<p>I have had the kids vaccinated for everything known to man..they never got chicken pox and so they both received the vaccination; DD had to get a booster before college as nobody knows how long the CP vax lasts. </p>
<p>My mom is old enough to remember kids dying of measles, diphtheria and polio and I remember a rubella scare in elementary school--there was an outbreak and a pregnant teacher. Mom is a nurse and several years ago in a rural hospital had somebody with tetanus die on her, so she's a tad militant about vaccinations. </p>
<p>Not only should you get your kids vaccinated against meningitis, make sure they are up to date on MMR, DTP, chicken pox if they have not had the disease, and anything else you can think of. DD did Gardisil too.</p>
<p>My 3 oldest had the disease before the youngest was born. The youngest was vaccinated (once) at age 1. She then had the disease at age 11. It was NOT a mild case. Now the CDC is recommending 2 doses of the vaccine. Something to check.</p>
<p>This is such helpful information. Going to see if I can get my son (going to be a HS junior) vaccinated as soon as he gets back from camp (wish I'd done it before he left...).
Thanks for sharing.</p>
<p>Interesting about the chicken pox. I just received an email from Lancaster CTY, where my son is now, notifying parents that a student was diagnosed with chicken pox.</p>
<p>just to be on the other side- I will admit that my kids don't have many of these vaccines and I am hesitant about recommending that they do so.</p>
<p>whether it is good or bad science- my younger daughter started having what seemed to be autistic reactions to vaccines when she was a toddler and I stopped the routine administration of them. ( she has since gotten a few)</p>
<p>I am also allergic to mercury and had to stop wearing contacts for several years until thimerosal was replaced as the preservative in contact solution.
So since it is still being used as the preservative for vaccines, Im not too impressed with the multiple suggestions for babies these days</p>
<p>Ive tried to go through each vaccine individually, rather than have 28 different vaccines before 6. </p>
<p>emeraldkity is probably OK relying on herd immunity regarding her kids, but since the evidence of thimerisol/vaccine induced medical problems is equivocal at best, she's gambling her kids' health for what may be bogus science. </p>
<p>And, to correct a misleading statement, here's what the CDC has to say:
[quote]
At a glance: Thimerosal is a mercury-containing preservative used in some vaccines and other products since the 1930's. No harmful effects have been reported from thimerosal at doses used in vaccines, except for minor reactions like redness and swelling at the injection site. However, in July 1999, the Public Health Service (PHS) agencies, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), and vaccine manufacturers agreed that thimerosal should be reduced or eliminated in vaccines as a precautionary measure.Today, with the exception of some Influenza (flu) vaccines, none of the vaccines used in the U.S. to protect preschool children against 12 infectious diseases contain thimerosal as a preservative.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>A side note: not all vaccines are 100% effective. My own D is overseas this summer. Although she was vaccinated against typhoid, she was diagnosed with it today!</p>
<p>My daughter was immunized against Typhoid (injection) today in preparation for a trip to Ecuador/Galapagos. How is your daughter? Would you like to share where she traveled? when, how she was immunized?</p>
<p>I see that now that mercury has been reduced in most of the vaccines given to children 6 & younger.
That wasn't the case 11 years ago however, when my youngest was 6.</p>
<p>While some might not have a reaction- I didn't even know that thimerosal = mercury until I couldn't use any solution that contained it- so I do know that it can have a negative effect.</p>
<p>Newmassdad, sorry to hear about your D. Hope she is doing okay.</p>
<p>I do understand Emerald's stance. I have 2 cousins who have autistic kids, and as a result of concerns re: vaccine/autism links, many of my cousins have chosen not to vaccinate. I have vaccinated my kids, but I don't question their decisions not to do so. No, the link is not proven. However, if you live with autism, you may well be more inclined to NOT take any chances with anything that is considered a possible link. Although thimerosal is no longer used in vaccines, the government has allowed stock to be used up. There may still be some being used. It will be interesting to see if autism rates decline in the next 10 years. I don't know whether or not there is a link, but as I said, I do understand why some people are cautious. Fortunately, the herd immunity will most likely protect the relatively few who buck the vaccination trend.</p>
<p>Emerald, I also had trouble with thimerosal in contact solution. I had a bigger problem with solution containing hydrogen peroxide, though ... I actually burned my corneas (just last March, in fact) when it somehow failed to neutralize completely. And in doing so, I found a pain far worse than childbirth, I might add.</p>
<p>Actually typhoid is not a big deal unless (1) you hate doctors and wait too long or (2) don't have access to antibiotics.</p>
<p>She is in Bolivia. She has been feeling lousy for several days: fever last Thursday, some stomach cramping etc. but nothing too severe since Thursday when she was in bed for the day. she even went out Saturday night. But when she felt a bit worse Sunday, we convinced her to see a doctor. He used a 30 minute diagnostic to confirm. (and you would not believe the cost, about $50 including lab work, this for a quality western educated doc)</p>
<p>Anyway, from what I've read, things only start getting bad the second week with typhoid, and really nasty the third week. But anyone who would let themselves feel lousy for that long in a developing country is asking for trouble. </p>
<p>Treatment? one week course of standard antibiotics. In this case, cipro.</p>
<p>Final comment on autism (and other diseases of unknown etiology). It is indeed sad to see kids with such problems. And it may be human to grasp at whatever explanation one can. But it is also true that we humans suffer from a number of diseases for which we do not have an explanation. And this is particularly true for neurological syndromes. Polar disorder? Don't know. But don't blame the parents. and on and on.</p>
<p>Only those of us old enough to remember polio can appreciate the miracle of vaccines, I think. It was truly a different world back when polio, mumps, chicken pos, measles and many other diseases were common. I personally remember a brother hospitalized for over a month with meningitis. I remember waving to him from the parking lot up to his hospital room window.</p>
<p>I didn't say that I was against all vaccines- I am careful to take precautions about best response to vaccines however.
Made sure kids were healthy before getting them- no sniffles , rested and hydrated. I also gave extra vitamin C which may have helped their mild cases of chicken pox.
I don't know what I did to have have a mild case of Hep B- I didn't even know I had it!</p>
<p>I'm relieved that your daughter's situation is not serious, newmassdad, and I couldn't agree more with your comments about vaccines. Two of my uncles did a great deal of research on the geneology of our family, and they sent the family trees to everyone. What is really striking is the number of infants and children who died. A few generations ago, it was unusual for a family to be unaffected by childhood diseases.</p>
<p>a few generations ago, it was unusual for more than half the children to make it to adulthood. Vaccines did not make all the difference, of course. Sanitation, especially pure water and milk, did wonders, too. But vaccines are a big part, and far more important than our ubiquitious antibiotics, IMHO.</p>
<p>Not to freak out people, but it is VITAL that parents are aware...and I stress really aware of how fast meningitis can kill. My sister worked some years back with teens in a halfway house of sorts (throwaway kids who's parents were not interested in taking care of them...so sad!). Anyways, they lost a young teen within a matter of hours...literally hours...from the onset of the "flu-like" symptoms to his death. It was horrible for all involved in this young man's life.</p>
<p>Secondly, because many people have not received the chicken pox vaccine and somehow get through their elementary school years without contracting it, let me say this. My college roomie contracted chicken pox (God knows from where?) freshman year and it was not just some scabs. The virus can settle into your nervous system (think shingles) and wreak havoc. This young woman could not move without going into severe spasms. She was crawling to her bathroom, could not make it outside her dorm room door. All meals had to be brought up to her. Paramedics were called to take her to the hospital where she got help that she needed. She missed a lot of classes, not a good thing! Don't think it can't happen to your kid. Get them immunized!</p>
<p>Aren't vaccinations for chicken pox routine, and required for kids going to school? I was surprised to read in the email from CTY that some kids there had not been immunized. I thought they checked medical records - they required that immunization records be sent ahead of time.</p>
<p>The chicken pox vaccine is pretty new, so some children who were expected to have had the chicken pox (by actual exposure) due to their age but never got it also never got the vaccine, since they were at the age were they were assumed to have gotten the actual disease. I don't think that sentence made much sense...</p>