Shingles explained

As requested--and because I seem to think I need to be an expert on everything medical--here's the shingles theory in a nutshell. 5% of the children that have chicken pox before the age of 1 will develop shingles. Julia had them at 10-11 months. When we visited her the first time she had that nasty green stuff all over her spots. No one particularly knows why they reappear--but the theories are stress--body stress (colds, immunity issues like cancer, transplants) and emotional stress. Well we've certainly had enough emotionally stress here! The problem is Julia is extremely empathic--and even with us trying avoid her stressing out (I vent at work--I love my coworkers--a shoulder an ear--they are always there)--she still reads us and it shows in her behavior, attitude etc. She's also had a cold on and off for the past 6 weeks. In other words--ripe for shingles.
After having shingles, there is a 4.8% chance she'll have them a second time. The good thing--children seem to suffer less pain with shingles. Of course with Julia who can tell? She's the one who refused any kind of pain medicine after her palate surgery--tylenol was enough tough! She has an extremely high pain tolerance. And she's one tough chick! Children also appear to suffer less of the long term nerve pain issues. That's one I'm praying for! She's been through enough.
Now the boys didn't have chicken pox--so they got the vaccine. Both of them were a bit older so I'm hopeful that it "stuck" better for them. Will I give them the second booster shot? Yes, if the doctor thinks they need it. I'm not sure if shingles is on the rise or not. Maybe its just because more people talk about it. I'm pro vaccine--I've seen enough in my 4 years of being in pediatrics (and plenty seen the consequences in my years as a dialysis nurse) to want to protect my kids. Our world is getting smaller--and just because a disease is "gone" in the US doesn't mean someone from another country that is infected won't bring it in. Now there are some that shouldn't get vaccinated--that's for the parent and doctor to discuss and decide. But my children will be getting the H1N1 vaccine.
And Julia is doing much better. She played soccer yesterday and returned to school today. YEAH!!!