<p>My D is going away to college in August, and we are working down the "to do" list of shopping and paperwork. One undecided item is whether or not to get her the Meningitis Vaccine.</p>
<p>Opinions, please? </p>
<p>We vaccinated our children, but are not big fans of vaccines. We appreciate both sides of the medical spectrum, using chiropractic care as our first stop when we are sick. We also head to medical doctors when needed. We don't beg for antibiotics, but use them when the medical doctor convinces us they are necessary. We do not get yearly flu shots.</p>
<p>I felt the heartache when a co-worker's dear friend lost her freshman daughter to meningitis several years ago, so I know it can be devastating.</p>
<p>Any NON vaccine supporters out there want to pitch in with your opinions? Hoping for calm, logical, factual discussion. Please, no screaming or bashing each other!</p>
<p>Will she be allowed to move into college housing if she hasn’t received the vaccine? Some schools will not allow unvaccinated students in their housing, so you may be deciding between whether she lives in college housing or not.</p>
<p>Our kids schools required it in order to live in a dormitory. Period full stop. So there was no discussion.</p>
<p>We did have discussion about HPV and since my OB/GYN (who practices holistic medicine when she can, does not rush to prescribe if there is a less chemical option) advocated for it-- we did it.</p>
<p>You don’t need to be a fan of vaccines to realize that with hundreds of kids living under one roof, sharing bathrooms and sometimes touching or inadvertently using someone else’s towel, you need to vaccinate before living in a dormitory. Spend an overnight in a dorm and take note of the number of times kids are sharing body fluids (and not in a sexual way) and you will run to the doctor…</p>
<p>Living in crowded college housing with masses of other people, the way students do, is a lot like being on a cruise ship. Lots of people in a small space.</p>
<p>And you know what happens on cruise ships. Every now and then, they have outbreaks of illness that affect large numbers of passengers. An illness can sweep through a cruise ship like a flash flood sweeps through a valley.</p>
<p>The same kind of thing can happen in a college dorm. One person can have an illness – say, a stomach bug, and then the next day, 10 people have it. The day after that, 100 people have it. This happened in my son’s dorm during finals week one semester. All of a sudden, there were sick people all over the place, and TAs were working overtime to help kids reschedule their exams. </p>
<p>This sort of thing can happen with serious illnesses as well as minor ones. Meningitis is one of them.</p>
<p>Incidentally, for the same reason, you may want to advise your daughter to get a yearly flu shot while she’s in college, even if she wouldn’t ordinarily do it at home.</p>
<p>Think how you would feel if a meningitis outbreak happened in your kid’s dorm, that it was your kid’s roommate that was the source?
For peace of mind…
Get your kid vaccinated.</p>
<p>Yes, I have no patience with people who don’t get their kids vaccinated. My son’s school required it. I think it’s part of being responsible community members - you take care of your own kids for their sake plus the well-being of everyone else’s kids!</p>
<p>We’ve had a few threads about this. I’m a pediatrician, and though I support vaccination wholeheartedly I am not a zealot, and can work with families to adapt vaccine schedules or talk about which ones they are worried about. The meningococcal meningitis vaccine is one that I have no reservations about at all and cannot stress its importance enough. There are three main kinds of bacterial meningitis-- Haemophilus influenzae (the Hib vaccine has made that type almost extinct), Streptococcus pneumonia (Prevnar is decreasing its incidence quickly, as well as its most heinous lasting side effect, deafness), and Neisseria meningococcal meningitis. The last is the one that hits teens and young adults and can kill them in a day. We are moving to the day when bacterial meningitis will be a rarity-- how wonderful!</p>
<p>Get the vaccine. This is one you don’t want to mess with.</p>
<p>If you are still reluctantafter readingall this excellent advice, google the Michigan State meningitis death story. A boy was left to die in his dorm bed after becoming sick the day or two before–too heartbreaking. There will not be an adult around to monitor your son/daughter.</p>
<p>RAs are busy, roommates have their own schedules and responsibilities; by the time a student becomes very ill he may not be able to get himself to the health center.</p>
<p>We are careful consumers of heath care. Eat really well, try to do most things naturally. Do not get flu shots. (FTR I have never had the flu) </p>
<p>Daughter DID get the vaccine. It is the best defense against a truly horrible illness. It is, in my opinion, the best way to protect all the students living in close quarters.</p>
<p>My daughter also had the flu shot at school last spring because her school, and state, had one of the largest outbreaks ever. Many kids spent time in the hospital. There are times when it makes better sense to vaccinate. College is one of them in my book.</p>
<p>My daughter got the vaccine- it was required. Even if it was not required she would have gotten it. I also make her get the flu shot- when one kid in the dorm gets sick they all get sick. You would not believe how many phone calls I received during the first few months of school telling me how sick everyone on the floor was, including my daughter.</p>
<p>Yes, get the vaccine. Meningitis is horrible. If you’re lucky enough to survive the disease, it causes things like deafness. And because it initially looks like other diseases (flu, strep throat, etc.) often no medical attention is given until it’s too late. </p>
<p>As the parent of two deaf college students (deafened from birth), I know several kids who lost their hearing because of meningitis. Their parents were happy that their child walked away with “only” hearing loss and that they didn’t lose their child to it.</p>
<p>Not only should you get the vaccine but you should specifically request the Menactra meningitis vaccine. It’s a conjugate vaccine and is newer and provides better and longer-lasting immunity than does the old Menimmune polysaccharide vaccine. </p>
<p>Both are still on the market, so insist that your doc provide the Menactra.</p>
<p>This girl was a normal happy smart middle school student who’s life was turned upside-down my meningitis. Her survival was in question for weeks. She and her family went through h*ll. I worked at the school that she attended. I remember my church praying that they wouldn’t have to take her thumb. Having one thumb would make her ability to function on her own much easier. The following is from an article encouraging the vaccination before many schools required it.</p>
<p>"Faith Hoenstine of Imler, Pa., was 14 when she contracted bacterial meningitis. She thought she just had the flu, but her condition worsened and she spent six months in the hospital. Both of her legs above the knee, her left arm above the elbow and her fingers in her right hand were amputated.</p>
<p>“Don’t take a chance — get the vaccine,” urged Hoenstine, now 18 and a freshman at the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown, Pa. “If there’s anything you can do to prevent something from happening to yourself, why not do it?”"</p>
<p>My DS’s school only requires proof of 2 MMR vaccines…but he will be getting the meningitis vaccine. I don’t trust anyone in the dorm to look after him and I don’t think that he would even know what to look for. So he’ll get the shot and I’ll feel a lot better!</p>
<p>I can think of no pediatric office that would still be using Menomune, though maybe some Family Practice offices might be. Most peds offices use Menactra. There is also a newer vaccine, Menveo. </p>
<p>The worse night of my residency was watching a 4 year old die of meningococcal disease. Hopefully soon we will also vaccinate the younger kids (though incidence in that age group is lower).</p>
<p>I agree that OP’s D should get the vaccine, however those who think it’s required should check further on that to make sure. DD’s University requires EITHER the vaccine or signing a waiver.</p>