I have a 2 year old with a Primary Immune Deficiency (T-cell deficit) stemming from his genetic syndrome (a deletion on his 22nd chromosome, called Velocardiofacial Syndrome or DiGeorge Syndrome). He is not vaccinated.
His overall health is *much* better than expected considering his syndrome and the extent of his immune deficiency, plus all his underlying "other" medical issues (airway malformation, swallowing disorder, general hypotonia, food allergies, chronic "failure to thrive", etc). The last time we saw his Infectious Disease specialist he brought in a group of med students/interns and said "this baby's lab work suggests a very sickly child, however he continues to thrive and has only had relatively minor illnesses." They all gawked at him and his labs, and I preached to them about breastfeeding, natural foods, and an intact immune system.
ANYWAY...he starts a special needs preschool this fall, 4 days a week, 3 hours a day. He's been going to this school for a year and a half for his various therapies, but now he'll be picked up by a bus, in a classroom with a bunch of other 2 year olds, sharing toys, snacks, etc.
This makes me nervous for all kinds of reasons, and of course illness is a concern, but another concern I have is the other kids getting live vaccines and shedding. All the other kids will also be 2, so I thought that this wasn't somthing I had to worry about until his 4 year old year when the rest of the kids get CP and MMR boosters. But I just realized that 2 year olds qualify for FluMist, and if the new H1N1 vaccine is released as a Mist, no doubt some of the kids will get that one, as well. And there could very well be kids on delayed or "catch up" schedules because of their various health issues, so it's possible that some may be getting their first doses of CP or MMR as well.
How long do they shed for? And how is it shed...through all secretions, or just through the stool? (Rota is shed through stool, right?)
Despite how overall healthy he is, he is still a sick kid often. He's had numerous hospitalizations (pneumonias, UTI, rotavirus, RSV, ear infections that got out of control, etc) It's just much LESS than what would be expected. He'll still be breastfed, and in fact I have a new baby coming in September, so he'll have LOTS of breastmilk available for him then (including some colustrum that I'm going to pump off specifically to give to him, I might even freeze some to give to him over the winter) And of course we'll continue our other immune-boosting ways we've learned (mostly through a healthy diet and a few supplements).
The school has no issue with me not vaccinating him, so that's not a problem, it's just that I'm worrying about vaccines shedding around him.
His overall health is *much* better than expected considering his syndrome and the extent of his immune deficiency, plus all his underlying "other" medical issues (airway malformation, swallowing disorder, general hypotonia, food allergies, chronic "failure to thrive", etc). The last time we saw his Infectious Disease specialist he brought in a group of med students/interns and said "this baby's lab work suggests a very sickly child, however he continues to thrive and has only had relatively minor illnesses." They all gawked at him and his labs, and I preached to them about breastfeeding, natural foods, and an intact immune system.
ANYWAY...he starts a special needs preschool this fall, 4 days a week, 3 hours a day. He's been going to this school for a year and a half for his various therapies, but now he'll be picked up by a bus, in a classroom with a bunch of other 2 year olds, sharing toys, snacks, etc.
This makes me nervous for all kinds of reasons, and of course illness is a concern, but another concern I have is the other kids getting live vaccines and shedding. All the other kids will also be 2, so I thought that this wasn't somthing I had to worry about until his 4 year old year when the rest of the kids get CP and MMR boosters. But I just realized that 2 year olds qualify for FluMist, and if the new H1N1 vaccine is released as a Mist, no doubt some of the kids will get that one, as well. And there could very well be kids on delayed or "catch up" schedules because of their various health issues, so it's possible that some may be getting their first doses of CP or MMR as well.
How long do they shed for? And how is it shed...through all secretions, or just through the stool? (Rota is shed through stool, right?)
Despite how overall healthy he is, he is still a sick kid often. He's had numerous hospitalizations (pneumonias, UTI, rotavirus, RSV, ear infections that got out of control, etc) It's just much LESS than what would be expected. He'll still be breastfed, and in fact I have a new baby coming in September, so he'll have LOTS of breastmilk available for him then (including some colustrum that I'm going to pump off specifically to give to him, I might even freeze some to give to him over the winter) And of course we'll continue our other immune-boosting ways we've learned (mostly through a healthy diet and a few supplements).
The school has no issue with me not vaccinating him, so that's not a problem, it's just that I'm worrying about vaccines shedding around him.
