Friday, March 21, 2008

Chicken Pox? From the Vaccine?

Reagan finally got her chicken pox vaccine a few weeks ago. A few days ago the daycare called and suspected that Reagan had hives. Not having yet seen this mysterious rash, I called the pediatrician. She believed it was probably a breakout from the Varicella (chicken pox) vaccine she received rather than hives since I couldn't pinpoint anything new Reagan had eaten recently.

After suffering from allergies my entire life, I know a thing or two about hives. When Bill brought her home from daycare, I could see it was not hives at all. I spoke with the nurse and she told me that you could break out from the vaccine up to a month afterwards and that she was not contagious it is not the chicken pox, just a rash. She said just to watch it and give her Benadryl if needed.

It has been three days and Reagan has not once acknowledged the rash or scratched at it. So it doesn't seem to be itchy or bothersome. She isn't running a fever. But the rash covers her entire body. Even the palms of her hands and around her face is covered.

One thing to know about me is I am a huge researcher. I want all of the facts, all possible scenarios and options to anything. This is no exception. I began my research, and all of the official sites like CDC acknowledge that less than 4% may get a rash from the vaccine. But they clarify that it is only around the site area and is only 5-10 spots. Ok, Reagan has hundreds and hundreds of them over her entire body. There is no site reputable site that I've found that acknowledges it is even possible to have such a severe rash. But if I do a Google, I find all kinds of parents claiming that their kid got the actual chicken pox from the vaccine (their doctor confirmed it, blah, blah). I'm less inclined to believe them, but with absence of facts, it makes their case a little stronger.

So, I'm a little disturbed by the conflicting information. I certainly hope Reagan doesn't have an actual chicken pox outbreak. She could have potentially infected kids at her school and even worse Bailey or even Bill. Bill doesn't think he's ever had chicken pox. Uh, oh. That would really be bad.

So, who's had a similar experience with the chicken pox vaccine? I'm interested in knowing your stories with it. I've become a bit obsessed in my quest to understand what this rash is that has infected her from head to toe.
Here are a few pictures:

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi,

I too just received the chicken pox vaccine and now have a rash. I've searched the web for answers but came up with the same answers as you found. I just want to know if I'm contagious because my dad is in the hospital and I don't know if I should visit him. I went back to my doctor after the rash appeared but they were clueless too. I will keep searching and maybe we will both find an answer soon!

-Bridget said...

Anonymous: The best I can tell you is that no one in the family or at her school became infected with the chicken pox, including the brand new baby. I was told that it was not contagious, but the answer sounded more like a guess than a firm yes. From all of the research that I did, it appears it is more a reaction from the vaccine, rather than the disease itself but I never found anything to give me 100% certantity that was the case. Good luck to you! I hope you and your Dad are both ok.

Mama Rose said...

My son just turned one this last weekend, and on Monday he got the chicken pox vaccine. 24 hours later he developed little ulcer on his nose and lips that then spread to his tongue, arms, buttock, etc. You get the picture. I CAN NOT BELIEVE THAT HE HAS CHICKEN POX!!! I was so irritated. I get him vaccines to prevent this problem. So...as far as you know he shouldn't be contagious? My husband doens't think he has had them before and we have a 4 year old that hasn't had them either. Thanks for your input!