The Real Danger of Chicken Pox Parties

Last updated on January 21st, 2013 at 12:38 am

Kids’ parties can be competitive (Pin the Tail, anyone?), but a little healthy competition doesn’t hurt anyone. But one party idea that gets the thumbs-down from medical experts is the “chicken pox party,” which is popular among parents who don’t want their children vaccinated against chicken pox. Party rules? Invite an infected child so kids can pick up the illness the “natural way.”

That’s wrong on so many levels, says Dr. Tara Smith, an infectious disease specialist at the University of Iowa. “Chicken pox is more than an innocuous childhood disease,” says Smith, who lost two relatives to chicken pox complications. “Most kids get a fairly mild infection, but as many as 150 kids die each year from complications, including brain swelling, pneumonia, and bacterial infections including flesh-eating disease.”

Plus, she says, there’s no guarantee that your child will be infected, and there’s every risk that adults – who have a rougher time with the disease – might be. A pox on another trend as well: sending lollipops or other items infected with saliva from a child with the disease through the mail. Parents are using Facebook to spread the word.

Shipping a biohazard is crazy (and illegal) enough, but scientifically speaking? “Chicken pox won’t even live that long outside the body,” says Smith.

Why Deadly Measles Is on the Rise

Last updated on September 13th, 2015 at 01:45 am

Measles was officially eradicated in the U.S. in 2000. But someone forgot to tell the rubeola virus, the highly contagious organism that causes this once common – and sometimes deadly – childhood disease. In fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently announced that measles cases were on the rise in the U.S., with more infections in the last year than the previous 15.

Many doctors and parents of young children today have never seen a case of the measles, let alone an outbreak. But I have seen a measles outbreak, and I do know how serious it is. I got my immunization the hard way: I had the measles. At the age of 8, I spent 10 days in a dark room, delirious with fever, my parents taking turns placing cold washcloths on my head. I recovered, but other children weren’t so lucky. They died – often from pneumonia – or suffered brain damage as the result of encephalitis, a brain inflammation. About 1 in 10 cases results in ear infections that can cause permanent hearing loss.

Even worse, a rare, frightening complication can occur up to 27 years after a measles infection, particularly in those who contract the disease as babies or young children. Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE) is a fatal, progressive disease that is characterized by mental deterioration and neuromuscular disorders that can result in blindness, an inability to walk and a persistent vegetative state. (Read more about it here.)

What You Don’t Know About Measles — But Should

Most cases of measles in the U.S. are imported. Measles epidemics are still rampant in Europe and other parts of the world where immunizations aren’t mandatory as they are, with some exceptions, in the U.S. For example, a measles epidemic has been raging in France since 2008. More than 22,000 cases have been reported since it began, more than 700 people developed complications and six have died. About 90 percent of the U.S. measles cases originated overseas.

Aiding and abetting this dangerous rise: a susceptible population. “A lot of it is because of that stupid 1998 paper in The Lancet connecting vaccinations with autism,” says Clyde Martin, an expert in health statistics at Texas Tech University. “It has been completely discredited – the data was falsified – but people still believe it.”

That false study is a major reason why some parents won’t have their children immunized. This alarms Martin because of what his numbers are telling him. Martin took a close look at a 1987 measles epidemic in Lubbock, Texas, which was mainly centered at Texas Tech. He examined the medical records of every single student who was affected, and he pored over their vaccination records too.

Many students were vaccinated once the epidemic broke out. But it took a whopping 98 percent of them being immunized to finally stop the epidemic, which drives home the importance of making sure every child gets the vaccine. It only takes a 30-second exposure at 10 feet to contract the virus. With some parents and doctors being lax about immunization, says Martin, “it’s the making of a disaster.”

Eliminating “Personal Belief” Vaccine Exemptions

An easy solution: Eliminate the so-called “personal belief” exemptions to the measles vaccine. The most measles cases have occurred in states with these exemptions that allow parents to opt out of mandatory immunizations because of secular, rather than religious, beliefs. Many of them are based on that one discredited study published in 1998 linking vaccines to autism.

As Martin’s study indicates, you need a high percentage of people vaccinated to get what’s called “herd immunity” to prevent the spread of the disease. An unvaccinated child who contracts the measles has a five-day symptomless period in which he can infect others, including babies that are too young to be vaccinated who are at high risk of SSPE. (See what can happen to an exposed child here.)

Martin thinks some of those exemptions need to be eliminated, particularly those that are granted because parents believe something to be a scientific fact that isn’t. (Read more about the debate here.) “We’ve got to be stricter on the giving of exemptions,” says Martin. “For religious reasons? I have no real problem with that because there aren’t that many. Some people can’t take the vaccine because they’re allergic to eggs, which are used to manufacture it. But ‘Because I don’t want my kid to have autism’ is not acceptable.”

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Editor’s Note:  For more information on the fraudulent study which started the controversy over a potential link between vaccinations and autism, see this New York Times article which reviews last year’s publication of the case against the study’s lead investigator in the British Medical Journal (BMJ).  The BMJ article can be accessed by clicking here.

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Great News Needle-phobic Parents: New Flu Shot Uses Tiny Needle

Last updated on March 3rd, 2018 at 10:36 am

If you are among the many moms and dads who are scared of needles, this year’s flu shot might be a lot less scary. Ninety percent less scary, that is!

The new intradermal flu vaccine uses a 90% smaller needle to inject the vaccine into the skin, instead of muscle. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the intradermal vaccine not only requires a smaller needle but it has 40% less antigen that the regular flu shot while still being as effective as the traditional vaccine. Antigen is the part of the vaccine that helps your body build protection against flu viruses and since each intradermal vaccine requires less than the traditional shot, more doses can be made from the same amount of antigen.

The intradermal vaccine is designed to protect against the three strains of flu deemed most likely to be the most prevalent this flu season as determined by flu research. It is recommended for adults ages 18 through 64. Unfortunately, it has not yet been approved for children younger than 18, but the traditional flu vaccine shot and nasal spray flu vaccines are still available for those who fall outside the age range for the intradermal shot.  Consult the CDC Seasonal Influenza guidelines to help you decide which form of the vaccine is appropriate for you and your family members, and if you have any concerns, consult your healthcare provider.

Flu season typically peaks in the winter months, but the CDC recommends getting vaccinated as soon as the influenza vaccine is available, since it can take two weeks for your body to develop the necessary antibodies to protect you. With flu shots widely available at doctor’s offices, pharmacies and flu shot clinics, it is more convenient and easier than ever to get vaccinated and protect yourself and your family from the flu this season.

For more information about the intradermal and traditional flu vaccines, please visit the CDC for up to date seasonal flu information.

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Editor’s Note: For those of you with little ones whose needle-phobia rivals your own, consider reading the story of Buzzy by Dr Amy Baxter. Not only did she create an innovative way to help reduce the pain of getting a shot but she also has some terrific hints to help overcome your child’s stress before and during their visit to the doctor). 

Now it’s a little easier for all of you to be brave – so go ahead and get your flu shots…and have a safe and healthy winter.  🙂

Should We Follow Sleepaway Camp Advice on Meningitis Shots?

Last updated on August 30th, 2015 at 03:03 pm

Bacterial meningitis is an infection of the brain that could lead to serious complications, including permanent brain damage and even death. Each year, there are about 2,600 cases of this very contagious disease in the U.S., mostly in adolescents and infants. Camps usually suggest the vaccine because closed environments – like college dormitories or camp cabins – mean there’s a risk of a severe breakout.

There are two major vaccines available for prevention, and while they won’t stop 100 percent of cases, the benefits of vaccination far outweigh the known side effects, which can include headache, diarrhea and muscle pain. Experts recommend that all children receive the shot routinely starting at age 11. If your child has not previously been immunized against meningitis and he’s leaving for overnight camp, boarding school, college or another group living situation, I would recommend vaccinating against meningitis.

Talk it over with your pediatrician and decide what is right for you.

Can My 12-Year Old Catch Chickenpox While Baby-sitting?

Last updated on April 27th, 2012 at 11:04 am

Chickenpox is a viral infection that we primarily recognize as a disease with a very uncomfortable, itchy rash. It can sometimes lead to serious side effects, including pneumonia and bacterial infections. Fortunately, a vaccine was developed in the 1970s for the prevention of chickenpox and has been routinely used in the United States since 1995. It will prevent the disease in 85 to 90 percent of exposed children, and the protection lasts for 20 years.

Your daughter is certainly susceptible at her age. If she was immunized, she should be protected from this exposure. If not, she could still get a dose of vaccine within 72 hours of exposure, which should prevent any serious manifestations of the disease. But it won’t stop her from getting sick.

Seasonal Flu and Swine Flu Fundamentals

Last updated on March 3rd, 2018 at 12:51 pm

To keep your family healthy and safe this flu season, it’s important to know all you can about the two types of influenza circulating. Seasonal flu and H1N1 (swine flu) share some important similarities, but they also differ in critical ways. Here are the flu fundamentals on everything from symptoms to prevention.

Seasonal and Swine Flu Differences

Who’s at risk:   Seasonal flu and swine flu appear to infect different populations. For seasonal flu, the elderly are the most likely to contract the virus and to develop complications. For swine flu, children and young adults are at highest risk. “While older adults can get H1N1, it is infecting those 25 and younger at a much higher rate,” explains Dr. Aaron Milstone, an infectious disease specialist at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center in Baltimore.

Vaccines: Because swine flu and seasonal flu are different illnesses, they involve two separate flu vaccines. That means there is one vaccine to protect against seasonal flu and a second to prevent H1N1. Both vaccines can be delivered by either nasal spray or injection.

Seasonal and Swine Flu Similarities

Symptoms: Both viruses usually trigger fever, cough, runny nose or congestion, and body aches. “The viruses are very similar in terms of the symptoms they cause,” says Dr. Matthew Davis, associate professor of pediatrics and internal medicine at the Child Health Evaluation and Research Unit of the University of Michigan Medical School.

Red-flag warnings: Most people with swine flu and seasonal flu get a mild illness that might make them feel miserable for a few days but isn’t life-threatening. But with both types of flu, it’s important to watch for red-flag warning signs that suggest a person is developing severe complications.

• In children, look for fast breathing or breathing difficulty. Also, act fast if skin appears bluish or the child has a fever with a rash. Failure to wake up or interact, and extreme irritability, are also warning signs. In addition, symptoms that improve but then return with fever and a worse cough need immediate attention.
• In adults, red flags include breathing difficulty, pain or pressure in the chest or abdomen, sudden dizziness, confusion, or severe or persistent vomiting.

Prevention: Both viruses are transmitted through tiny amounts of mucus released when you talk, sneeze or cough, explains Dr. Robert W. Frenck Jr., professor of pediatrics in the division of infectious diseases at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. You can prevent the spread of both flu viruses by developing these healthy habits:

• Wash your hands. Several times a day, wash your hands with soap and water, especially before eating. If you don’t have sink access, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
• Cover your cough. If you feel the urge to cough or sneeze, cover your mouth with a tissue and then throw the tissue away. If you don’t have a tissue handy, cough into your elbow.
• Stay home. If you get sick, plan on staying home for four days, or until the fever has been gone for 24 hours without the aid of fever-reducing medication.
• Get vaccinated. “Vaccination is the best way to prevent influenza, whether it’s seasonal flu or H1N1,” says Dr. Davis. To find H1N1 and seasonal flu vaccination clinics near you, contact your local or state health department.

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Pediatric Safety Editor’s Notes

• With regards to vaccinations for the 2010-2011 flu season, the CDC states that “Each year, the seasonal influenza vaccine contains three influenza viruses – one influenza A (H3N2) virus, one influenza A (H1N1) virus, and one influenza B virus. The 2009 H1N1 influenza virus strain is included in the 2010-2011 seasonal flu vaccine because scientists continue to see this virus strain circulate in the U.S.” UPDATE: The H1N1 vaccine was included in the 2010-2011 seasonal flu shot

• For the latest information on the flu, please visit Flu.gov on our Awareness page.

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