Flying with unvaccinated kids..

[GLYKERIA]

Hello everyone! I wanted some info on how many of you have flown with unvaxed kids. I have 3 year old twins and I was always against not vaxing, then when they were born I let everyone else’s opinion get to me and got them 2 shots at their 2 month visit (I guess I was delirious from the lack of sleep). After that day I felt so uneasy about letting them get vaxed and I told my husband and mother and everyone else that I was not ever doing that again, I was so upset for not sticking to my guns, but what was done was done. I thought that when they turned 2 that I would decide to start, but again, I was uncomfortable with the idea. Now here we are they are 3 and we are flying to Aruba next week, I am a little nervous about the flight, people are telling me that it’s dangerous for them to fly because of all the germs on the planes, my friend who works at the airline told me not to worry cause their air filtration system is amazing. I don’t know what to think or believe, I guess I just need some reassurance from people who have done it before. I would love any tips for the flight or the vacation on keeping them safe and healthy. Thanks guys for all your time!

[claddaghmom]

Huh it never even occurred to me. We'll be flying to Florida when DD is 11 months. And then a month after that we're going to celebrate our anniversary in Cozumel.

I don't know about Aruba...are you afraid there's dirty Arubians flying back home? Or are you afraid the newly vaxxed tourists have live viruses? Which live virus are you afraid of exactly?

ETA: it should be clear that my Arubian remark was sarcasm.

[japonica]

I've flown to Europe and to Australia via Asia with my unvaxed kids. No problems whatsoever. They fared better than we adults did--we caught colds. Just make sure to wash their hands before they eat...which will keep you busy as on some airlines they tend to feed you every 20 minutes...LOL.

[GLYKERIA]

claddaghmom - don't worry, I got the joke, lol...It's not Aruba I am really worried about, I guess it's the live Viruses, any or all of them. Mostly because we are flying with friends whose son is a month younger than my kids and they just pumped him full of vaxes in the past month so that he is caught up before his trip, I am not sure about shedding, how long it lasts, what kind of contact exactly passes it, I know poo does, but are there any other ways??? Thanks

japonica - Thanks for the info, I guess it makes me feel better that you have flown to places much more international with your kids and I am only flying to Aruba, which there will probably be mostly just U.S. tourists on my flight...I think I am a little worried cause they were not BF long enough and I am afraid their immunity is not what it would be, if I was able to BF longer.

[evenstarlight]

Just adding my positive experience.
I've flown from the UK to South Africa twice, once with dd when she was 4 months old and then when she was 14 month and back when she was 2 and 1/2.
I've also flown with her twice to the states both when she was under a year old.

She also spent time face to face and mixing with impoverished children with lots of runny noses and rumours of TB, and all sorts, and never got seriously ill.

She did catch Whooping Cough from my VAXED husband!!!! after he'd caught it from somewhere....however she got through it brilliantly.

But yes, planes have never worried me.

[claddaghmom]

Originally Posted by GLYKERIA

claddaghmom - don't worry, I got the joke, lol...It's not Aruba I am really worried about, I guess it's the live Viruses, any or all of them. Mostly because we are flying with friends whose son is a month younger than my kids and they just pumped him full of vaxes in the past month so that he is caught up before his trip, I am not sure about shedding, how long it lasts, what kind of contact exactly passes it, I know poo does, but are there any other ways??? Thanks

nak
Ok i'm glad it came across that way lol. i posted and read it and thought uhoh!

Yes, that does give more to take into consideration. I haven't studied shedding extensively, but IIRC I think it's the MMR that sheds for 3 months? OR was it the DTaP?

At any rate, I don't think the specific aspect of being in an airplane increases the risk for exposure. It might be conducive to creating a situation where you can be exposed. For example, if you both have to sit next to each other for several hours and can't get up or trade seats, then yes, the potential for saliva, particles from sputem and fecal sharing are increased. But that's the same anywhere. And even then, what is your actual risk of them contracting the disease, even if they theoretically come in contact with it?


hmmm lol I think I posed too many questions.

[laohaire]

For me, my decision to not vax or at least delay vaxxing my DD came as much from researching the diseases and finding them not nearly as scary as we all assumed, as from feeling that the vaccines themselves are dangerous or potentially dangerous.

Some diseases are worse than others, but even the scarier ones only have scary complications a minority of the time (and the chances of getting them in the first place also is often small).

So, I'm not afraid of my kid getting Hib or mumps or rubella. It's not that I don't believe she doesn't have any chance of getting these, she might, but I think the chances of her both getting such a disease AND it being a big deal is really tiny. Smaller than the chances of her having some adverse consequence of a vaccine.

Anyway, none of the above is intended to be an anti-vaccination argument, but just putting the decision you already made into perspective. Your kids might or might not catch a cold on the flight. I doubt they'll catch anything vaccine-preventable. And if they do, I seriously seriously doubt they'll have any long-term effects from it. And frankly, if they WERE vaccinated, they would not be 100% protected anyway.

[claddaghmom]

Originally Posted by laohaire

For me, my decision to not vax or at least delay vaxxing my DD came as much from researching the diseases and finding them not nearly as scary as we all assumed, as from feeling that the vaccines themselves are dangerous or potentially dangerous.

Some diseases are worse than others, but even the scarier ones only have scary complications a minority of the time (and the chances of getting them in the first place also is often small).

So, I'm not afraid of my kid getting Hib or mumps or rubella. It's not that I don't believe she doesn't have any chance of getting these, she might, but I think the chances of her both getting such a disease AND it being a big deal is really tiny. Smaller than the chances of her having some adverse consequence of a vaccine.

Anyway, none of the above is intended to be an anti-vaccination argument, but just putting the decision you already made into perspective. Your kids might or might not catch a cold on the flight. I doubt they'll catch anything vaccine-preventable. And if they do, I seriously seriously doubt they'll have any long-term effects from it. And frankly, if they WERE vaccinated, they would not be 100% protected anyway.

While ITA with all of the above, I think for me the only reason I would be worried is...well...you're going to Aruba! Who wants the mumps while in Aruba??

But otherwise great post! lol

[xmasbaby7]

Originally Posted by claddaghmom

While ITA with all of the above, I think for me the only reason I would be worried is...well...you're going to Aruba! Who wants the mumps while in Aruba??

But otherwise great post! lol

I think it is important to have on hand all those things you use to keep your kids healthy with you, because travel makes you more vulnerable to illness beyond air travel: sleep disruptions, inability to eat as well, etc.

I travel will flax oils, homeopathic basics like belladonna, calendula ointment, mullen garlic ear drops, and vitamin supplements and make my whole family take them while traveling.


Have a great time!

[sebarnes]

We've flown tons of times with both of our nonvaxed kids, and they've never gotten sick.

[blessedwithboys]

i've never taken my kids on a major flight, just from FL to NJ twice, but that was ds1 who was almost totally vax at that point. my ds2 is 100% unvax, but he's never flown. i am not afraid to, just too broke. LOL

OTOH, my friend has two totally unvax kiddos and goes back and forth between the states and the UK at least once a yr. i doubt she even gives it a second thought.

[claddaghmom]

Originally Posted by xmasbaby7

I think it is important to have on hand all those things you use to keep your kids healthy with you, because travel makes you more vulnerable to illness beyond air travel: sleep disruptions, inability to eat as well, etc.

I travel will flax oils, homeopathic basics like belladonna, calendula ointment, mullen garlic ear drops, and vitamin supplements and make my whole family take them while traveling.


Have a great time!

Another good point!

[GLYKERIA]

011302825091169

Thanks everyone you have all made more at ease about the flight, now how about the other little boy traveling with us??? Can anyone tell me about the shedding? I know he just received his MMR and I believe Varicella and prob a few others. My kids will be playing with him for 5 days straight, in the sand nonetheless which harbors bacteria like crazy and he is a very touchy feely kid he is always hugging and kissing my kids. So should I worry about the possibility of shedding?

xmasbaby7 - I am packing a bag with lots of their snacks, I am even packing 2 of the 2 lb bags of baby carrots and apples, lol.... to have with us there, cause the hotel food will not be too nutritious, I already opted out of the kids menu for the hotel cause I don't plan on having them eat hot dogs and grilled cheese, they can eat what we eat. I plan on taking an immunity booster with me, we use the Child Life First Defense and their multi with us. I am going to take your advice and take our flax oil, but won't it go bad out of the fridge?

[swissmom]

Hi, we have been traveling to Europe and back twice a year since DS has been 16 weeks old (he is now 2 1/2 yo). We've also been in the Caribbean twice. All those flights started in JFK or Newark by the way :-) I was only worried before our first flight since it was all new. My greatest fear was meningitis (for no particular reason, just my own paranoia), but my doctor said that a person with acute meningitis would feel far too sick to travel. Today I don't worry at all any more when entering a plane. I just make sure to pack my basic homeopathic remedies when we go on vacation in case he catches a bug, which could happen no matter where.

[Gitti]

My three unvaccinated grandchildren have been flying to Europe almost every summer. The youngest to fly was (I believe) 4 months. We never worried about any of that.

The human constitution of each individual does not change when it changes locations. It stays the same.

Of course as the environment around a child changes, for instance a completely foreign diet, sleeping in a strange bed, being around new people ... that does take some time to get used to. We see that when children first start school that they do seem to get a few colds.

I believe we are used to our own environment and live in a symbiotic way with "our" microbes. When we encounter "foreign" microbes it takes some time to become familiar. This does not seem to happen to every child and very few grown ups, but it does seem to happen.

Nothing to worry about imo, as soon as we are all well-met, things are back to normal.

[kawa kamuri]

not being vaccinated does not affect my life and the life of my children. we live life.

[mattemma04]

When my dd was 14mo the 2 of us flew from US to Turkey.3 planes each way and lay-overs. No issues or illness.A few drunk passengers and coughing kids seated next to and behind us.I did have a bad headache though and no meds for that long flight home. Prior to the trip there was a news story on plane germs.Seems they found feces on the headrests.You know people go then use your chair tops as they walk the aisle.Wonderful.I took wipes and wiped everything around us.Dd stayed in the carseat except for diaper changes.We survived 10 hour flights like this.Many people just let their kids run around the plane coughing and touching everything.Annoying when you are trying to keep yours in one place. The plane was no worse than a playground.

Wipes,some immue boosters,and lots of things to entertain.

[annjo]

Yup, wouldn't give it a second thought. We've flown many times w/our 2 totally unvaxed kids--most recently to Hawaii from the east coast. I can't say they've never been sick after being on a plane, but frankly I think of their unvaxed status as being a "strength" against most infections, rather than a weakness. I realize that this argument may not hold up in all situations. Have no fear! Just follow basic hygiene recommendations--hand washing!

[KayCSmommy]

My fiance is an airline pilot, and so we fly every where, my son just turned three years old last month and he has never had issues with flying. Never got sick from flying or had any other problems and he has flown at least once or more a month since he was a month old.

[GLYKERIA]

Thanks everyone! We are back from our trip! Aside from the basic drama of traveling with two 3yr olds our first plane trip was pretty uneventful (thank you Jesus) and I am more confident about flying with them again !!! Unfortunately, my son got coxsackie virus from the pool, he fought it pretty well though, no fever, just a couple of the pimples on his hands and by his mouth and I think he had some of the blisters in his mouth cause he said he hurt, but they went away by the end of the next day.

Thanks again ladies!