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I used to think pox parties were strange. Parents finding out that the neighborhood kid has the chicken pox, then crowding into his home with their own kids, hoping they get sick too, sounded like one of the kookiest ideas ever. Until, that is, I heard about parents letting their kids lick on a complete stranger's lollipop to expose them to the disease "naturally."
It seems pro-vaccination parents have made it harder to find sick kids in their own neighborhood to glom on to. So fans of the natural immunity movement have turned to -- where else -- Facebook. There they're finding strangers willing to package "Pox Packages," which are just as scary as the name implies.
An Arizona TV station first noticed the trend on the Find a Pox Party Facebook page and highlighted comments from parents who said they'd just sent out infected lollipops, a wet rag, and spit to another parent. Since then, the page has gotten wise to the attention, warning users to take their spit-swapping off the most public areas of the interwebs so they don't get themselves into too much trouble:
Warning. The mailing of infectious items, such as lollipops, rags, etc., is a federal offense. This page is not private and can been seen by members and non members alike. You may post on the page that you have the pox and are willing to share but please keep your specifics in private messages between members. We are all intelligent adults but these guidelines will help protect your privacy. If you'd like to go back and delete your posts about mailing, feel free to do so.
So the scariest part of this whole thing is that the feds might come down on them? NOT that they're willing to take a complete stranger's word that the lollipop comes from a kid with chicken pox, not arsenic or ... I don't know ... polonium-210? People who throw standard chicken pox parties ignore the American Academy of Pediatrics' warning that the risk of serious complications (yes, that includes DEATH) is too serious to engage in this tomfoolery. But at least that sector of the natural immunity crowd knows the enemy, so to speak, when their kid shares a sucker with the sick kid from next door.
As one of those moms who lectures my kid on not sharing a juice cup with the kid who sits beside her in the elementary school cafeteria -- who she sees every day -- this makes me want to grab the can of Lysol and start spraying. EVERYTHING. If someone's willing to skirt federal regulations on mail order diseases, you can bet your sweet bippy they're not exactly trustworthy.
Would you chance some stranger sending your kid something truly creepy just to avoid vaccines?
Image via ollesvensson/Flickr
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