someone please calm me and strengthen my resolve!

[DivineMrsM]

we're going to Mexico in February. i have 2 boys, one 2.5yo and a 2mo. my 2.5 yo is vaxed only to 6mths, so he didn't get any of the MMRs. someone told me that if we are going to Mexico, we really better be up-to-date on the vaxes. i went looking, and i came across this info about the vaxes travellers need to have to go to Mexico. Here

but i had looked it up before and i thought i saw that Mexico had one of the highest vax rates, just as high as us. so there shouldn't be anything for him to catch, no? well, no bigger risk than catching something at home.

would you go and get your kids vaxed for a trip on a resort in the Mayan Riviera?

[Magali]

I wouldn't go ahead and get vaxed for travel to Mexico. But, just because a country has high vax rates doesn't mean that there is nothing to be caught. I think you need to be prepared to deal with vpd's no matter where you are.

[ammiga]

I wouldn't vax for a trip to Mexico. I've been to Mexico several times and the only thing that has made anyone in my family sick is the food. I think someone in my family has gotten food poisoning on every trip (my family owns a timeshare there). But nothing that is vpd, and nothing that would ever make me think twice about vaxing.

I think the best way to stop questioning whether or not to vax when a specific situation comes up is to think about why you decided to not vax. Then think of how a vacation to Mexico impacts both the long and short term reasons that helped you to make your decision in the first place.

[DivineMrsM]

that's what i mean. that we're really at no bigger risk in Mexico than we are in my backyard, right?

and i know why i don't vax. and i believe in my decision. just SOMETIMES i get nervous. but that's why i come here. to get a nice dose of reality.

thank you!!

[Otto]

Originally Posted by ammiga

I wouldn't vax for a trip to Mexico. I've been to Mexico several times and the only thing that has made anyone in my family sick is the food.

Hep A on line 2. I'd at least think about it (I suppose the immunoglobulin, given the time frame) or keep in mind the mantra "boil it, cook it, peel it, or forget it."

[Gitti]

Originally Posted by DivineMrsM

that's what i mean. that we're really at no bigger risk in Mexico than we are in my backyard, right?

Correct!

Keep reminding yourself of that fact.

[anj_rn]

I live in Texas, and we have so much back and forth from the border there might as well not be one. With that being said, if you went for any vaxes, I would get Hep A.

[DivineMrsM]

my husband and my 2yo are getting the Hep. i can't as i am breastfeeding. but i'm okay with my son getting that vax as there is an actual risk of him getting hep. so that one i'm cool with. the rest, not so much.

[Gitti]

Your 2 yr. old is getting Hepatitis?

But that is a sexually transfered disease, or you can get it from drug/needle use.

How is a 2 yo in danger of getting Hepatitis???

[Addy's Mom]

Originally Posted by Gitti

Your 2 yr. old is getting Hepatitis?

But that is a sexually transfered disease, or you can get it from drug/needle use.

How is a 2 yo in danger of getting Hepatitis???

Hep A is also transmitted through the fecal-oral route -- contaminated food, water, utensils, etc. Definitely something to be aware of in a developing country.

[stiss]

Originally Posted by Gitti

Your 2 yr. old is getting Hepatitis?

But that is a sexually transfered disease, or you can get it from drug/needle use.

How is a 2 yo in danger of getting Hepatitis???

That would be Hep B, C, and D. Hep A is not the same thing at all (or Hep E, for that matter.)

Edited to add that Addy's mom answered this question better than I, heh heh.

[Gitti]

double post

[Gitti]

Originally Posted by DivineMrsM

my husband and my 2yo are getting the Hep. i can't as i am breastfeeding. but i'm okay with my son getting that vax as there is an actual risk of him getting hep. so that one i'm cool with. the rest, not so much.

She did not say which Hepatitis vaccine either one is getting.

Since her dh is getting the "Hep." Vaccine (plus she would consider herself a candidate, if she were not nursing), I assume that she meant Hepatitis B.

They certainly wouldn't be getting the Hepatitis A vax.

[FernG]

Have you read about the normal course of the disease hep a in children? I was under the impression that it is not serious in childhood (although it would be annoying on vacation) and that children are vaccinated to protect adults who may not have immunity.

Mayo Clinc on hep a.

[Addy's Mom]

Originally Posted by Gitti

She did not say which Hepatitis vaccine either one is getting.

Since her dh is getting the "Hep." Vaccine (plus she would consider herself a candidate, if she were not nursing), I assume that she meant Hepatitis B.

They certainly wouldn't be getting the Hepatitis A vax.

I think she did mean Hep A -- it's one of the most common travel-related illnesses and therefore one of the most commonly recommended vaxes. Although I still don't think Hep A is that much of a risk if you are staying in modern facilities and taking the normal food/water precautions.

[Turquesa]

The World Health Organization has identified Mexico as an at-risk nation for Hep A.

As PP mentioned, vaccination isn't necessarily the answer. I traveled to Mexico frequently before the Hep A vax was pushed, and the commonsense precaution was to stick with bottled water and even avoid the water-based paletas, or popsicles sold by street vendors. The ice cream based ones are fine, (unless you are boycotting Nestle, the corporation that basically runs the country. But I digress. ) You should also avoid the shellfish in case it isn't thoroughly cooked, and any leafy green lettuces.

Apart from Hep A, Mexico follows the CDC guidelines to the letter.

And finally, according to a very "mainstream" tourist site:

Unless you plan to travel off the beaten track, for example, take jungle tours, or plan to travel in rural and/or remote areas of Mexico, or places that are not well established, the likelihood is, you won't need to immunize yourself.

[DivineMrsM]

sorry, i meant that he is getting the twinrix shot. i know that he likely wouldn't get hep a but i don't want to risk it. the is a risk since we will be leaving the resort. and swimming in the ocean.

[ammiga]

We always leave the resort and swim in the ocean and no one in my family has received the Hep A vax (and dh and I are the only non-vaxers).

Like I said in my first post, it is usually best to figure out why you don't vax when making these decisions... we don't see the point in vaxing for every "coulda woulda might happen". It's ok with us if we get a little sick, we have faith that we will get better. I realize that not everyone thinks this way, but we find great comfort in having faith in our bodies and not on the chemicals we inject into them. If you were not vaxing because you felt like you were living in a safe bubble in this country, I can understand why you might change your mind if you traveled. It all goes back to the original reason for not vaxing, and then going from there.

[xmasbaby7]

The Mayan Riviera isn't exactly indicative of the whole country's medical risks either. The area is extremely Americanized. There is a hospital specifically to serve American tourists and timeshare owners that my friend had to have a preemie c-section at. The care was outstanding.

There is absolutely zero risk to me worth any vaccination.

Vaccines, seem to me, to weaken a persons gut flora, so they will only make your family more vulnerable to the digestive upsets that come with being in Mexico.