How to protect your child from chickenpox? Let's learn about this!

No parent wants to see their little one suffer for days with blisters all over their body, or suffer from a fever and not being able to eat or drink. In the past, chickenpox was considered a contagious, difficult-to-prevent disease that would spread to everyone in the house. However, with the advancement of medical science, did you know that chickenpox is a completely preventable disease? The best and safest way to prevent chickenpox is to get the chickenpox vaccine.

The best way to prevent chickenpox: Vaccine

Simply put, the chickenpox vaccine is a kind of training for our immune system, our disease-fighting army, to recognize the chickenpox virus. This vaccine is called the Varicella zoster vaccine . When it is given, our body makes antibodies to fight the virus. Then, if the chickenpox virus actually enters the body, our immune system will recognize it and destroy it before it causes illness.

The world's leading pediatric associations, for example the American Academy of Pediatrics, strongly recommend that this vaccine be given to all children.

Let's also learn about a vaccine called MMRV.

Another good option now is the MMRV vaccine . This means that the vaccine protects against all four diseases: measles, mumps, rubella, and varicella. This is very convenient for both parents and children, as it protects against all four diseases with a single shot. You can learn more about this by talking to your child's doctor.

What is the vaccination schedule?

To achieve the best and most complete protection, your child should receive two doses of the vaccine. This is the general schedule recommended by the World Health Organization and many countries.

This schedule may vary slightly from country to country or depending on your doctor's recommendations. Therefore, it is best to talk to your family doctor or pediatrician to find out the most accurate schedule for your child's vaccinations.

Are there others who should get vaccinated?

Yes. The chickenpox vaccine is very important not only for children, but also for adults in other risk groups.

• Women who are planning to get pregnant: If a woman who has not had chickenpox before, that is, is not immune to chickenpox, gets chickenpox during pregnancy, it can be very dangerous for both the mother and the baby. Therefore, if you are planning to have a child, it is very important to have a blood test before that to see if you are immune to chickenpox, or to get vaccinated before getting pregnant . This vaccine is not given during pregnancy. So be sure to talk to your doctor about this.
• People who live with people who are immunocompromised: If you have someone in your household who is immunocompromised, such as a cancer patient or transplant recipient, it is important that you get vaccinated to prevent yourself from getting chickenpox and spreading it to that person.
• Healthcare workers and school teachers: Because they frequently interact with patients and children, they also benefit from receiving this vaccine.

The connection between chickenpox and herpes zoster (shingles)

This is something that many people don't know, but it's important to know. When you get chickenpox as a child, the virus that causes it, called Varicella-zoster, doesn't completely disappear from the body. It lies dormant in our nervous system.

As we age, or when our body's immunity decreases due to another illness, that dormant virus wakes up again,Herpes Zoster is a disease that causes shingles. Many people also call it "shingles." It is a very painful, blistering condition. Sometimes, severe nerve pain (post-herpetic neuralgia) can occur years after the blisters have healed.

This is a higher dose than the chickenpox vaccine. Doctors usually recommend this vaccine for people over the age of 50 or 60, especially those who have had chickenpox as a child. It would be a great help to inform elderly parents or relatives in your family about this and remind them to visit their doctor and talk about this vaccine.