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23 aug 06 "how do you feel about chicken pox parties?" i looked them up. i suppose the question is: "which is worse -- the dangers of vaccination or the dangers of full-blown chicken pox?" it seems to me, (tauto)logically, that the dangers of full-blown chicken pox must be more severe, not to mention that getting a weeks-long (?) itchy disease is less pleasant for the poor kid than a one-time stick with a needle. "chicken pox parties" seem to be a cultural relic that some people are clinging to because it provides comfort in the face of a sterile civilization. no pun intended. home-y folk medicine is often sought by lay parents -- i suppose it gives people a feeling of empowerment if they can rely on unscientific midwifery and such in lieu of a cold, impersonal medical establishment. i remember one family who wrapped hot washcloths around their children's necks when they had colds. "this is our way of caregiving -- no labcoat is going to tell us how to do it!" oh, by the way: a "chicken pox party" amounts to rounding up all the neighborhood kids and getting them infected with the chicken pox virus by sticking them all in a coat closet for two days, so as to produce immunity. apparently, chicken pox is less severe when you catch it in early childhood than when it's contracted later on. however, vaccination makes this a rather moot point, it seems to me. so, i'm against chicken pox parties. no more chicken pox parties! rage against the machine! etc. obviously i don't feel strongly, but it's the sort of thing i might tend to feel strongly about, at least in principle -- in the same category as routine circumcision or drilling holes in the skull to evacuate demons. i'm generally uneasy about the practice of folk medicine while the NIH is sitting just around the corner. generally, it's not a good idea to rely on your "instinct", or whatever you want to call it, when caring for living things. a human couple birthing a baby while isolated from the rest of society would have no idea what to do with it. the only one with instincts here is the baby itself, when it roots at the nipple. so, buy lots of "dr. spock" books, and avoid chicken pox parties. |
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