Vaccinations

[elmcitymaven 9,712]

Does anyone know if the doctor can give you a waiver for some of the jabs if you've actually had the diseases? Bruce didn't get the MMR as a kid, but actually had measles, mumps and rubella (poor thing) as well as chicken pox. I assume that you develop antibodies to the diseases that will be detectable in the bloodstream, and his medical records would confirm that he had definitely had the diseases. Whether or not this is acceptable to the Embassy is another kettle of fish, but as he is squeamish of needles (and he already knows he has to get a tetanus jab) it would be nice to spare him a few extra holes in the arm/bum!

[flutter95 4]

Hmm...I'm personally not sure however the chicken pox jab thingy isn't available in the UK anyway so they DON'T expect you to have that, but I also had chicken pox twice actually, and the nurse at the medical seemed to know that!

[TracyTN 237]

My fiance has had the chicken pox, too, and had a tetnus shot last year after an accident. What we don't know is if the tetnus shots in the UK are the same - meaning they do the 'tetnus diptheria' or not. He was going to ask his GP that very question.

I know he had the MMR shots, but he had them when he was little and at that time, they gave them as 3 different shots. We're not sure if that's going to 'count' or if he'll have to get it again.

[Boiler 45,411]

Tetanus you get as a combined shot.

There is an age out for MMR, that's the only one I know.

[featherB 1]

My fiance has had the chicken pox, too, and had a tetnus shot last year after an accident. What we don't know is if the tetnus shots in the UK are the same - meaning they do the 'tetnus diptheria' or not. He was going to ask his GP that very question.

I know he had the MMR shots, but he had them when he was little and at that time, they gave them as 3 different shots. We're not sure if that's going to 'count' or if he'll have to get it again.

I had the measles & rubella shots when I was little, and caught the mumps (as they weren't vaccinating kids against it for a few years in the 70s, according to the NHS website), but still had to have the MMV vaccine - I think they would have made me have it even if I'd had all three separately. Also, my vaccination records only went back about 5 years - the practice nurse said that they don't keep them forever, so... anything he had as a kid might not show up on the record anyway!

As for the chicken pox thing... at my medical, the nurse who took my vaccination record from me just asked me 'have you had chicken pox?' and filled in on the form (the one they give you a copy of for AOS...?!) that I had. As they obviously couldn't have given me the vaccine even if I had needed it, I'm guessing that just telling them verbally that you had chicken pox as a child is 'good enough' for them to fill out that you don't need the vaccine. We shall see...!

(Hm, that is all very garbled, hope it makes some sense!)

[flutter95 4]

I had the MMR stuff when I was little but at the medical the nurse said something about only having part of the second MMR or something

So I had it again!

Remember that piece of paper to be precious featherb

[TracyTN 237]

Ok thanks! Probably best to prepare my fiance that he may need the MMR jab. I'm sure they'll do the same as far as asking him if he had chicken pox - he even has 2 small chicken pox scars.

[flutter95 4]

Who knows what they say when they see his history - just something perhaps to ask the nurse at his doctors? I didn't think of it because I knew I had it.

It was funny my mother was saying "But you had it!! I was right THERE" blah blah blah and I said yes I know but they think something is missing, its fine!

I don't actually have chicken pox scars, funny seeings as I had it twice Oh well.

[featherB 1]

Who knows what they say when they see his history - just something perhaps to ask the nurse at his doctors? I didn't think of it because I knew I had it.

It was funny my mother was saying "But you had it!! I was right THERE" blah blah blah and I said yes I know but they think something is missing, its fine!

I don't actually have chicken pox scars, funny seeings as I had it twice Oh well.

How on earth did you manage to get it twice?! Poor you!

I had my mum umming and aahhing and trying to remember which jabs I'd had when (y'know, all at the age of 1 or something), she was getting really worried & going 'nowww.... I'm sure you had the whooping cough one... or maybe you didn't... yes, that's right, they didn't give it to you... or did they?' while I tried to get a word in edgeways to convince her that my visa application wasn't going to be approved or rejected based on whether or not my mum could remember exactly which (irrelevant) shots I'd had 30 years ago. Bless 'er!

[flutter95 4]

Well according to the crazy doctors I had a small bout then about a year later a really bad bout....

Nasty stuff.

Thats funny about your mum!!

My mother was a little like that, she didn't agree that I hadn't had this that or the other she was SURE I'd had it...or something," wait...did you have that after all?! "

[Mags 112]

Who knows what they say when they see his history - just something perhaps to ask the nurse at his doctors? I didn't think of it because I knew I had it.

It was funny my mother was saying "But you had it!! I was right THERE" blah blah blah and I said yes I know but they think something is missing, its fine!

I don't actually have chicken pox scars, funny seeings as I had it twice Oh well.

How on earth did you manage to get it twice?! Poor you!

I had my mum umming and aahhing and trying to remember which jabs I'd had when (y'know, all at the age of 1 or something), she was getting really worried & going 'nowww.... I'm sure you had the whooping cough one... or maybe you didn't... yes, that's right, they didn't give it to you... or did they?' while I tried to get a word in edgeways to convince her that my visa application wasn't going to be approved or rejected based on whether or not my mum could remember exactly which (irrelevant) shots I'd had 30 years ago. Bless 'er!

There are actually three strains of the chicken pox virus, so it does happen that people catch it more than once. It's rare, but possible. End of medical lesson.

[TracyTN 237]

My nephew had the chicken pox when he was maybe 4. My sister vividly remembers him in the bathtub one day, after a horrible day of scratching. He looked at her and said, 'You know, I've had a pretty good life up until now, and then I got the chicken pox.' :lol: That kills me!

[featherB 1]

My nephew had the chicken pox when he was maybe 4. My sister vividly remembers him in the bathtub one day, after a horrible day of scratching. He looked at her and said, 'You know, I've had a pretty good life up until now, and then I got the chicken pox.' That kills me!

Hahaha.... that is funny! Bless...

I remember when I got it - I was six. My mum & brother had it first, both at the same time, and they had it quite badly. I got a pathetically mild dose of it (just enough for a week off school) just when theirs had gone away. I remember being really itchy in my sleep and scratching away at my tummy (I still have a little scar there now!) - I can remember it even though I wasn't really awake.... then my dad came to wake me up for school, and I remember him yelling down the stairs at my mum: 'great! another poxy cow in the house!'

Then I got to spend the next few days lazing on the sofa and watching TV, which was great, because apart from a bit of itchiness, I felt fine. Unfortunately on about day 3, my afternoon's viewing (my mum must have been upstairs ironing or something) consisted of a BBC2 documentary about smallpox, and about how it had been wiped out... by the end of the programme I had convinced myself that this was what I had and was really scared.

Oh... thank you for the science lesson, Mags! Is shingles one of those strains? I just have this vague recollection of it being told it's A Good Thing if you get chickenpox when you're a kid, so you don't get shingles later... or something. Although thinking about it, I remember someone I used to work with who got shingles at the age of about 40, and was very cross 'cos she was sure she'd had chicken pox, and therefore must have been lied to... hmm.

Excuse my rambling.

[Mags 112]

Oh... thank you for the science lesson, Mags! Is shingles one of those strains? I just have this vague recollection of it being told it's A Good Thing if you get chickenpox when you're a kid, so you don't get shingles later... or something. Although thinking about it, I remember someone I used to work with who got shingles at the age of about 40, and was very cross 'cos she was sure she'd had chicken pox, and therefore must have been lied to... hmm.

No Shingles is a reactivation of the varicella zoster virus (chickenpox). So in theory, you can catch chickenpox three times and STILL get an outbreak of Shingles at some point...

The actual Chickenpox virus can remain dormant for decades. When reactivated, the virus spreads down peripheral nerve fibres and produces intense pain. They are most common on the torso, but can also appear on the face or other parts of the body.

Outbreaks occur for many reasons, most of which are a result of events which decrease the immune system such as ageing, severe emotional stress, severe illness or long-term use of steroids. There have been recorded cases of outbreaks occurring due to unmanaged stress or other stresses to the skin such as pinching, scratching, or biting.

<End of Medical Lesson>

[featherB 1]

Oh... thank you for the science lesson, Mags! Is shingles one of those strains? I just have this vague recollection of it being told it's A Good Thing if you get chickenpox when you're a kid, so you don't get shingles later... or something. Although thinking about it, I remember someone I used to work with who got shingles at the age of about 40, and was very cross 'cos she was sure she'd had chicken pox, and therefore must have been lied to... hmm.

No Shingles is a reactivation of the varicella zoster virus (chickenpox). So in theory, you can catch chickenpox three times and STILL get an outbreak of Shingles at some point...

The actual Chickenpox virus can remain dormant for decades. When reactivated, the virus spreads down peripheral nerve fibres and produces intense pain. They are most common on the torso, but can also appear on the face or other parts of the body.

Outbreaks occur for many reasons, most of which are a result of events which decrease the immune system such as ageing, severe emotional stress, severe illness or long-term use of steroids. There have been recorded cases of outbreaks occurring due to unmanaged stress or other stresses to the skin such as pinching, scratching, or biting.

<End of Medical Lesson>

Thank you, O knowledgeable and sciencey Dr. Mags!! I had noooo idea - I always thought my nice week on the sofa (nice apart from the bit where I had smallpox, that is) watching the TV whilst idly scratching the 4 or 5 spots that bothered to appear meant I was immune for life... ah well. The 'reactivated chicken pox' thing sounds highly unpleasant!