HiB! Yes or no? Give me everything you've got!

[BarnMomma]

Unvaxed DS (20 mo) was sick for the first time ever today. He had a 103.7 fever, he vomitted, and was completely lethargic all out of the blue. he was just fine yesterday.

We took him in to see our ped first thing and while our regular doc wasn't there, one of his partners (the one I like) was. I should mention that our peds are MDs but also use homepoathy, chinese medicine, and aacuptuncture. My main doc has always been supportive of our decision not to vax even though he recommends most vaxes, but on a differennt schedule.

Long story short, my son has an ear infection. But I was terrified. It was very stressful and I was relieved to hear ear infection and not whooping cough.

Anyway, then he glances at DS's chart and begins with the HiB pressure. He said the case of the 5 deaths in MI (I think? MO?) we're ALL in unvaccinated kids and that the news was wrong and that now there are cases in PA. He said the vax is a good one with no problems. He also went off a bit about wakefiled and MMR but I just said autism wasn't my main concern about vaxes.

Well, now what? If this guy was a run of the mill pediatrician I would say thanks, see ya, and go on with my day, but this guy really leans to the natural side of things. (we got garlic and kali for his ear infection) And prior to this morning I was quite OK with our decision to skip Hib. And just prior to this he was saying how he considers certain vaxes a waste of time so he's not hell bent on vaxing.

Anyway, what do you all think? I'd love to hear everything.

[nycmom18]

how does he *know* that the news was wrong? Anyway, my personal opinion is to not even take everything the news puts out so literally, it's always scued (sp?) one way, imo....

i believe you need to make your decision not from fear but from your own research. there are a bunch of threads just here on mdc recently about Hib which are quite helpful and come from different points of views.

[MamatoPeach]

Where can i find doctors like that?

[alegna]

Hib was a no here. It doesn't reduce overall meningitis cases due to serotype replacement. Hi strain *B* HAS gone down. Very effective there. Problem is that everything else is going up at the same time.

I think this type of bacterial vax is bad news in the big picture.

-Angela

[newyorkone]

HiB vaccine linked to increased Type 1 diabetes risk

Type 1 Diabetes Link

[Romana]

I thought they didn't do the HiB vaccine after 12 months or so . . . no?

[Pandme]

Originally Posted by Romana9+2

I thought they didn't do the HiB vaccine after 12 months or so . . . no?

Here in VA the law says any child up to 60 months of age should get either 2 or three doses.

[ammiga]

Every pedi has a "pet vaccine". Our pedi's was rotavirus. Many times it's dtap. Sounds like your pedi's is hib.

Hib was a big no in our family.

nak

[Mama2Kayla]

Originally Posted by BarnMomma

Long story short, my son has an ear infection. But I was terrified. It was very stressful and I was relieved to hear ear infection and not whooping cough.

Whooping cough doesn't present itself with those sort of symptoms. Researching each disease and treatment really made me feel a lot more confident in my choice not to vax. It takes a lot of the "what if's" out of the picture. Having an understanding of each disease and a plan of action in case of actual illness really helped, IMO.

[stacey05]

I go back and forth on this vaccine! My son is unvaccinated (very healthy...no illness yet) and is 19 mos. old. I have been researching this and the main thing I worry about is messing with his immune system. I know about serotype replacement and that a and f have gone up. My question is:

Is Hia and other hi strains going up ONLY in those vaccinated with hib...like because they messed with their natural "ecosystem"? Or is hia on the rise in the GENERAL population? If it is the general pop., then I was thinking wouldn't it be wise to at least have protection from ONE of them?? If the vaccine is a pretty safe vaccine and doesn't make the person more likely to get one of the other strains, or perhaps a different illness altogether, like pneumoccocal (sp?) Am I making any sense? I hope someone has some answers, because I would need to make a decision about this and have some peace. )

Stacey

[alegna]

Originally Posted by stacey05

I go back and forth on this vaccine! My son is unvaccinated (very healthy...no illness yet) and is 19 mos. old. I have been researching this and the main thing I worry about is messing with his immune system. I know about serotype replacement and that a and f have gone up. My question is:

Is Hia and other hi strains going up ONLY in those vaccinated with hib...like because they messed with their natural "ecosystem"? Or is hia on the rise in the GENERAL population? If it is the general pop., then I was thinking wouldn't it be wise to at least have protection from ONE of them?? If the vaccine is a pretty safe vaccine and doesn't make the person more likely to get one of the other strains, or perhaps a different illness altogether, like pneumoccocal (sp?) Am I making any sense? I hope someone has some answers, because I would need to make a decision about this and have some peace. )

Stacey

They appear to be on the rise in the whole population.

I am not considering it because (among other reasons) it has been *so* effective that there is almost no Hib left in circulation. Therefore the risk of being exposed is so very low it's not worth the risk of the vax IMO.

-Angela

[Aquafina]

Here in VA the law says any child up to 60 months of age should get either 2 or three doses.

HUH please tell me more? I thought after 15 months if you had not been vaxed you only needed one shot of hib vax?

So I am confused are the ones who decided to do the shot later not getting what we should with only one vax?

Also I thought that the CDC only recommends one shot of hib after 15 months,so why would VA do it Diffrently?

I am so so confused

[stacey05]

I got this from the vaccine risk awareness network and I thought it was interesting:

"Then the June, 1992 issue of Newsletter from the Journal of Pediatric Infectious Disease stated "The Perilous Pneumococcus. We have great concern for the increasing prevalence of relatively or absolutely penicillin resistant pneumococci coupled with the increased relative frequency of pneumococcal diseases as a result of universal Haemophilus vaccination."

There is more I want to share from this article, but the baby is awake and crying..I will try to post more later. Any thoughts on this? Seems to me that when you get rid of hib, not only have other hi strains stepped up, but perhaps you get more pneumococcal as well? Scary, since alot of these are antibiotic resistant.

Stacey

[stacey05]

Aquafina,

I think you only have to get one dose after 15 mos. But, I know that many people I have talked to (our immunization clinic, ped office) the people did NOT know this. They told me that the series is a 3 or 4 part series (depending on the brand) and you would have to start at the beginining. Everything I have read says that that is wrong. It just opened my eyes to the fact that these nurses and people who give these shots do not really know that much about them. (

Stacey

[luminesce]

Originally Posted by Aquafina

Also I thought that the CDC only recommends one shot of hib after 15 months,so why would VA do it Diffrently?

They don't:

http://www.vdh.virginia.gov/epidemio...quirements.htm

Haemophilus Influenzae Type b (Hib) Vaccine - This vaccine is required ONLY for children up to 60 months of age. A primary series consists of either 2 or 3 doses (depending on the manufacturer). However, the child’s current age and not the number of prior doses received govern the number of doses required. Unvaccinated children between the ages of 15 and 60 months are only required to have one dose of vaccine.

[Pandme]

Originally Posted by serenitii

They don't:

http://www.vdh.virginia.gov/epidemio...quirements.htm

Ah, good to know.