chicken pox titer

iliel · Oct 17, 2003

You should talk to your Nurse Practitioner or you Doctor. They would know what's best for you.

Paleobug · Oct 17, 2003

I got the chicken pox at 30. I didn't know you could catch it that old. It wasn't fun.

ItsyBitsySpider, BSN, RN · Oct 17, 2003

Did you have titers drawn? That would tell you whether or not you've ever had them. You should talk to your doctor about the likelihood of you getting the chicken pox with the vaccine, although many students in my class got the vax and no one got the pox.

Carolanne · Oct 18, 2003

I agree, that's something your doctor would be able to steer you in the right direction on. I had them at age 25 (part of the only child syndrome!) and I was sick as a dog. To this day, I don't know where I got it from - I was working as a secretary in an office and was married, hardly any exposure to kids. My guess is I picked it up out in public at a store or something. Strange event.

BarbPick · Oct 18, 2003

Chicken Pox is an inconvience, not fatal. But.....to work in nursing these days I had to provide proof of viral titers. I was negative for mumps. I need to be re immunized for all, just to become positive for mumps.

I will go to the county health dept and get the shot.

PennyLane, RN · Oct 18, 2003

I was immunized for chicken pox a couple of years ago, because I somehow managed to never get it, despite having two sisters. In fact, there was an epdemic during high school (I went to a VERY small school), and I was the only one in my class to graduate and not get it.

I agree, ask your NP or MD about this. I had the vaccinations (after a titer was drawn) and didn't have any side effects.

jenrninmi, MSN, RN · Oct 18, 2003

Actually Chicken Pox CAN be fatal, not just an inconvenience. There have been many, many children that have died of complications from the virusHere's a link to the cdc with info...

boopchick · Oct 18, 2003

Hi...

I had a mild case of chicken pox when I was 3 (I'm 36 now) and my titre came back negative so I had to get the varicella vaccination this past summer. (clinical requirement) There are a small percentage of people who do develop a mild case of chicken pox from the vaccine. Fortunately I wasn't in that group of people.

prmenrs, RN · Oct 20, 2003

It is harder to get chicken pox as an adult than a child. You would be sicker and more likely to have complications as an adult.

You DO need to be immunized, but there may be a problem w/the baby. Check w/the pediatrician as well as your own health care provider.

Good luck!

truebluekarma · Mar 30, 2011

I have worked for a few different healthcare companies/hospitals and have had to go through the new employee bloodwork, as well as when I started Nursing school. My varicella titer has come up negative every time, and I have to go through getting the vaccines......again.....and again. So, I have had the varicella vacc 4 different times in the last 6 years, and low and behold my titer comes back neg. I am now 33 soon to be 34 yrs old and have never had the chicken pox, been exposed to it, but never had them. I joke about how many times can a person get the vaccine before it kills them.LOL. But seriously, this is something I have to explain everytime. My PCP has said that maybe I did have them when I was younger, but never showed any subjective signs. Who knows.......! This is also the case with my Hep B, 3 different series and yep you guessed it, still negative. So, now I am at the end of my last semester of nursing school and the school nurse emailed me and said that she has record of these being negative, and asks if I have had the vaccines recently....UGH frustrating! Luckily, the hospital I will be working for I have been employed with for the last 7 yrs, so no more of explaining. )

MelissaLPN, ASN, LPN, RN · Mar 30, 2011

My varicella titer has come up negative every time, and I have to go through getting the vaccines......again.....and again. So, I have had the varicella vacc 4 different times in the last 6 years, and low and behold my titer comes back neg.
I work at a hospital and know someone who works there who has the same problem. I know that has got to stink. I myself could not find any of my records so I had to get titers. As for varicella, it is not a live virus so you should not be able to transmit this virus to your baby. Just verify with you health care provider.