News 12 at 6 o'clock / Monday, Nov. 21, 2011

AUGUSTA, S.C. -- A quick search on Facebook reveals pages of pox party information sites.

One parent posts, "I wish I could find a Pox Party!!!" Another asks, "Would like to find one in South Georgia or Tallahassee, Fl. We are in the Bainbridge, GA area."

Parents on these websites are looking for pox parties where they can intentionally expose their children to chickenpox. Some parents are even looking for lollipops laced for the virus.

"I think it's kind of risky, especially now days you can't trust anybody, said Christian Dowdy, whose little girls have had the chickenpox vaccine.

Some parents are suspicious of it and turn to what they believe is a more natural way of infecting their children

Dr. Debbie Harris warns a risk is involved anytime your child is exposed to chickenpox, let alone with pox lollipops.

"You don't know where its coming from, you don't know who made it, you don't know what other ingredients are in it. I'm a parent also and I would want to know what I am putting in my child," she said. "Chickenpox is one of those diseases that you can have some very bad outcomes and as a parent you don't know if your child is going to have one of those bad outcomes."

Mailing any virus through the mail is considered to be illegal.

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