Why is the chicken pox virus so dangerous to chemotherapy patients?
It is quite simple really.. patients undergoing chemotherapy have a weakened immune system therefore cannot fight off the virus and it can cause serious complications such as pneumonia and blood poisoning such as toxic shock and sepsis, which can be deadly because these complications use up neutrophils quicker than the body can produce them.
Chemotherapy slows the production of blood cells, killing them off as they grow and divide. The white blood count typically goes down first because these have the shortest life span of the blood cells. Part of our white blood cells are made up of neutrophils which are used to fight off infections. If these drop below 1 then a person is less likely to be able to fight off an infection. If they drop below 0.5 a person is at serious risk of become extremely unwell from a minor illness such as a cough or cold. A persons counts are usually lowest 7-10 days after chemotherapy and they can take 2 weeks to recover by which point another dosage of chemotherapy is due for some patients such as Dylan for example.
In a person with damaged lungs or lung disease such as Dylan again, any illness that carries the risk of progressing to pneumonia can be devastating. Dylan nearly died last year from pneumonia because he quite simply does not have enough healthy lung tissue to cope with infection. You'd be surprised how many people out there have lung problems.
It is extremely frustrating to explain why chicken pox is so dangerous over and over. This doesn't just apply to chemotherapy patients either. If you go out into the world with active chicken pox or shingles you are risking EVERYBODY with any underlying health problems, this includes pregnant women, premature babies, newborn babies, elderly, those with lung problems, heart problems and other chronic conditions to name a few.
Please think before you go out into the world when unwell even if you feel fine. What may be minor to one person can be deadly to another. You never know if somebody has an underlying condition, are in the early stages of pregnancy, whether they care for an elderly relative or whether them or a sibling of theirs is receiving chemotherapy. It's not worth risking other people's lives. I do understand we all have busy lives with jobs to do and children to get to and from school but please ask for help in these situations. It may be a slight inconvenience to you, but imagine the inconvenience of having a child seriously unwell in hospital for months on end. Or having to split siblings up and have family take time off work because one has caught something that is too high risk to be near the other. PLEASE walk a mile in our shoes before you put your own on and head out that door in the morning. Thank you.
And on a side note, those saying we should keep him at home... REALLY?! Would YOU keep an active four year old at home all day everyday? He already missed out on five months of his life confined to a hospital bed last year and we've had to fight hard to get him back to where he should be for his age. Plus HE fought hard against all odds to be here today and he deserves to live his life and enjoy it!! A few simple precautions is all it takes from others, and that is all we ask for.
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