A really good example of children in the USA still dying from childhood diseases.

Elvish, BSN, DNP, RN, NP · Dec 15, 2008

I have seen in my short time as a nurse:

- Adults nearly die from varicella

- My own son with what his PNP thinks was pertussis at 3mo old, obviously well before his DTaP series was complete. It is not pretty AT ALL!!!!!!!

- A two year old gasping for breath and sats in the toilet from the flu

That is enough to convince me that a) kids need to get varicella as kids and not as adults after their titers wane; and b) most of the rest of the vaxes are worth getting.

A friend of mine's adults son nearly died as a baby from Hib meningitis. This crap is out there and it is scary.

Eirene, ASN, RN · Dec 15, 2008

My daughter died of RSV which compromised her reconstructed heart. She was 5 months old.

If Synagis would have been available back then, I would have vaccinated her without thinking twice. It could have saved her life.

Pro-vac mom here.

Not_A_Hat_Person, RN · Dec 15, 2008

I am not a huge fan of vaccination for chicken pox but in cases where kids don't contract it then vaccination should be considered. In adults chicken pox can definitely be fatal as this case sadly showed.

Oh, yes. My husband is one of 9 kids, and the only one to avoid chicken pox. I convinced him to get vaccinated, and his HMO made him jump through hoops to get it. You'd think they would realize that vaccinating a man in his 40s against chicken pox is cheaper than treating the same man for complications of chicken pox. :banghead:

moongirl · Dec 15, 2008

my favorite is the mom who refuses vaccinations b/c "my children wont ever be in daycare and they are going to a private Christian School" ...

...so tempting to say " and when you go out in public they will be in a bubble??!??!"

not now, RN · Dec 15, 2008

My son will get all vaccinations except for varicella and HepB. If he doesn't get chicken pox by the time he's four then I'll vaccinate him. As far as HepB goes, my four month old isn't having sex or doing IV drugs, the vaccine can wait.

Many non-vaxers will argue that vaccines can trigger immune responces causing such things as Autism, Type 1 diabetes and Guillan-Barre because it effects and already weak immune system. They will frequently link the flu vaccine to neurological damage (incluing paralysis) and adults with Gullan-Barre. Some also argue that there is evidence supporting the theory that childhood diseases were on their way out before vaccinations were introduced.

They also believe that the diseases aren't as scary and fatal as the medical community make them out to be. Also they see themselves as more educated about vaccinations and diseases than the average parent. They research vaccinations extensively and feel the facts prove that vaccinations are a greater risk than the chance of contracting the disease itself.

As for non-vaxing parents suing doctors after their child is harmed by one of these diseases, many of them wil flatly refuse to sign the AAP waiver for refusing vaccinations. They will either request to use their own waiver or cross out parts of the AAP waiver. They believe that the AAP waiver takes all the blame off the MD and places it directly on them. I believe it's the line "I know the failure to follow recomendations about vaccination may endanger the health or life of my child and others with whom my child may come into contact" that they don't like.

I'm part of the Mothering message boards and their views regarding vaxing/delayed vaxing are interesting. There is actually a thread going now about what the most impressive arguments from pro vaccination parents which sucked up about ten minutes of my life as I had to read all 21 pages of it.

morte, LPN, LVN · Dec 15, 2008

not being a parent, and looking at this topic from a very cold scientist sort of point of view.......perhaps this is "mother natures" way of "thinning" the herd of the less healthy? as one poster commented a fair number of the deaths reported were of medically fragile children...

Aneroo, LPN · Dec 15, 2008

Many non-vaxers will argue that vaccines can trigger immune responces causing such things as Autism, Type 1 diabetes and Guillan-Barre because it effects and already weak immune system. They will frequently link the flu vaccine to neurological damage (incluing paralysis) and adults with Gullan-Barre. Some also argue that there is evidence supporting the theory that childhood diseases were on their way out before vaccinations were introduced.

The CDC actually recognizes a link between the flu vax and GB dz.

In 1976, vaccination with the swine flu vaccine was associated with getting GBS. Several studies have been done to evaluate if other flu vaccines since 1976 were associated with GBS. Only one of the studies showed an association. That study suggested that one person out of 1 million vaccinated persons may be at risk of GBS associated with the vaccine.

From: http://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/qa/gbs.htm

rph3664 · Dec 15, 2008

As I said, I am all for vaccinations. My child is totally up to date on everything, got everything on time, and I do advocate for vax's. I am a member of several local mom's groups, and do my best to make sure I can tell them as much as I can about myths and truth about vax's until I'm blue in the face (many of them didn't know we had an infant DIE here last year from pertussis).
Then the girls online who have children with autism start posting, and all I've said goes out the window. I know the autism/vaccination link is a big hot button that could quickly get heated, so I won't go there. But I step back, say my part, and respectfully disagree with these women, knowing we're all doing what we think is best for our children. I protect my child by making sure she and my family are vaccinated against illnesses. Beyond that, I can't protect her from what other people do. I can't protect her from a child with pertussis in Target, I can't further protect her from a car accident or a crazed person entering her daycare with a gun and starting shooting. I can do everything I can to protect her, but that's as far as it goes.

Here's something I've never seen addressed, here or anywhere else.

Where do all these women with autistic kids, especially the ones who are single, find the time to write BOOKS on all these message boards? I don't see much of that here, but on some other websites? Hoo-boy!

rph3664 · Dec 16, 2008

The CDC actually recognizes a link between the flu vax and GB dz.
From: http://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/qa/gbs.htm

That's true. Has anyone ever discovered what caused it?

Eirene, ASN, RN · Dec 16, 2008

Where do all these women with autistic kids, especially the ones who are single, find the time to write BOOKS on all these message boards? I don't see much of that here, but on some other websites? Hoo-boy!

Because they have around the clock nursing care paid by the tax dollars of the good ole US of A.

You see all of those people who adopt 10 special needs kids? It's all about the money and subsidies; plus they get full-time nursing care (I believe it is 16 hours a day). Plus, they do it out of the love for the children, which is great. Kids with special needs need homes with loving parents, not to be raised by nurses.

My little boy has cerebral palsy. We do not get any outside help; nor would we want it. We adopted him at birth.

I know I'm cold about this issue, but I get sick of seeing these moms at support groups passing judgement on us mothers who have to work, being anti-vac, and talk about a big ole conspiracy about the medical providers. I quit going a long time ago.

Edited to add: There are some children who DO need full-time nursing care. These little (and big) ones sincerely need the help for the survival of families. But in my experience, I've seen moms who were perfectly capable of raising their children (with autism, CP, DS) but have nursing care 16 hours a day.

I am all for getting help a few hours a week. Gosh knows sometimes I wish I had it. But 16 hours a day? C'mon.

I know of a family who has adopted six special needs kids from California. California's subsidy pays her anywhere from $1,000-$3,000 for EACH CHILD, plus they get nursing care for EACH CHILD. Neither her or her husband work and live high on the hog.

We get a subsidy from Ohio for our oldest son who is 16. He was adopted when he was 7-years old. It is $265 a month. It helped us tremendously. Now that I'm out of college, every single dime goes to his college fund.

rngolfer53 · Dec 16, 2008

My mother related a story when I was home last about her mother's recollections of pertussis. My mom had it when she was a toddler and the treatment in those days (late 1930s) was a mixture of molasses and kerosene... administered orally. My grandmother always said she would have preferred to take it herself than to give it to her girls, the coughing and vomiting were almost more than she could bear. Now whether and vomiting were disease related or cure related is not clear... but she remembered that even after her mind was mush.

Yikes:eek:

And I thought the old practice of "bleeding" was bad enough.

sharkdiver · Dec 16, 2008

Check the link in the OP - it turns out the cause of death was MRSA, not chicken pox as originally thought.