8:20 PM
McGhori
Parents are intentionally exposing their children to chickenpox—as well as measles, mumps and rubella—at arranged "pox parties."
Last week we reported on the use of chickenpox-laced lollipops, available on the internet, to expose children to the disease rather than receive a vaccination. The clampdown by law enforcement on this method is causing the increased popularity of “pox parties,” assemblages of children gathered together for the sole reason of infection.
Social media outlets like Facebook have advertisements for such get-togethers, and they seem to be gathering steam. But there is a question of whether this type of exposure is safer for children than getting immunized.
The backlash against wholesale childhood vaccination has promoted pox play dates, and has even spread to measles, mumps, and rubella. The belief is that infecting children at a young age will spare them the risk of serious complications if they get the disease as an adult.
Since the vaccine for chickenpox has basically ended easy access to contamination since becoming available in 1995, manual transfer of the virus seems to be the only way to create an environment that will allow for children to be “naturally” infected with the disease.
But while building immunity through such methods may be effective, parents could be putting their children at risk for serious unexpected infections, such as Hepatitis A, encephalitis, and strep.
What do you think about these parties? Would you expose your children intentionally? We’d love to hear your thoughts.
Posted in: HEALTH
