Francesca Knowles wrote:
jfkmk wrote:
JohnnyG73 wrote:
Did your parents intentionally expose you to chicken pox when you were a child not only to make you immune but because it's much safer than contracting it as an adult?
That's pretty sick and is probably considered child abuse.
:h
"Child abuse"- NOT.
Chicken pox in children is generally mild and confers immunity from what is a MUCH more serious disease in adults, especially men.
In the days before development of the vaccine, exposure of children in "hopes" they'd contract the childhood version was the only way to insure their protection from contracting it later. Such deliberate exposure is less common now, but folks who distrust vaccines still do it. Just Google "chicken pox party" and you'll get lots of hits.
The same was done for measles. For some reason I didn't get it as a youngster when my brothers all got it. So when I got it in my mid teens, it was much worse than what my brother experienced as 6-8 yr olds. Create the imunity at a time when the subject can handle it.
