Chickenpox is one of those diseases almost everyone has had. Boston's Children's Hospital claims that 95% of American adults have had chickenpox and that four million people get it every year. Still, it's not very pleasant to have it, and for newborns, it can even be dangerous.
But that didn't stop this grandmother from deliberately infecting her 13-month-old granddaughter with the virus while the young family was visiting for Christmas. The baby's agitated mother went online to ask people for advice on what to do after her husband was of no help. Later, she added an update detailing what happened after she escaped from her in-laws.
Nowadays, babies get vaccinated for chickenpox, but this MIL decided to take matters into her own hands
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She deliberately gave her granddaughter chickenpox without telling her mother
Image credits: RDNE Stock project / pexels (not the actual photo)
Image credits: Los Muertos Crew / pexels (not the actual photo)
Later, the woman posted an update about how she hastily left the in-laws' house with her daughter
Image credits: Peter Fazekas / pexels (not the actual photo)
Image credits: RDNE Stock project / pexels (not the actual photo)
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Contracting chickenpox can be dangerous for babies under and around 12 months
Back in the day, chickenpox was something all little kids had to go through. Like a rite of passage. But since the invention of the chickenpox vaccine in 1995, doctors recommend vaccinating kids from 12 months of age to avoid the nasty after-effects. Nowadays, many schools even demand a vaccination before admitting children as students.
If kids do get chickenpox, it's usually mild. More serious cases happen in adolescents, adults, during pregnancy, and immunocompromised people. The CDC writes that in more serious cases, people even get hospitalized due to chickenpox. There have also been cases where people have passed away from it. Luckily, those who've received the two doses of the chickenpox vaccine are protected for life.
It can also be dangerous to infants under the age of 12 months because their immune system is still developing. According to John Hopkins Medicine, chickenpox can be life-threatening to healthy infants. Along with adults, pregnant women, and immunocompromised people, babies are most at risk for complications.
Possible complications of contracting chickenpox at such a young age include secondary bacterial infections, pneumonia, encephalitis, defective muscular coordination, inflammation of the spinal cord, Reye's syndrome, and loss of life. Then there's also dehydration, liver issues, and blood clotting problems.
So, in the end, it's better to vaccinate babies as soon as the doctors recommend. Kids can get a mild case of chickenpox between the ages of three and five, but there are never any guarantees of how it will go down. Infecting a baby with it – and against their mother's wishes, nonetheless – is both inappropriate and can have dire consequences.
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In the past, people held 'pox parties' to get their children immunized from chickenpox, but today, experts strongly advise against them
The elderly and their old-fashioned ways, huh? Many young parents know the struggle of having to argue with grandparents over what's best for their grandchildren. Because they raised their kids already, grandparents think they might know what's best for a child. Better than their mom and dad.
One questionable practice parents used to do back in the day was chickenpox (or pox) parties. Before the advent of the chickenpox vaccine, parents would deliberately gather together groups of children so they could contract the disease and gain immunity.
Some parents choose to do this to this day. However, the CDC strongly recommends against such a practice. Chickenpox, according to them, can have severe and life-threatening consequences. That's why immunization through a vaccine is the safest to develop immunity from chickenpox.
Why are pox parties so risky? When a person contracts chickenpox, they get the full illness. A vaccinated person, even if they contract it, only experiences mild symptoms. In severe cases, even children might need to go to the hospital. That's why the medical community advises to vaccinate children instead.
Helen Bedford, professor of child health at University College London, explained to The Guardian that national vaccination programs are the safest way to deal with chickenpox. "At these parties, parents deliberately expose their children to chicken pox so they get it while young. The rationale is understandable but it's not without risk – for who knows if one of the children may end up seriously ill."
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People dragged the MIL and the father to filth in the comments
