Lollipops laced with Chicken Pox Made Illegal

Ok, for one thing, this has got to be one of the most ignorant and stupidest things I have heard in a while. Apparently parents are swapping chicken pox laced lollipops in order to for their children to gain immunity later. I agree that it should be illegal and banned. I know its the parents right to raise a child their own way, but isn't there a line between being responsible and idiotic? I know that chicken pox is nothing like aids or hepatitis but it can cause shingles and birth defects in infants if the mother contracts it during pregnancy.

en.wikipedia.org...

here is the original article -
news.yahoo.com...

A federal prosecutor is warning parents against trading chicken pox-laced lollipops by mail in what authorities describe as misguided attempts to expose their children to the virus to build immunity later in life. The warning came after media reports surfaced about a multi-state ring of parents, wary of vaccinations that prevent the disease, who were swapping lollipops licked by a sick child in a modern day incarnation of a chicken pox party.

In those so-called parties, parents purposely put sick children together with healthy children in order to spread the ailment and build immunity without having the children vaccinated. This new form of party shares the disease anonymously and long-distance. "Sending a virus or disease through the U.S. mail (and private carriers) is illegal. It doesn't matter if it crosses state lines," said David Boling, public information officer for the Attorney in Nashville. "Also, it is against federal law to adulterate or tamper with consumer products, such as candy."

In addition to exposing children to chicken pox, those who have it are more susceptible to getting shingles later in life than are vaccinated children, Harpaz said. "The idea that it's safer to give your kid the infection than it is to immunize them is just wrong, completely misguided and puts your child at unnecessary risk," said Tennessee epidemiologist Jones. First of all, he said, the vaccine is safe, while those who give the children the disease "are putting at risk people around them. There may be people they could infect that don't have a choice, who can't take the vaccine." The CDC's Harpaz said symptoms of chicken pox aren't noticeable for "10 days to 21 days when you are exposed." But that doesn't mean children aren't contagious. Children taking chemotherapy or other medications that affect the immune system are among those who can't take the vaccine and would be at risk if exposed to infected children. "You could infect them and kill them," said Jones. "That's murder."

So, I guess parents are getting together and trading chicken pox like the old tupperware parties? Good grief!!!
Also, what if the infected child has other communicable diseases and spreads it to another? Oh boy, I can see how a pandemic can spread so quickly through the ignorance of others. Ok, I realize that chicken pox is really not that bad, but it can be potentially harmful. For me, it was mildly aggravating and I got over it within a week, but I ended up giving it to my older brother who was 19 at the time ) But seriously, what do you think about this whole thing, and should it be made illegal, and is it just being blown out of proportion?

reply to post by Veritas1


Yeah but you can still get gonorrhea gummy bears.

reply to post by jcord


Um.....wow...I have no idea how to respond to that

if stupidity would cause squeaking noises, there wouldn't be enough oil to fuel the cars in the US

this is so sick

reply to post by Veritas1


I just have to say....the parents that are giving their children... chicken pox lollipops....are imbecilic idiots!

whatever ill get my chicken pox from open tongue kissing strangers LIKE EVERYBODY ELSE

My son's pediatrician said the vaccine would not guarantee chicken pox at an older age. We played with the neighbor's little boy and got a good case of the chicken pox. No lollipop for my kid.

Lollipops laced with Chicken Pox Made Illegal

A hundred years from now, after we forget about the back-story, this will be lumped in with stupid laws you hear about from time to time.

well i dont know about lolli-pops, but deliberatly infecting your kids with chicken pox was always the norm where i came from. if parents heard some kid had it, theyd invite them over to play with their kids.
its more severe if caught as an adult, so it makes sense to me.

Originally posted by jcord
reply to post by Veritas1

 

Yeah but you can still get gonorrhea gummy bears.

Well where do i find them?

It's better to get chicken pox when you are child. It is one of the few viruses that are better to get as a child. As a child they are harmless and children develop immunity for the rest of their lives. Getting chicken pox as an adult however can be dangerous and even fatal. I got chicken pox as a young adult (17 years old) and I suffered through three weeks of a terrible sickness, and I have the potential of getting them again.

reply to post by lacrimosa


Wow, I didn't know about that. Thanks for sharing though...I guess it does make sense in a way.

When I was young we had a sleep over organized by the mothers in the area. All of my friends got to play and sleep over at our house for a week. Sure we all had Chicken Pox but we didn't care. We got to play and have fun with our friends...and no school!

Yes it was a Chicken Pox party. No one died and I'm still here as is my brother and sister.

I think I'd rather do what mothers have been doing for ages than all of a sudden start trusting the Govt. to tell me what to put into my body or that of my children.

Sometimes, Moms really do know what is best for their children. After all, they've been taking care of their kids much longer than the Govt. has been telling them that they've been doing it all wrong.

Peace

Originally posted by zerotime
It's better to get chicken pox when you are child. It is one of the few viruses that are better to get as a child. As a child they are harmless and children develop immunity for the rest of their lives. Getting chicken pox as an adult however can be dangerous and even fatal. I got chicken pox as a young adult (17 years old) and I suffered through three weeks of a terrible sickness, and I have the potential of getting them again.

edit on 12-11-2011 by zerotime because: (no reason given)

Same thing, it was the worst thing I experienced, and I was about 15. When you cannot even bathe without being in agony was horrid.

I'd much more preferred to have had chicken pox as an infant.

And shingles can, as noted, can be fatal as an adult.

Buuuuuttt, then again mothers are infecting their own children, THEIR OWN CHILDREN GOD DAMNIT!!!, with CHICKEN POX!!!! OUTRAGEOUS!!!! I DEMAND AN OUTRAGE!!!

lol

Suppose if they made money off such things they would be fine with it because they sure don`t care what they do to us with anything else but really seem to get a tad frustrated when people handle things on their own..
So now how they going to make up for those lost doctor wages and vaccines? Remember our government supports big pharmy not us. Fluoridated water should be proof enough of that for even the slowest of minds.

Well I went to the below site and found yes shingles is caused by having chicken pox this I did not know.
The big thing there would be the part not mentioned in the OP`s article of it being if You had chickenpox before age 1.
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov...

Shingles may develop in any age group, but you are more likely to develop the condition if:
•You are older than 60
•You had chickenpox before age 1
•Your immune system is weakened by medications or disease

also found this interesting on that site

If an adult or child has direct contact with the shingles rash on someone and has not had chickenpox as a child or a chickenpox vaccine, they can develop chickenpox, rather than shingles.

I can see why they have a problem with this stuff being sent in the mail but as far as what the parents are doing I`m all for.
Sometimes we just don`t need drugs,vaccines injected into us but hold on there just is no money in there for them is the real issue..

I was five years old when I had chicken pox. I remember being in the back seat of the car and my older brother who would regularly beat me up was in the front seat. I had a big pock on my arm and if fact I still have the scar from it thirty years later. I rubbed that pock on the back of my brother's neck. I enjoyed seeing the spectacle that he became a week or so later. If kids were to do that today they would probably wind up in Gitmo connected to a car battery.

reply to post by Veritas1


It sounds super messed up, but I don't understand the relevance of mentioning a mother getting it during pregnancy? The point is to give it to the child when they are young because getting chicken pox as an adult is way more dangerous.

The lollipop makes it seem more messed up, but parents have been allowing their kids to get infected at a young age for a long time. They often let their kids play with infected kids in hopes they get it. There was an episode of the simpsons where homer had a pox party and charged parents to bring their kids over to be infected by maggie lol.

Originally posted by jude11
When I was young we had a sleep over organized by the mothers in the area. All of my friends got to play and sleep over at our house for a week. Sure we all had Chicken Pox but we didn't care. We got to play and have fun with our friends...and no school!

Yes it was a Chicken Pox party. No one died and I'm still here as is my brother and sister.

I think I'd rather do what mothers have been doing for ages than all of a sudden start trusting the Govt. to tell me what to put into my body or that of my children.

Sometimes, Moms really do know what is best for their children. After all, they've been taking care of their kids much longer than the Govt. has been telling them that they've been doing it all wrong.

Peace

edit on 12-11-2011 by jude11 because: (no reason given)

We had the same thing when I was a kid somebody would contract chickenpox and moms would organize a party with the sick kid so that all the kids got it. Dad was a doctor mom was a nurse. We did ok. Chickpox lollys same thing - with out the cake and ice cream.

reply to post by spyder550



Sounds like the real problem is that people don't socialize, like they used to.
I remember those pox parties...Didn't have to go though. Myself, and little brother contracted it the same week.

I seriously regret getting the Varicella vaccination for my daughter when she was a toddler. It was pretty new at the time. She went her childhood without chicken pox. Now that I have a 5 year old, too..I am PETRIFIED of him bringing chicken pox home to his sister. She is now 17, and asthmatic and eczematic. I would give anything to go back and refuse that stupid shot. I wish she had gotten the real chicken pox as a kid.
I clearly remember my brother and I getting it. I was in kindergarten and he in first grade. It was itchy and annoying but nothing traumatic. The majority of children weather it just fine.
I would not prevent my son from playing with a chicken pox kid. I would rather him have it now. But now I have the worry of my daughter getting it. I would draw the line at a mail-order lollipop..that sounds icky.