There are two reasons why chickenpox is important right now. Both of which were brought to my attention by my school.
We have already heard members of ATS say "I'd expose myself or my kids to swine flu so that they can get it now. Before it mutates." or "So that
they don't get it later."
There are strict warnings in place to prevent people from doing this. The first reason why chickenpox is important is that these "parties" that
parents create so that their children become infected at a certain time (before school starts, before a vacation, whatever) are a horrible idea. Dr.
Kevin says:
Some believe that natural immunity produces a higher level of antibodies, and thus, longer-lasting immunity. Which is true. However, they fail to
realize the very real risks of natural immunity, such as encephalitis, hospitalization, and possibly, death.
Furthermore, there is the public health risk, since "other strains of the chickenpox epidemic can be passed around as children who are not protected
against the virus mingle with one another."
Vaccines only work if everybody is protected. Those that hold out are in danger of putting others at risk of diseases that should have been
eradicated.
Some people are attempting to treat swine flu epidemics the same as chickenpox outbreaks. This method should not be used for anyone, ever. With any
disease.
The second reason why chickenpox is important I was unaware of until this past week. An email was sent around to parents of students in my school
district saying "A student at the High School has chickenpox."
It was on the front page of the papers.
I thought to myself... "Um, it's chickenpox. Whatever." But then I remembered that as you get older, chickenpox can cause more severe symptoms. I
realized that students my age have not been vaccinated. We all had the chickenpox, but many students such as myself had very mild cases. And it would
be easy for the virus to come out of dormancy. Also, if it is a mutated strain, we could all get it again. In addition, most people who were
vaccinated had it quite a number of years ago. The vaccines could have worn off.
So, beware swine flu. But apparently, also beware of chickenpox. Don't throw parties to get your children sick.
Have any of you ever heard of cases of chickenpox being on the front page of a newspaper before? What do you think?
Resources:
www.kevinmd.com...
