Jan. 26, 2000
For most children, chickenpox means an itchy, uncomfortable week with anti-itch cream and oatmeal baths.
Then it's back to school with hopefully, just a few scars.
But in rare instances, chickenpox can be dangerous.
In today's Family Now report, News Specialist Ruth Todd tells us what Utah families can do to stop it all.
Chicken pox is almost a childhood rite of passage, but health experts want to turn it into a plague of the past.
Mothers used to send their kids to catch the chickenpox from the neighborhood child unlucky enough to first catch it.
Experts say the suffering is unnecessary, and can be deadly.
Chickenpox used to kill about 100 people every year and hospitalize 10,000.
After a chickenpox vaccine won approval a few years ago, those numbers dropped.
Now, the American Academy of Pediatrics and local health experts say all kids should get vaccinated.
George Delavan, M.D. / Utah Health Department: "THERE HAD BEEN SOME THOUGHTS IN THE PAST THAT IT WASN'T AS SEVERE AS SOME OF THE OTHER DISEASES AND THEREFORE DIDN'T NEED TO BE IMMUNIZED. BUT A LOT OF CHILDREN DO DEVELOP COMPLICATIONS. THE OTHER PROBLEM IS THAT A LOT OF CHILDREN WHO DON'T GET IT WHEN THEY'RE YOUNGER AND THEY GET IT WHEN THEY ARE OLDER THEN IT CAN BE A LOT MORE SEVERE."
Despite the possible danger, only about 30 percent of Utah children get the vaccination.
Angie Day doesn't understand why.
Her one-year-old daughter Alison got chickenpox last year and was hospitalized for a week.
Angie Day/Mother: "IT WAS VERY, VERY PAINFUL FOR HER. I WOULD BE HOLDING HER AT THE HOSPITAL, AND JUST THE SHIFTING OF MY BODY WEIGHT, YOU COULD SEE THE PAIN AND FEEL THE PAIN. SHE WOULD SCREAM OUT SOMETIMES IN PAIN."
Even though Alison was too young, her three-year-old brother Dillon got vaccinated and didn't catch it from his sister.
Day encourages parents to vaccinate their kids even though most cases are mild.
Angie Day/Mother: "IT'S HARD ON YOUR CHILDREN, EVEN I THINK, UNDER NORMAL CIRCUMSTANCES. IT'S NOT AN ENJOYABLE THING AT ALL, IT'S VERY UNCOMFORTABLE, AND CAN BE VERY TRAUMATIC."
The vaccine prevents 70 to 90 percent of all cases.
The chicken pox vaccine is given to children after their first birthday.
Adults who never had chicken pox can also get the vaccine, but you'll need two shots - four to eight weeks apart.
Additional Information:
