New visitors have been hanging around our house the past few days. We first noticed them on Wednesday afternoon but dismissed their presence. Thursday morning they were undeniable. A quick consultation with a professional and it was confirmed...Iain has the Chicken Pox!
Yep, that is correct! I'm now understanding I was a bit naive in thinking that the vaccine would protect him from getting the actual virus. Turns out that the original vaccines are wearing off far sooner than the 10 years they had anticipated. Not sure who they are anyway. The dr. said they are seeing cases of Chicken Pox these days. Mostly in kids around Iain's age. At our Dr. office kids have well checks every year through age 6, then go even years after that. So when Iain was 6 they were still under the impression that the vaccine was working. Sometime between then and now, they started figuring out that the vaccines were wearing off and the kids needed booster shots. Since he wasn't scheduled for another checkup until he turns 8, he didn't receive the booster. Are you follwoing me so far? Let me add that I'm not angry or ready to boycott modern medicine. I'm just confused/intrigued in the whole process. Alright, maybe I'm a little bitter.
Now on to Iain. He started out on Wednesday afternoon with what I thought were a few red spots of unknown origin. By Wednesday evening I was growing suspicious as they were poping up in the normal places for Chicken Pox (under arms, groin, scalp and chest) and he was up to 19 total. Thursday morning he was at 34 and I knew what we were dealing with. A quick trip to the Dr and our diagnosis was confirmed. Luckily he hasn't had a fever and is feeling great! The problem is that he feels so fine that he's going stir crazy! We were told to plan on keeping him out of school for 7-10 days! Yikes! His case is so mild that I'm sure he'll be back to school sooner than that though. He only has 5 bumps that are actually raised, the others are red flat spots. He's not itchy at all either! We were told that his saliva can carry the virus for up to 7 days even if his skin isn't contagious so we will keep him out until Wednesday just to make sure we're not passing it to anyone else.
We have a big trip planned to the mountains next weekend and I would be sad to cancel but I wouldn't mind if Sean and Sara caught it now also. It would be nice to get it out of the way all at once and also know the kids had the natural immunity vs. a vaccine that wears off (see the bitterness peeking through?). Only time will tell if they are going to get it this time around. For now we're hanging out with oatmeal baths, Calamine lotion and enjoying lots of snuggly time with our big boy!
(Our computer is on the fritz and it's not allowing me to spell check or add photos to these posts. Please excuse my terrible spelling! I have a picture of Iain's cute dotted tummy that I'll add when I can!)
Yep, that is correct! I'm now understanding I was a bit naive in thinking that the vaccine would protect him from getting the actual virus. Turns out that the original vaccines are wearing off far sooner than the 10 years they had anticipated. Not sure who they are anyway. The dr. said they are seeing cases of Chicken Pox these days. Mostly in kids around Iain's age. At our Dr. office kids have well checks every year through age 6, then go even years after that. So when Iain was 6 they were still under the impression that the vaccine was working. Sometime between then and now, they started figuring out that the vaccines were wearing off and the kids needed booster shots. Since he wasn't scheduled for another checkup until he turns 8, he didn't receive the booster. Are you follwoing me so far? Let me add that I'm not angry or ready to boycott modern medicine. I'm just confused/intrigued in the whole process. Alright, maybe I'm a little bitter.
Now on to Iain. He started out on Wednesday afternoon with what I thought were a few red spots of unknown origin. By Wednesday evening I was growing suspicious as they were poping up in the normal places for Chicken Pox (under arms, groin, scalp and chest) and he was up to 19 total. Thursday morning he was at 34 and I knew what we were dealing with. A quick trip to the Dr and our diagnosis was confirmed. Luckily he hasn't had a fever and is feeling great! The problem is that he feels so fine that he's going stir crazy! We were told to plan on keeping him out of school for 7-10 days! Yikes! His case is so mild that I'm sure he'll be back to school sooner than that though. He only has 5 bumps that are actually raised, the others are red flat spots. He's not itchy at all either! We were told that his saliva can carry the virus for up to 7 days even if his skin isn't contagious so we will keep him out until Wednesday just to make sure we're not passing it to anyone else.
We have a big trip planned to the mountains next weekend and I would be sad to cancel but I wouldn't mind if Sean and Sara caught it now also. It would be nice to get it out of the way all at once and also know the kids had the natural immunity vs. a vaccine that wears off (see the bitterness peeking through?). Only time will tell if they are going to get it this time around. For now we're hanging out with oatmeal baths, Calamine lotion and enjoying lots of snuggly time with our big boy!
(Our computer is on the fritz and it's not allowing me to spell check or add photos to these posts. Please excuse my terrible spelling! I have a picture of Iain's cute dotted tummy that I'll add when I can!)
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