections, and she didn’t want them getting it as adults. ---
**Author:** ![irishgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@irishgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/irishgirl)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2005, 11:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-my-god-bonehead-parents-taking-their-kids-to-chicken-pox-parties/293712/167 "2005-03-14T11:06:04Z")
This is the thing, if the USA has epidemiologists, medical statisticians and economists who have decided that the best policy for the countryis to vaccinate, that’s great. Not every country in the world will have the same economic set up to favour VZ vaccination. European countries, with an ageing population who have already had Chicken pox as children, where VZ does not have a high mortality, and where a nationwide, universal vaccine programme with 10 yearly boosters would cost more to the economy than the disease itself, would be unlikely to advocate vaccination. Developing countries are unlikely to introduce it because Chicken pox isn’t a huge priority when so many kids are dying from TB, dysentry, poverty and HIV. They simply wouln’t have the resources to implement a programme, and should not be encouraged to do so if it means neglecting TB, HIV and the poverty which prevents their citizens from having a good quality of life. These countries will probably choose not to vaccinate against VZ, as the cost for them simply does not make it worth it. My point is that it looks unlikely that VZV will die out, as smallpox did, because the majority of the world simply has no interest in a VZV vaccination programme. HOWEVER, if the USA and Japan have decided to vaccinate, then everyone who has been vaccinated should continue their boosters, as it’s highly likely that they will be exposed to the virus at some point in their life, either on holiday or from an immigrant from a population which does not vaccinate. If someone may wish to live and work in a country where they may be unable to obtain the VZ vaccine booster, and where they are likely to be exposed to the virus on a regular basis, then a childhood infection might be preferable to getting chicken pox as an 18 year old on a GAP year in Africa. Also, there is nothing to say that in 30 years time the vaccination programme will be discontinued because economics no longer make vaccination favourable. I’m not sure if I would vaccinate my child, and I would certainly try and make sure that they were exposed to the virus at an early age if they WERE unvaccinated. Equally, if they were vaccinated, I would make sure that their boosters were kept up to date. I’m not anti-vaccines at all, I’ve had all of mine (DTP, MMR, BCG, Hep A, Hep B, HIB, Typhoid), and even went for a third MMR 3 months before working a paediatric rotation, just to be safe. I’m just not sure whether this particular vaccine will prove to be the best option in the long run. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7bcc69/32.png) [@Mighty\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Girl)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2005, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-my-god-bonehead-parents-taking-their-kids-to-chicken-pox-parties/293712/168 "2005-03-14T13:12:36Z")
So, why are some infections worse on adults than kids? Common sense suggests it should be otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![tremorviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47774/32.png) [@tremorviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tremorviolet)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2005, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-my-god-bonehead-parents-taking-their-kids-to-chicken-pox-parties/293712/169 "2005-03-15T17:10:12Z")
Interstingly enough, there’s an [article](http://www.slate.com/id/2114797/) in Slate today discussing this very issue and raising the same doubts as **Qadgop**. The author concludes the article by suggesting that we may require lifelong booster shots to maintain our immunity since there is now limited exposure to “wild” chicken pox strains. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2005, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-my-god-bonehead-parents-taking-their-kids-to-chicken-pox-parties/293712/170 "2005-03-15T23:59:06Z")
> [@tremorviolet](#): > > Interstingly enough, there’s an [article](http://www.slate.com/id/2114797/) in Slate today discussing this very issue and raising the same doubts as **Qadgop**. The author concludes the article by suggesting that we may require lifelong booster shots to maintain our immunity since there is now limited exposure to “wild” chicken pox strains. Thank you for that link, **tremorviolet**. It nicely delineates the positives and potential negatives associated with Varicella vaccine use on a large scale. And also demonstrates that my concerns about the long term costs versus benefits are also on the minds of some credible medical scientists. I wish I’d kept my subscription to NEJM current! Then I’d have had the latest discussions at my fingertips! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-my-god-bonehead-parents-taking-their-kids-to-chicken-pox-parties/293712.md?page=8)