And it was worth every penny, says a mum of two who vaccinated her children against the childhood illness

It's a common childhood illness and one that many parents expect their child will catch at some point.

But while lots of us think chickenpox is unavoidable – after all, we all had it as children – you CAN avoid chickenpox by vaccinating your children against it. Many parents don't realise this, however, because it's not routinely given as part of the childhood vaccination schedule in the UK.

Recent research published in the journal Vaccine suggests about three-quarters of parents would support a chickenpox jab. Read more about that here.

And the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) is currently considering whether to recommend adding a chickenpox vaccination to the schedule, but the decisions have not yet been finalised and announced.

But having the jab privately is easy to do, with high street shops including Superdrug and Boots offering the jab for a fee (currently £140).

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After a lot of thought, and research, I paid to vaccinate my two children against the horrible illness. I decided the £130 per child I was charged was worth it – why suffer if they don't have to?

Why did I choose to vaccinate my children?

As a 40-year-old woman, I still have scars now from chickenpox and I've seen how poorly it can make some children. I hate seeing pictures of children suffering pop up in my news feed on Facebook.

For the majority of children, chickenpox just causes a mild illness, but, according to the NHS, about three per cent of the estimated 600,000 people who catch it a year in the UK require hospitalisation as a result.

In England and Wales, 25 people die of chickenpox or complications arising from it each year. During a severe bout, the varicella-zoster virus, which causes chickenpox, can travel around the body.

For example, it can move to the brain, causing conditions such as encephalitis (swelling of the brain), or blistering in the lungs, or pneumonia.

The more I looked into it, the more I thought £130 was a small price to pay to prevent it.

'Every time I see a picture of a poorly child I am thankful I had my kids vaccinated'

The vaccine is already routinely given in some countries, including America, Germany, Japan and New Zealand, when a child is 12 to 18 months old.

In Italy, parents must vaccinate their children against chickenpox before they start school.

Obviously my children – who were six and four at the time – didn't like having the actual jab, but it was over within seconds and nothing a lolly couldn't distract them from. I'd rather that, then two weeks of suffering.

We went to a private GP, they didn't have any side effects afterwards and weren't so traumatised that they refused the booster.

As well as giving me peace of mind about them being ill, it gave me one less illness to worry about them catching before going on holiday. You hear of families unable to board the plane because their child has chickenpox.

On a selfish note, it also means I've not had to take two weeks off work with them both as many of my friends have done when their children have caught it.

It's now six years since my children were immunised against chickenpox and I consider it a choice well made, although I accept some parents will be against it.

Everything you need to know about chickenpox

What is chickenpox?

Chickenpox is caused by a virus known as varicella zoster. In most cases symptoms are mild, with spots, high temperature and headaches.

Although chickenpox is usually a mild illness, for some individuals it can be a severe illness, requiring hospitalisation and sometimes resulting in death.

Children who have recently had chickenpox are also more likely to develop serious forms of Group A Strep infection.

What is the chickenpox vaccine?

The chickenpox vaccine protects against the varicella zoster virus that causes chickenpox .

The chickenpox vaccine is not part of the routine childhood vaccination schedule.

It's currently only offered on the NHS to people who are in close contact with someone who's particularly vulnerable to chickenpox or its complications.

There are 2 chickenpox vaccines currently available. The brand names of the chickenpox vaccine are VARIVAX and VARILRIX.

Why is the chickenpox vaccination not part of the routine childhood immunisation schedule?

Several countries such as the US, Japan, Australia , Canada include chickenpox vaccine in their routine childhood vaccination programmes.

According to the NHS , it's not offered in the UK because there's a worry that introducing chickenpox vaccination for all children could increase the risk of chickenpox and shingles in adults.

If a childhood chickenpox vaccination programme was introduced, people would not catch chickenpox as children because the infection would no longer circulate in areas where the majority of children had been vaccinated.

This would leave unvaccinated children susceptible to contracting chickenpox as adults, when they're more likely to develop a more severe infection or a secondary complication, or in pregnancy, when there's a risk of the infection harming the baby.

When people get chickenpox, the virus remains in the body. This can then reactivate at a later date and cause shingles.

Being exposed to chickenpox as an adult (for example, through contact with infected children) boosts your immunity to shingles.

If you vaccinate children against chickenpox, you lose this natural boosting, so immunity in adults will drop and more shingles cases will occur.

Should my kids have the chickenpox vaccine?

In the UK, the chickenpox vaccine is not part of NHS childhood immunisations, but is available to those who demonstrate a clinical need – such as healthy people not immune to chickenpox who are in close contact with someone with a weakened immune system.

It is recommended for children with family members who are undergoing medical treatments such as chemotherapy which can affect immunity.

The most common side-effects from the vaccine are:

• soreness and redness around the site of the injection – this happens in around one in five children and one in four teenagers and adults
• a mild rash – this happens in 1 in 10 children and 1 in 20 adults

Nine out of 10 children vaccinated with a single dose will develop immunity against chickenpox. Two doses are recommended, as this gives an even better immune response.

You can't get the chickenpox vaccine free on the NHS if you simply want to prevent your child catching chickenpox and there are no other associated health risks.

A number of private travel clinics offer chickenpox vaccinations, such as CityDoc , as well as high street shops including Superdrug and Boots.

How long is a child infectious for?

Chickenpox is most infectious from around one to two days before the rash starts to appear, until all the blisters have fully crusted over, which normally takes around five to six days.

To prevent spreading the infection, keep children off nursery or school until all their spots have crusted over.

Can my baby get chickenpox?

Babies tend to be born with 'passive immunity' from their mothers so it's rarer for them to catch chickenpox when they are very young. However, if you suspect a baby under six weeks may have caught it, do go along to your doctor as it may be serious.

Can you get chickenpox twice?

Once you’ve had chickenpox, you usually develop antibodies to the infection and become immune to catching it again.

However, the virus that causes chickenpox (varicella-zoster virus), remains in your body's nerve tissues and can come back later in life as an illness called shingles.

You can catch chickenpox from someone with shingles, but not the other way around.

Have more questions about vaccines? Check out our FAQ page below, or share experiences with other parents in our Forum:

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