Today, at 26, I got chicken pox. My parents stand by their belief that I got it because I'm not right with God, not because they didn't vaccinate me. FML
kinzielee tells us more.
OP here. Yes, my parents are religious. Orthodox Jews. I never thought anything about it, I'm from Central Europe. Things were not this standard. it was always just a "for religion exemption". Now that I understand what the hell is up, I have gotten all the shots I can get as an adult, my arse hurts, my arm hurts, my thigh hurts. But I don't have to worry about whooping cough and polio. So there is that. Also, Chicken Pod as an adult, I was told it could be much worse, I only have some scars. THANKFULLY!!!! :D
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Fall
Dead leaves, the first cold of the season and an umbrella flipped inside out: fall, the season of grace.
Top comments
Zelphoric 25
Hopefully they're not those idiots that thinks vaccines cause autism or avoid them for stupid religious reasons.... but I wouldn't be surprised. Sounds pretty likely in this case tbh.
BelowAverageJoe 4
It's not chicken pox. It's leprosy. I know. I read the bible. I'm qualified to speak on medical matters.
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Comments (173)
vicfirthfan 11
you'd better start praying to the FSM
h00tzForOsi 20
Hail his noodley appendages! R'amen!
onibatty 15
?
kinzielee 4
I read his gospel every night any thank his noodiliness that it's "rather nots". :D
Zelphoric 25
Hopefully they're not those idiots that thinks vaccines cause autism or avoid them for stupid religious reasons.... but I wouldn't be surprised. Sounds pretty likely in this case tbh.
lationas 25
Yeah, it probably was because if religious reasons. I thought the post made that pretty clear?
Bekll 31
Oh, I know what you mean. I have a friend who's becoming a nurse who is against vaccinations for religious reasons. It's scary thinking.
Zelphoric 25
#32 Well they think he's sick because of religious reasons. The FML never specifies whether or not OP's parents decided to not vaccinate him based on religous reasons. But like I said, there's a pretty good chance of it considering their current opinions.
PrincessZelda_HR 22
Wait, where in the bible does it say you can't get vaccinated?
MandieL 27
OP is 26. We usually get our childhood vaccinations by 2 years old. OP would have been about 6 when the chicken pox vaccine came out in 1995. So his parents may have gotten him the initial vaccines, but not have known to get him the chicken pox one. I'm 4 years older so I never got one either. We had "pox parties" so we would catch it in our youth. Sucks you got them OP, hopefully they don't stay long!
JKPwnage 27
Even if vaccines caused autism, how can people prefer that over deadly diseases?
TheNewGuy03 29
FML's very own DocBastard has a Twitter (@DocBastard) where he goes on and on about the woes of anti-vaxxers and their (deadly) shenanigans. It's worth a look.
kavank 9
Because the people who make these vaccines don't even vaccinate their own children. Because most politicians decline to answer when asked if they vaccinate their children but the ones who do have no problem answering yes. Oh right, idiots.
Zelphoric 25
#66 Well I know some religions emphasize celibacy until marriage. Some parents refuse to let their kids have the HPV vaccines because they think that the threat of disease is good because it will make them fear sex. It's quite ridiculous.
mswim 27
Because, don't you know? Autism is literally the worst thing that could happen! The worst!!!1!!one! (Obvious sarcasm is obvious)
DocBastard 40
NewGuy - Unfortunately trying to educate those people is exhausting and rarely productive.
BelowAverageJoe 4
It's not chicken pox. It's leprosy. I know. I read the bible. I'm qualified to speak on medical matters.
chuka81 27
Well if it's leprosy it's much better. All you need is for Jesus to touch you. He did it all the time in the Bible.
nomoreparty 11
hope you know that it can spread digitally through touch screen phones as well. go check urself in mirror.
andrmac 25
What are you talking about he needs to get right with God by praying and asking to forgive him to get Satans rash off of him! Not sure how that religion has lasted for this long.
cmonger 27
Well, at least you didn't get autism from those terrible vaccines.
jasonbmackey 5
You are an even bigger idiot, the one doctor that made that link has been found to be fraudulent in his claims and has lost medical lic.
tarlax 11
See also: Joke, Sarcasm, etc.
domolovesyoshi 33
They're joking.
TheNewGuy03 29
For a site that supposedly prides itself on wit, it seems the vast majority of people seem to gloss right over simple sarcasm. It's paradoxical.
emanhernandez 22
Thank you for saying that I always tell people that but they think I'm lying thank you at least your seat enough to know that
jasonbmackey 5
You are an idiot, there is no vaccine for chicken pox
jeffreorama 11
The vaccination is pretty recent. It didn't come out til '95 and only protects for 20 years anyway.
BelowAverageJoe 4
So the vaccine came out when he was 6. That's still plenty of time to get him vaccinated before he was an adult.
rocker_chick105 31
"Only" protects. Most likely because there could be other strains that come about in 20 years. That's still a pretty long time.
higgysaurus 18
The vaccine came out in '84. If you are going to bring up facts, at least do us all the courtesy of googling it first.
no_playa_hater 14
You are not supposed to get vaccinated against chicken pox anyway. You're supposed to get the disease at a young age.
Calingaladha 21
@107 according to the CDC site, it was licensed in the US in 1995. Maybe you should have read further. Just because it was commercially available doesn't mean it was available everywhere or to everyone. When was the last time you bought a vaccine commercially? http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd-vac/varicella/
brezzyanna 17
It may have come out then, but at least in Canada it wasn't a thing most people knew about until around 2000 or 2001. I'm 17 and never got it. But I did have chicken pox as a kid.
higgysaurus 18
#107, the stipulation you bring up, with it not being commercially available in the US, is a pretty big jump to a conclusion that #6 had not specified. "Come out" could mean any number of things, discovery, creation, mass production, commercially available and then commercially available by country. So yes, while it wasn't commercially available in the US in '84, it was commercially available in '84, so technically it "came out" in '84.
Feklfekl2222 32
Not giving the chickenpox vaccine to children is common, as it's less bother for them to catch it and develop immunity naturally as I understood it? The fact you didn't get it as a child and have it now is awful though, I hope it's not too bad. (I'll say now I fully support necessary vaccination and I don't think they cause autism or any other such idiotic beliefs, speaking as a future doctor)
nix1993 41
If you catch chickenpox, even once you've gotten better the virus lies dormant in your nerve tissue and can develop into Shingles later in life, which is more painful and can result in nerve damage. If you can avoid catching chickenpox it's probably a better option.
Foxfire15 15
Pretty much everyine gets chicken pox, usually as a kid. Mono is much the same (iirc, something like 95% of adults carry mono). Also, don't think there was a chicken pox vaccine when op was a kid. i certainly didn't get it as a kid and i got my others. i'm 29 now.
KBear3109 29
If you get the vaccine for chicken pox you can still get shingles because the virus is in your body.
RebeccaRFT 18
Yes, let's put op through shit just so it doesn't 'bother' his parents. When your kid breaks a leg, are you just gonna tell him to walk it off too because casts are too much of a bother to get?
mds9986 24
48- it doesn't matter how you are exposed to chicken pox. Either getting it naturally or through a vaccine, you can still get shingles.
doodlecloud 27
I didn't even know there was a vaccine for chickenpox. Mlst vaccines are given out at school in the UK, everyone at the same time. I've never heard of a chickenpox one...
ChimeraThorne 19
Me either 104... I'm 27 and have a 20 y/o sister, neither of us either know of we're offered a chicken pox vaccine, and I've never been offered one for either of my kids
brezzyanna 17
I'm 17 and live in Canada. I don't have the chicken pox vaccine. It wasn't really a thing here until 2000 or 2001
lynnlady 6
I'm 28 and in Canada and when it came time to immunize my son last month, I was surprised about a chicken pox vaccine so I asked my mom and she had never heard of it either. But, she made sure my sister and I had chicken pox as kids.
MandieL 27
I'm 30 in Canada and never got vaccinated, I got chicken pox through the typical pox partied back in the day. My daughter, 5 months old, got the chicken pox vaccination.
Moochi456 20
So many people don't know about chicken pox vaccines and to me it seems like the most common vaccine I've ever heard of. My mom was gonna let me catch chicken pox instead of vaccinating me but my school wouldn't let me attend unless I had the vaccine so I got it when I was 5.
Xion0014 20
Theres still a vaccine for after you get them i think
KBear3109 29
Woah, why did I get down voted? I'm not saying you shouldn't vaccinate but it doesn't make it any less true that getting the vaccine still leaves you susceptible to shingles.
Tomato_Cheese 22
Vaccines cause autism! How?
Zelphoric 25
"Well I have one million results that say they dont.... and one result that say they do" "I knew it!!" "JUST BECAUSE I HAVE IT DOESN'T MEAN IT'S TRUE!!"
geekpower_fml 28
They don't.
Pixelatedpotato 28
I love you
night_roane 11
I'm also 26. The chickenpox vaccine was not available until my sister, who is 8 years younger than me, was little. By then, most people in our age bracket had already been exposed. My daughter received the chicken pox vaccine and still got the chicken pox, however because she'd had the vaccine it did not present the way it should have and we would up in the ER. After that, I began to question vaccines and discovered that the risks were not worth it, considering most viruses were not life-threatening. I actually got whooping cough the past year. It wasn't fun, but I discovered it's not any more fatal than a bad cold. Yes, some people can die of a bad cold. And if they could figure out a vaccine for it, I'm sure they would have it. It's true chicken pox isn't fun, and it sucks that they called you a sinner and said you deserved it, but don't blame them for not vaccinating you. As parents, we each just do what we believe to be best. And the vaccine wasn't available until you were probably closer to 10. And my daughter still got chicken pox even with the vaccine.
nix1993 41
No shit, whooping cough isn't fatal for a 25 year old. For a baby? It can be. My mum's friend thought along the same lines as you, she'd had whooping cough and didn't think it was that bad, so decided the pregnancy vaccine 'wasn't necessary'. Her 4 month old son however was far less able to cope than she was and ended up in the hospital with pneumonia and renal failure and very nearly died.
geekpower_fml 28
No, parents should not be doing what they "believe" is right. Not when it comes to disease prevention. They should be following the advice of sensible doctors / the WHO.
Mynamewontfi 40
IMO, that's selfish as hell of you to decide that. Not only for your daughter, but also for other children she might come in contact with. You might be dangering those other kids, since they might be too young to have been vaccinated and react badly to a disease your daughter might infect them with. Just because you believe that's the best thing to do, doesn't mean it really is. Doctors have studied medicine for many, many years, maybe you should listen to them since they know a lot more about the dangers of not vaccinating than you would after a few clicks on google.
WhatHappenedToIt 22
I decided to stay on track for exactly that reason. my 3 month old daughter got viral meningitis when she was 5w old. we were in the hospital for 3 days while tests were done and antibiotics given. my Dr asked if I was comfortable vaccinating her a week and a half later and I said I wasn't sure, I know it's better to do it but is it safe or will she react. we vaccinated her to try to prevent her getting it again because the things we vaccinate against can potentially cause you to catch it and anyone can be a carrier and not know.
tantanpanda 26
I swear, too many people think they know more about medicine than doctors. Good luck getting your daughter into college without her meningitis vaccination.
DoomedGemini 38
Not only do you endanger a child's life, if you want to risk your own child's life that's on you. But the children should at least have their own schools and places so children who actually CAN'T get it don't have to risk their life because of another parents stupidity. Not only are there children too young, children who's health doesn't allow vaccinations are endangered.
jacqui_matznick 17
Segregation because of vaccinations? Wow you're going way too far
DoomedGemini 38
Not because of hate, I explained in the post. This way, they get their right not to vaccinate and children who are in danger are safe.
dntbeadouche 25
Good luck to them getting her into any school. How is your child going to school, btw?
quesocoatl 14
Probably religious exemptions. So stupid. There are students at my college who claimed religious exemption to vaccinations but admit to not being religious. They just either didn't believe in vaccinations or didn't want to bother with getting them or hate needles. **** them.
fooltemptress 36
Two of my children were vaccinated against the chicken pox. One of my children wasn't. All three caught it. The two vaccinated against it caught it within a year of getting the vaccine. One of the big reasons parents tend to skip the varicella vaccine is because it's not that effective.
RedPillSucks 33
vaccines done have to be 100% effective to be useful. Many times they'll cut down t he recovery time or reduce t he virulence of t he symptoms. This lessens the chance of you spreading it to the very young or very old, which are the group's most likely to die from exposure
countryb_cth 38
I was vaccinated but got the chicken pox however because I was vaccinated I only got them very mildly thankfully.
Xandrick 22
See, there's this thing called herd immunity...
militarybrat 21
No vaccine is 100%. Still not a reason not to get them. The more people who have it, the less likely it is to spread.
smoothies14 32
98% effective according to the CDC. Your sample size of 3 kids is a mere anecdotal anomaly. The vaccine works so well that so few kids are getting it now that there is an increase in shingles because of a lack of second exposure boosting immunity when adults take care of kids who have chicken pox.