The night we returned from our short holiday, Josiah developed a fever. This turned into something more serious when we discovered spots on his neck and body the next day...and unfortunately, our worst fears were confirmed! Chicken Pox! Joanie's spots appeared half a day later and the two have been 'quarantined' in the study for the most part since last Friday. 

Mind you, both kids were vaccinated, and while we were aware that the vaccine is not foolproof, you tend to expect that they won't get it. How wrong we were. Josiah has it worse, with lots of spots, especially on his body and neck. Perhaps it is because it's been a while since his vaccination (He took it when he was one) and also because he started on the acyclovir (anti viral medication) only a day after his spots appeared. 

Joanie, on the other hand, only has a smattering of spots (a good thing, since she would be less able to stop herself from scratching). She started on the acyclovir a few hours after her first spot and it's only been a year and a half since she took her vaccination (when she was about 2). 


Key learnings...

We should have let our kids take TWO shots of the vaccine! We were told that the second jab was optional (which it is) and that it doesn't make their protection against chicken pox foolproof either, so I decided not to bother with it. Big mistake! I think it would have made a difference at least to the number of spots/severity of the chicken pox, and perhaps Josiah wouldn't be this spotty if he had taken a second one. 

Second key learning...don't dawdle on getting that chicken pox vaccination. Unfortunately, we haven't vaccinated Joash. Most people get the vaccine with the MMRV but we opted for the MMR for Joash instead because Josiah had a terrible rash after taking the MMRV, with plans to vaccinate him for chicken pox a little later. Sadly...later is too late :( While we're doing our best to keep him away from the other 2, it'll be a miracle if Joash doesn't catch chicken pox this time. 


Thankfully...

We are very thankful that Josiah only fell sick the night we returned from Langkawi. Would be a nightmare if we had to deal with this while on holiday...and wonder if we would have been barred from taking the plane? Chicken pox is a communicable disease after all.

Thankful that Josiah and Joanie have each other for company and that they are healing nicely. I think this shared experience has brought them closer and may just be what we need to convince them that it's not that scary being in their own room if they have each other for company :P

Very importantly and very thankfully, that this happened during the school holidays so Papa is around, and such a great help. I guess there's no better way to celebrate Fathers' Day than to be reminded of the important and absolutely essential role of dad as parenting partner. 

Lastly, I'm super thankful that chicken pox is once-off and Josiah and Joanie now have 100% immunity!

On a side note to those reading this, if your child is unfortunate enough to catch chicken pox, here's what we found useful for itch control:
- Zyrtec (oral medication)
- Tea tree oil 
- Aloe vera gel (we used after sun lotion)



Update - 26 June 2014
Joash caught the chicken pox exactly 2 weeks after Josiah. Poor baby has not been vaccinated and we were advised that acyclovir is not neccessary for him, so he's developed quite a number of pox on his body, face and scalp. It doesn't seem to really bother him as he's not scratching, so that's a good thing. Hopefully, it doesn't cause him too much discomfort.

Josiah and Joanie are well by now of course. Josiah recovered in a week but Joanie took longer because the chicken pox caused her eczema to flare up really badly. Her eczema was much worse than the chicken pox and even caused the skin inside her nose to peel (which led to bleeding). Luckily with tons of moisturising and nose drops, she's almost back to normal now. So watch out, if your kids have sensitive skin or eczema.

A friend raised a concern about an ongoing debate on whether the MMR vaccine causes Autism and a bunch of us talked about it a bit and shared what little info we know. My thoughts on the subject...

In a nutshell...
There's loads of information arguing for both sides, as well as anecdotal stories in support of both sides - Some people argue that the MMR vaccine directly causes autism. While some say that it is the combination of having so many things vaccinated at the same time that causes the child harm (disproved here). There are anecdotes of children hitting their developmental milestones and then suddenly deteriorate after receiving the MMR. There are also others who say they noticed the signs of autism in their children from before they were vaccinated, and some anti-vac turned pro-vac folks who had to deal with their children falling seriously ill from measles. 

How did this concern come about?
In 1998, a study was published in British medical journal The Lancet connecting the MMR vaccine with autism. It was based on a sample size of 12 children. This study was eventually discredited and the researcher has been struck off as a doctor. There have been other studies that have been done that have been referred to as indicating a correlation between the MMR/measles virus and autism. 

On the other hand...
Studies have also been done and cited to disprove a correlation. And studies that compared the stats of autism levels before and after the introduction of the MMR vaccine do not show any correlation either. Other studies show that there are subtle signs of autism noticeable from before the child turns 1. They also point to the fact that the timing of giving the MMR coincides with the usual onset of symptoms of autism. 

My take on the issue
I think the current research has not proven a causal link between the vaccine and autism, and I don't think the vaccine causes autism. But the study done by Singh seems to suggest that there are genetic differences between those diagnosed with autism and those without, and maybe it is possible that the MMR vaccine accelerates the symptoms of autism, but not cause it.

From personal experience, we vaccinated Josiah & Joanie according to schedule and both are fine. And we will do the same for Joash as well. The only issue we had was this strange chicken pox mixed with measles rash that Josiah had after he took the MMR + Chicken Pox vaccination (Chicken Pox is optional). So when it came to Joanie's turn, we opted not to combine the chicken pox shot with the MMR. 

Don't forget to get the chicken pox vaccine separately though. We had a bit of a scare when I had shingles in late 2012 as Joanie hadn't received her chicken pox vaccine yet. And at just 2 yrs old, it would have been tough keeping her from scratching and scarring herself...:/ Needless to say, we vaccinated her once we were sure she wasn't infected by me.

What is compulsory in Singapore?
In accordance with the fourth schedule of the Infectious Diseases Act in Singapore, a child is to be vaccinated against Diphtheria and Measles. These are compulsory by law.

But if we look at the back of our kids' health booklets, we'll notice that the National Childhood Immunisation Programme includes a lot more than that. Check out the immunisation chart based on age here.

If you want to check your child's immunisation records, you can check www.nir.hpb.gov.sg (login via Singpass)


If you're interested to read up more on this subject, check out these links (or just google)

Anti-vac
http://www.bhare.org/singh.pdf
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/04/10/wakefield-interview.aspx
http://www.nvic.org/nvic-archives/newsletter/autismandvaccines.aspx

Pro-vac
http://www.ama-assn.org//ama/pub/physician-resources/public-health/vaccination-resources/pediatric-vaccination/relationship-between-mmr.page
http://www.voicesforvaccines.org/
http://www.mamamia.com.au/news/anti-vaccination-rhetoric-what-to-say/
http://www.forbes.com/sites/emilywillingham/2013/08/09/court-rulings-dont-confirm-autism-vaccine-link/