"We always saw chickenpox as something he gave us in our childhood, and here we are alive and healthy!". This is one of the phrases with which he starts his thread on Twitter @PreguntaMama, a mother blogger who has decided to share his personal experience about the decision he took years ago from do not vaccinate your children against chickenpox, and how you will always regret it.
And because of the disease, his young son suffered serious consequences that still last, so he wanted to alert other families with doubts about vaccination of the importance of immunizing children.
He decided not to vaccinate his children against chickenpox
Under the name of @PreguntaMama, a mother blogger from Venezuela decided to share her story about the decision not to vaccinate her children against chickenpox. As she explains in her Twitter account, the vaccine is optional in your country and given the high economic cost and the mistaken belief that the consequences of this disease are not serious for children, he chose this path.
In Babies and more, a 4-year-old child dies from a complication derived from chickenpoxI go with a thread (personal, a thousand apologies) on how my decision not to vaccinate my son against chickenpox affected us forever. pic.twitter.com/cIr65FaNGM
- Question Mamá (@PreguntaMama) February 16, 2019
One day we were going through life my husband and I thinking that the #vaccines were, some elective and some mandatory. We always saw chickenpox as something he gave us in our childhood and well, here we are alive and healthy! pic.twitter.com/V8pXguMBcF
- Question Mamá (@PreguntaMama) February 16, 2019
So we decided not to vaccinate our children against this particular disease. We consulted with our pediatrician and he confirmed that it was a personal decision. That anyway there was not much risk. pic.twitter.com/cMxVs1VqeK
- Question Mamá (@PreguntaMama) February 16, 2019
His eldest daughter became ill and then the little one, two and a half years old, did
Some time later, her eldest daughter contracted the disease, and guided by the opinions of the environment that told her that the symptoms are more bearable the younger the child is, this mother tells how he wanted his son to be infected too.
In Babies and more Chickenpox parties: getting children to get the disease instead of vaccinating them is very dangerousSo the great day came when my little ones were affected by chicken pox. We repeated the others was that the smaller, the less annoying the disease, so although the disease began in the greater, we aspired that the child also took it, "to get out of that" 🤞
- Question Mamá (@PreguntaMama) February 16, 2019
Indeed, the baby at the age of two and a half years, was attacked by chicken pox. Unlike my oldest daughter, the little one was much more affected. He had granites everywhere, everywhere. Much discomfort and constant crying. pic.twitter.com/5Wo6jfFA0D
- Question Mamá (@PreguntaMama) February 16, 2019
Once "the worst happened", we felt relieved, it was terrible days. Little did we know that the worst was yet to come. pic.twitter.com/pZN7CmpsXm
- Question Mamá (@PreguntaMama) February 16, 2019
But the consequences for him were very serious
But the consequences suffered by his young son because of chickenpox they were more serious than this mom would have ever imagined, because his child developed a complication derived from the disease that has left sequels that still last.
Two weeks after "everything has happened" my son begins to cry, to feel uncomfortable, to want to be in the chest. When I look at him while I breastfeed him, I notice that he can't hold his chest well in his mouth. I look at him well and notice that he has half of his face down pic.twitter.com/cxzl3kNf2O
- Question Mamá (@PreguntaMama) February 16, 2019
My two-year-old boy had facial paralysis in the middle of his face. In terror, I tried to dial the pediatrician and simply could not hold the phone. I asked a neighbor to take us to the hospital, unable to drive shaking that way 😭😭😭
- Question Mamá (@PreguntaMama) February 16, 2019
Upon arriving at the Neuropediatrics service, my son was diagnosed with the #SindromeDeRamsayHunt 😱😭 // t.co / e5x2Yt9ZLe
- Question Mamá (@PreguntaMama) February 16, 2019
Ramsay Hunt syndrome is caused by the chickenpox virus, which affects the facial nerve that connects with the ear. It causes facial paralysis, tinnitus, and can cause deafness and eye damage. pic.twitter.com/mMwy9gzRcc
- Question Mamá (@PreguntaMama) February 16, 2019
My little one needed acyclovir medications, muscle therapy, speech therapy and lots of tit and pampering to overcome this challenge. He went through moments of great pain, it was very difficult to speak well (he still has problems for it), he has mild deafness
- Question Mamá (@PreguntaMama) February 16, 2019
He also suffers from vertigo, dizziness when we do simple activities such as swinging in the park, going for a ride in the car or when walking long distances. He has a droopy eye because it was impossible to recover the total mobility of the eyelid pic.twitter.com/nMmbohxgd9
- Question Mamá (@PreguntaMama) February 16, 2019
He wants to alert other parents so that no child suffers the same
Therefore, this mother has decided to share her case through Twitter, and ask other parents to echo their story to alert all undecided families with the vaccination of their children, of the terrible consequences that chickenpox can cause.
Today we are celebrating his 6th birthday. We thank God for having a persevering and struggling son. We will always regret our decision not to vaccinate against chickenpox and whenever we can, we will tell other parents. You, count it too. pic.twitter.com/rG2owro7v5
- Question Mamá (@PreguntaMama) February 16, 2019
What is Ramsay-Hunt syndrome?
As this mother explains, what her son suffered was Ramsay-Hunt syndrome, a complication derived from chickenpox that can have serious consequences.
This sickness happens when the chickenpox-zoster virus is reactivated (It may even happen years after contracting the disease), infecting a nerve in the head near the ear and causing the following symptoms:
Painful rash around the ear, in the face or in the mouth, with blisters filled with liquid. It is usually the main symptom, although sometimes it does not occur.
Peripheral facial paralysis on one side of the face, with difficulty closing one eye (with the serious consequences that this can lead to if the interior is damaged), to eat and to make gestures and grimaces.
Severe pain in the ear
Hearing loss on one side or alterations in the ear.
Rotational vertigo accompanied, sometimes, by nausea and vomiting.
The sense of taste can also be altered.
If the nerve is not very damaged, after the administration of the treatment the improvement begins to be noticed within a few weeks, but in case of serious damage, or if the treatment is not started quickly, permanent sequelae could remain.
Although rare (especially during childhood), Ramsay-Hunt Syndrome is one of the complications derived from chickenpox, along with others such as the appearance of shingles, bacterial superinfection of lesions (which can affect both externally as internal), varicella pneumonia, encephalitis or cerebral infarctions.
Most of the time, chickenpox is a benign disease, but we have seen on several occasions that this is not always the case. That is why it is so important to vaccinate our children to avoid contagion and associated complications.
In Babies and more Chickenpox vaccine: everything you need to knowPhotos | iStock
