Stories of the pre-vaccine days

Nurses COVID

Published

I decided to start a new thread to show evidence or stories of just how serious these illnesses can be

And to anyone who disputes the severity of just how serious these well documented illnesses and complications of them are, I would seriously suggest reviewing some of your science courses

From another board I was reading.....

Obviously you are not of the generation of those of us who suffered through these illnesses. We ALL had measles, mumps, chicken pox. Oh, and let's not forget polio. Even an ear infection could result in complications. With the mumps you think you are choking to death. Oh yeah, testicular mumps can cause sterilization. The chicken pox left scars. But with the measles the scariest part was the high fever. I remember that illness in a dreamlike state. I remember the doctor making the house calls, my parents bathing me in alcohol to try and get the fever down. My mom told me I was delirious. Now picture that times the eight kids that were in our family.

Of course, the problem with the high fever is that it can lead to convulsions and other serious complications. I had an older cousin who got the measles at age 16. Her complications led to such severe brain damage that she was left with the mind of a two year old. She spent the rest of her life in an institution.

Because I was curious, I pulled out my Kindergarten and first grade report cards. I was absent 22 days in Kindergarten and 30 days in first grade. I remember as these illnesses would go like wildfire through the classrooms there would be 8 - 10 kids gone at a time. Pretty hard for a teacher to teach when kids are out for long periods at a time.

You can bet that when these vaccines became available our parents got us vaccinated. The Polio vaccine didn't become available until 1963. They did mass community vaccines for that. I remember going to **** School in ***** and standing in long, long lines of people waiting to get it. It was an oral vaccine and I remember they put it in sugar cubes.

My grandmother got diphtheria along with her 6 siblings. The 9-month-old baby died. They were well-to-do and lived near San Francisco, so it wasn't like they were without resources.

My mother (a nurse, incidentally) was somewhat suspicious of vaccines and only got us ones deemed necessary. Rotavirus didn't make the cut. I got it when I was 16 and was so dehydrated I needed to be hospitalized. I think it was for two days, but I'm not even sure because I was in and out. This would have been about 2003. A seemingly minor illness can still wreak a lot of havoc. And 16-year-olds just love having no control of their bowels that are shooting out water so devoid of other material you could put it in a water bottle and no one would be the wiser.

My grandmother got diphtheria along with her 6 siblings. The 9-month-old baby died. They were well-to-do and lived near San Francisco, so it wasn't like they were without resources.

My mother (a nurse, incidentally) was somewhat suspicious of vaccines and only got us ones deemed necessary. Rotavirus didn't make the cut. I got it when I was 16 and was so dehydrated I needed to be hospitalized. I think it was for two days, but I'm not even sure because I was in and out. This would have been about 2003. A seemingly minor illness can still wreak a lot of havoc. And 16-year-olds just love having no control of their bowels that are shooting out water so devoid of other material you could put it in a water bottle and no one would be the wiser.

OMG Shelby, didya' have to?!:***: LOL, what an image.

OMG Shelby, didya' have to?!:***: LOL, what an image.

Ha, I try.

I can see how someone unfamiliar with it might read about it and think it's just a little stomach bug. I wanted to make it clear that it's much more dramatic than that!

Also I just went back to read the rest of this thread and oh boy. I am thoroughly scared now. Along with rotavirus I didn't ever receive varicella or meningitis. Gonna do that now, and do a blood titer on the other stuff while I'm at it. I am a student and while I've done some reading up on the various diseases, I was not thoroughly aware of the impact some of these diseases could have. Chicken pox encephalitis? Holy moly, I had not heard of that.

Ha, I try.

I can see how someone unfamiliar with it might read about it and think it's just a little stomach bug. I wanted to make it clear that it's much more dramatic than that!

Also I just went back to read the rest of this thread and oh boy. I am thoroughly scared now. Along with rotavirus I didn't ever receive varicella or meningitis. Gonna do that now, and do a blood titer on the other stuff while I'm at it. I am a student and while I've done some reading up on the various diseases, I was not thoroughly aware of the impact some of these diseases could have. Chicken pox encephalitis? Holy moly, I had not heard of that.

The meningitis one is a BIGGIE. This thing gets going at colleges from time to time and it's very scary. Think Disseminated Intravascular Coagulopathy. I had a patient with this complication, and it started with amputation of toes, then feet, then BKA, then fingers, etc. You see where I am going with this. This was a very young father of 2, and I will never forget him. I held his forearm (couldn't hold his hand) as he sobbed at the loss of his youthful vitality and, though thankful he survived when it looked like it wasn't going to happen, was mourning the fact that he would never run and throw the football to his sons. It was all I could do not to lose it with him.

PLEASE get the meningitis vaccine. My daughters had to get it to attend college, but of course they had already been vaccinated for it.

Meningococcal Vaccine (MPSV4, MCV4): Schedule and Side Effects

Specializes in critical care.
Actually, I don't know that the evidence bears this out. If left alone - which is best practice on any normal newborn cord - it will dry up and fall off in about a week or less. I've had babies whose moms were staying 4 days post c/s lose their cord stump before going home. There's no reason to think this would be any different for the whole cord. The parents keep the placenta in a bag close to baby and it dries up as well.

It's not for me but I know people who have done it and it's not as terrible as it's made to sound.

I just can't wrap my mind around it! I love the idea of encapsulation, I'm grossed out but can see the advantages to placenta fajitas, or however the kids are cooking it up nowadays, but keeping it attached totally grosses me out. No other animal in nature (that I know of) keeps the placenta attached. They all eat it. What benefit is there to keeping it attached? And what if you get a stubborn cord like my son did - stays on for two weeks? In a bag, no less. Wouldn't that keep the moisture in? Surely that starts to smell.......?

I try so hard not to judge. This, though, really grosses me out!

Can I hold your baby?

Sure! But be careful with the placenta.

😳

Specializes in hospice.
I'm grossed out but can see the advantages to placenta fajitas, or however the kids are cooking it up nowadays,

Can I hold your baby?

Sure! But be careful with the placenta.

😳

I love your posts ixchel. Usually good for a laugh. :)

And let me tell you I'm a homebirther, extended breastfeeder, and cosleeper, but lotus birth was too far even for me. Never considered eating any of my placentas either. Briefly thought about burying one under a tree but decided not to. I think placenta is just one of the more recent body parts to end up being subjected to magical thinking.

I can just see the anaerobic bacteria moseying up the umbilical cord and into the circulation of the newborn.

Isn't the (ostensible) 'moseying' of . . . whatever they think it is . . . up the desiccated, decomposing umbilical cord from the rotting placenta the idea for keeping it attached to the kid?

Would you have to keep the baby in the refrigerator to prevent the stink? Or keep the decomposing placenta on ice? I suppose you could rig up a fairly comfortable beer cooler with a hole drilled through the lid for the cord, but would you force the baby through the hole or the placenta? Do people really, honestly believe something will 'get' to the newborn through the collapsed umbilical cord? My my, I've never heard of this craziness before!

Specializes in critical care.
I love your posts ixchel. Usually good for a laugh. :)

And let me tell you I'm a homebirther, extended breastfeeder, and cosleeper, but lotus birth was too far even for me. Never considered eating any of my placentas either. Briefly thought about burying one under a tree but decided not to. I think placenta is just one of the more recent body parts to end up being subjected to magical thinking.

I'm telling you, I think we'd be bffs in a different life. ☺️

In my family we all got the chicken pox at the same time-made for some fun time off from school for my Mom. I've only had that and German Measles. I've had one sibling get the mumps-no one else did out of the 4 remaining kids. My brother and sister had the measles and my Mom said they were hallucinating.

I was born during the time when you had to get the smallpox vaccine.

I just watched this PBS Frontline show about vaccination. It is a follow-up to their previous Vaccine War show. It is showing tonight in my area on PBS (3/24/2105) but I just watched it online at the link below. Very good. Too bad the other anti-vaxx thread was closed.

The Vaccine War | FRONTLINE | PBS

Specializes in critical care.

I love that you've bumped this thread. ❤️

I love that you've bumped this thread. ❤️

I couldn't find another place to put this and didn't want to start a new thread! :cheeky:

This is a very good presentation. Well worth watching.

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