Viruses Anyone?

I recently read a small little blurb in the December 3, 2011, issue of World magazine entitled “Pox Parcels” (19).  Of course, the title caught my eye quickly, but if it hadn’t, the small cartoon of a boy with red dots all over his face and licking a lollipop probably would have done the same.  Evidently parents who are philosophically opposed to vaccinating their children against the chicken pox virus seek to expose their children to other children with the virus in an attempt to get them infected with it and thus build up their immunity to it.  The thinking is that this illness is much more dangerous to adults than it is to children.  To my surprise, a search on Google resulted in my finding that these kinds of “Pox Parties” are not such a recent phenomenon but have been carried out for decades and are not restricted to the chicken pox virus.

This article, however, cites the recent trend of some of these “anti-vaccination” parents seeking pox-infected items over social networking sites.  According to the article, one Facebook page entitled “Find a Pox Party in your Area” was trying to help parents send contaminated items (such as licked lollipops) to other parents who wished to infect their children.  There’s one glitch, though, as the article points out:  “Knowingly sending infected items through the United States Mail is a federal offense” (19).  As this story has now made its way to the public, the Facebook page is now encouraging these parents to make their transactions through private channels.

Seriously?!  I try not to be too judgmental of parenting styles, as I have no children myself, and I have nothing against parents who choose not to vaccinate their children.  I haven’t done any research on the subject, but I assume that these parents have reasonable reasons why they are against such a thing.  But to knowingly and intentionally expose your child to a serious illness in order to build immunity seems a touch dangerous to me.  It’s my understanding that, although rare, there are times when complications can arise stemming from chicken pox that are much more dangerous than the virus itself and can result in brain damage and death, and I have also heard that chicken pox itself can be life-threatening if not treated properly. 

To be completely honest, though, what stands out to me the most about this article and these “pox parcels” is the whole licked-lollipop thing.  Really?  You’re gonna let your kid suck on a lollipop that has been sucked on by some other random kid about whom you know very little to possibly even nothing?  I’m not a germaphobe, but this is a little out there even for me.