vivdunstan

You're viewing

vivdunstan's journal
Create a Dreamwidth Account Learn More

Reload page in style: light

Another day, another case of advising a fellow vasculitis patient who's had a chickenpox exposure. In this case the immunosuppressed father of a young child. I never had chickenpox as a child, and caught it in 1998, aged 25, newly immunosuppressed. I caught it from a stranger - still no idea who. I was lucky to survive, and spent a week in hospital in Dundee, in isolation, on antiviral drips. Chickenpox can kill immunosuppressed adults. Please folks take care with chickenpox if you have any relatives on immunosuppression drugs. Including arthritis patients, but also many others like me.

Just found that this year the shingles vaccination programme in the UK is being extended to include severely immunosuppressed people aged 50 or over. That’s in addition to non immunosuppressed vastly older folks. It’s a two part vaccine given over an especially short period to severely immunosuppressed. And not live, so safe for even immunosuppressed to have. So I can expect that this autumn too. Joy. Hoping I don’t get another neuro flare. Though I want the shingles protection. I’ve had shingles twice, including just before my PhD viva. And I was lucky to survive my only run in with chickenpox as a newly immunosuppressed 25 year old in 1998. I ended up in hospital on drips and in isolation for a week.