Rotavirus

[SunCB]

DD is now here and I was very much for delayed/selective/not vaxing but knowing that we are moving (not sure where just yet as DH has 2 offers in 2 very different states ~ MI & AL) and that my boys have tended to get ill during the winter months I am considering the Rotavirus. A few times for vacation or visiting my family out of state we have returned and ended up all ill so thinking ahead to a HUGE move for us if there is less of a chance DD get this I thought I would look into this one more as this one is recommended if you were to do it in the Vaccine Book. I only have till next Sat. to decide now plus to get an appt.

This was not around for my DS1, DS2 did not have bc he was not vaxed but now DD is almost 14 wks and I saw it has to be given by 14 wks 6 days for the 1st if you are to get it. Links, thoughts, etc would be appreciated but no meanness as I have done research already and just looking for more to either back my thoughts or tip me the other way given my situation.

Thanks, LM

[carriebft]

I didn't get this one for my older kids- it wasn't available and then had JUST come out- and they did get rotavirus, on an international trip of all possible situations (*smacks head*). It was pretty bad and we lost a lot of time with relatives and money and had the plane ride from you-know-where....but I still didn't give rotavirus to my youngest despite the experience.

At the time I made my decision with my youngest, we were still waiting on a few large post license studies, which have since come out. They look pretty OK with no intersussception (sp?) risk shown, which was the main reason the last vaccine was pulled off the market.

But I guess, despite all that, I still see it as a live, oral vaccine that has a lot of side effects that are just like the disease itself. It sheds in the baby's poop and can spread around the house. It also costs a lot (it wasn't covered by our insurance last I checked).

So, as of now, it's still off the list for us.

[ammiga]

Well, since one of the side effects of the rotavirus vax is catching rotavirus, it didn't seem like something to get dd. The biggest risk from rotavirus is dehydration from the diarrhea. Dd was bf and had no trouble nursing. I figured if she got it, she would just nurse her way through it with some stinky diapers. She didn't get it.

[SunCB]

Thanks. Yes, I am afraid it will come through the rest of the house if I get it which concerns me especially since DH will be taking a new job so it is not like we want him taking time off right away bc I have 3 ill kids and most likely myself too.

If DD were to get it then it would be through our county program as we qualify until DH takes the job so it would not cost us probably much if anything.

[maddymama]

HI,

Just wanted to put my two cents in....

DD1 (4 years old) just came home from the hospital.  She was hospitalized for dehydration from catching the rotavirus.  She got very dehydrated very quickly (within 12 hours from the first vomiting episode) and was on an IV for 48 hours. When we were in the hospital, 3 of the other 5 kids in the pediatric section were hosptialized due to dehydration from rotavirus, and one of them was a 7 month old who had not been vaccinated.  Judging from the nurses' discussion of it (our room was right near the station, I heard them discussing it during a shift change.... ) they didn't know if the 7 month old was going to make it.  I truly hope the baby is doing better.....

While you can help protect a baby who gets it by nursing, it's a bit harder to protect an older child who isn't nursing.  I had nursed DD1 for over 2 years, and felt helpless watching her suffer in the hosptial this week.  I wish the vaccine for it had been available when DD1 was little, and am happy that DD2 was fully vaccinated for it.  She hasn't gotten it yet, and hopefully won't have to go through what older sister went through. 

Vaccines are a tough decision for any parent to make, but this isn't necessarily a harmless bug that kids get.  It was and is pretty rough to deal with.

~maddymama

[JBaxter]

I have 4 boys.  The first 2 missed it because they were developing the first one... ( the one that killed like 9 babies from the intestine issues)  Ds3 missed it because the 1st one had been pulled.  I declined it with DS4 the risk of getting the disease from the vaccine was greater than I  wanted to take.   DS1 &2 were in daycare and didnt get rotovirus.  I will take my chances.  Yes there is a chance of deydration but thats what the hospital is for IF it gets to that point.  

[maddymama]

If you can get there and hooked up before the electrolytes are soo off they put your child into cardiac arrest.  Dehydration isn't a matter to be taken lightly, it can have very serious consequences.  When DD was admitted earlier this week there was a crash cart outside her room.  I thought it was always housed there, it was only later I realized they had moved it outside her room when we were admitted because they thought she had a chance of coding that first night.  SCARY.  And, we had her seen by a pediatrician/under medical care fairly quickly after her first vomiting episode.

Just my 2 cents.

~maddymama

 

Originally Posted by JBaxter 

  Yes there is a chance of deydration but thats what the hospital is for IF it gets to that point.  

[2boyzmama]

2 of my 3 sons have had lab-confirmed rota.  For my oldest, it sucked, it was 2 days of near-constant vomiting (any time anything would go into his stomach, it came right back out) and then 8 days of the nastiest diarrhea I have ever seen/smelled.  He was one sick cookie.  I kept him hydrated by dropper fulls of diluted gatorade between vomiting episodes.  He was completely lethargic the first two days, then started perking up slowly after that.  It was by far the worst illness he's had.  

My second son has multiple medical issues, and ended up hospitalized for a week with rota.  Same thing, constant vomiting for 2 days followed by diarrhea (nasty, nasty diarrhea)  He lost 10% of his body weight in the first 36 hours (and was already very underweight)  It ended up taking him months to regain that weight.  It was 2 weeks before he would eat a full meal again.  He was still breastfeeding and thankfully breastmilk stayed down when nothing else would.  The hospitalization was mainly a precaution because of his other medical issues, if he was a "normal" kid he probably would have been rehydrated in the ER, perhaps kept overnight, then released to ride out the illness at home.  If he had had a few extra pounds on him at the start of the illness, he probably wouldn't have been hospitalized in the first place.

That being said...I did NOT get my youngest that vaccine.  In this country, except in the most extreme cases, it is almost always possible to get your child to a hospital if they become truly dehydrated.  If you know how to work with a child to keep them hydrated (the dropper, for example, vs a cup; I literally put drops at a time in his mouth every 10 minutes for hours) then the chances of anything serious happening to your child are miniscule and I believe the risks of the vaccine outweigh the risks of even severe illness as long as you know how to manage it.  

[raelize]

i vax and i DO NOT give rota vax to my kids. they have had 2 many problems that i don't think they have cleared up yet.  both my kids have bf into pre-school age and breastmilk provides a lot of protection against it.  in fact, a bf kid has less chances of getting it than a fully vaxed formula fed kid.  as the pp said, the biggest issue is dehydration and you can get to a hospital in time for an IV.  even my pro-vax ped reccomends NOT giving the rotavirus vax.