Pertussis Epidemic in Bay Area/CA? - Page 3

[YesandNo]

Fyrestorm thanks for the thorough response.

It sounds to me like the important steps to take are reminding everyone around infants to wash hands frequently, which we should be doing anyway but especially in outbreaks like this one. Sounds also like -- and this will probably make you want to bang your head against a wall, which is not my intent -- that there is a great need is for BOOSTERS for people who have been vaccinated. Every article I've read on the topic has said that the vaccine effective decreases over time. While I can believe that the vaccine can be transmitted by noninfected people, I also believe that minimizing spread / number of infected people is the best protection.

[Deborah]

YesandNo,
Well, boosters would be great, if the vaccine stopped or even slowed carriage or transmission. But the evidence for this is feeble at best. IMO the main thing the vaccine does is reduce the visible symptoms, which could actually result in more spread as people wouldn't know that they were sick with pertussis.

[LACandy]

I think we got it

Both myself and my son have been battling what I thought was Bronchitis for the last 2 weeks. After hearing about this "epidemic" and the fact that we were both sick with cold symptoms immediately before the coughing started. I hope this helps with some of your questions regarding vaccinations and effectiveness...
My son is 22 months and is vaccinated for Pertussis, I am sure that I am not. I cannot recall any sort of vaccination or booster in my memory for myself. My symptoms were pretty severe for a couple days, moments when I thought that the coughing might make me throw up, although I never did. My sons symptons are less severe then mine but he had several times of intense hacking each day when it was at its worst. It seems to be clearing out now. From this information I might gather that the vaccination does not stop transmission and maybe just makes the case less severe in the child, but I am still nursing too and in general my son is pretty healthly so maybe it just didnt work? I dont know, I just thought this information might be helpful to those of you discussing it....I am pro-choice on vaccinations by the way and not looking for any kind of argument, just to educate FYI we live in the South Bay/Redondo Beach area of Los Angeles, CA.

[Deborah]

Glad to hear that you are feeling better and it does sound as though you both have "it".

[amnesiac]

Please remember to remain focused on the issue as it pertains to vaccination & continue discussion regarding the illness itself, treatment, etc in Health & Healing.

[cocoanib]

Originally Posted by CellarDoor

What is SA? I'm freaking out here a bit b/c my 4.5 yo has a small cold and a nasty cough every once in awhile (worse at night). She also has a weird rash, so we're off to the doc tomorrow. I also have a 10 month old.

Any recs on prevention if it is pertussis?

Looks like your question was already answered, so I won't post again. Just wanted to say I hope you and your lo's stay healthy!

Originally Posted by anewmama

I am really wondering what studies have been done on allergies and rainfall/climate in relation to WC outbreaks. I go back and forth between the coast and Mariposa, just north of Fresno. I am not typically prone to allergies but I got hit this spring. It was awful. There were wildflowers everywhere. Flowers that locals say they have not seen in decades. We had cyclical rain and warm weather for a long time. Our property saw an explosion of flowers and grasses that we have never seen before.

I wonder if these conditions created a perfect opportunity for WC to flourish among adults with already weakened respiratory systems form the allergies and pollen and what not. From people I know in the Fresno area, it was really bad this spring. So I wonder if these infants were living in rural areas and exposed to more struggling adults making everyone more vulnerable.

Interesting. I sort of wondered the same thing about allergies. I start getting them right around this time and thought that's what was/is going on with dd as well.
Wonder if that makes us more vulnerable.

Originally Posted by LACandy

Both myself and my son have been battling what I thought was Bronchitis for the last 2 weeks. After hearing about this "epidemic" and the fact that we were both sick with cold symptoms immediately before the coughing started. I hope this helps with some of your questions regarding vaccinations and effectiveness...
My son is 22 months and is vaccinated for Pertussis, I am sure that I am not. I cannot recall any sort of vaccination or booster in my memory for myself. My symptoms were pretty severe for a couple days, moments when I thought that the coughing might make me throw up, although I never did. My sons symptons are less severe then mine but he had several times of intense hacking each day when it was at its worst. It seems to be clearing out now. From this information I might gather that the vaccination does not stop transmission and maybe just makes the case less severe in the child, but I am still nursing too and in general my son is pretty healthly so maybe it just didnt work? I dont know, I just thought this information might be helpful to those of you discussing it....I am pro-choice on vaccinations by the way and not looking for any kind of argument, just to educate FYI we live in the South Bay/Redondo Beach area of Los Angeles, CA.

Thanx for posting your story. It's so interesting to read who has it and how severe, vax/not vaxed.
Hope you and your lo get's well very soon!

[Mariposa40]

Hi folks, anxious new mom here. My son is 4 months old and not vaccinated. We haven't for sure made up our minds about vaccines, but we didn't want to rush into anything while we were deciding. But we're travelling to California (LA area) on Sunday, and I just heard about this epidemic. I need to be talked down from the ledge. Am I being incredibly stupid and careless to take my unvaccinated son into an epidemic area? Or should I take a deep breath, take normal precautions to try to keep him healthy, and plan to treat the pertussis should it become an issue? (Is it treatable, and how successful would treatment be in a 4 month old? ) Even if we did decide to vaccinate at this point, we A. couldn't start before our trip and B. he would be only partially vaccinated. In fact, even if we'd done the CDC schedule he's only be partially vaccinated. This could be our only chance for him to meet his great grandparents (my grandfather will be 102 this summer, so every time I see him could be the last time, and he's never met my son yet). So I obviously don't want to skip the trip, but I don't want to risk my son's health, either.

Advice from more experienced moms would be much appreciated.

Donna

[Chamomile Girl]

Well I figure this: There are just under 1000 confirmed cases in the entire state of California, which has a population of 36,961,664 as of Jul 2009. So I'm pretty sure that your son is statistically more likely to experience a plane crash than a case of pertussis.

That being said, its good to take precautions while traveling, like plenty of hand-washing and eat real foods and not crap.

[cocoanib]

Originally Posted by Mariposa40

Hi folks, anxious new mom here. My son is 4 months old and not vaccinated. We haven't for sure made up our minds about vaccines, but we didn't want to rush into anything while we were deciding. But we're travelling to California (LA area) on Sunday, and I just heard about this epidemic. I need to be talked down from the ledge. Am I being incredibly stupid and careless to take my unvaccinated son into an epidemic area? Or should I take a deep breath, take normal precautions to try to keep him healthy, and plan to treat the pertussis should it become an issue? (Is it treatable, and how successful would treatment be in a 4 month old? ) Even if we did decide to vaccinate at this point, we A. couldn't start before our trip and B. he would be only partially vaccinated. In fact, even if we'd done the CDC schedule he's only be partially vaccinated. This could be our only chance for him to meet his great grandparents (my grandfather will be 102 this summer, so every time I see him could be the last time, and he's never met my son yet). So I obviously don't want to skip the trip, but I don't want to risk my son's health, either.

Advice from more experienced moms would be much appreciated.

Donna

I'm not an experienced Mom(DD is 3.5 months), but I would do what's in bold.
The vax for Dtap is 2,4 and 6 motnhs, so If you started vax now, babes still wouldn't be fully vaxed. Also, as I'm sure you read, vaxed folks can still get it.
Just be extra vigilante. Hopefully you are breastfeeding, because that will help babes immune system as well.

[Mariposa40]

Yes, DS is exclusively breastfed, and has been very healthy so far, and we'll take all the normal precautions -- hand washing, getting him plenty of rest, eating good, healthy food, etc. Thank you, Chamomile girl, for the statistics, which do help to ease my mind.

Donna

[nicolebeth]

Here is Dr. Jay Gordon's take on the outbreak:

http://drjaygordon.com/vaccinations/...-and-more.html

I'm "pro-choice" on vaccines as well (like a pp said--thank you!), and so find Jay Gordon very helpful. He is actually recommending pertussis vaccine right now in his practice, but not for infants under 1 (we hadn't planned on giving any to our new DS) unless there are specific circumstances that indicate a need. (He didn't delineate those circumstances.)

Like Mariposa40, we'll be heading to California this summer. DH is not worried that DS2 (infant) will get pertussis. He will be about three months by the time we travel. I tend to worry anyway, so I will be worried! It doesn't seem like the one shot at two months would do much, however. If there was good evidence of any immunity after that shot, I'd consider it (but have to weight DS1s reaction to Dtap into the mix as well).

We think DD may have had pertussis at age 4 without the whoop--she coughed all night for four months (no fever except in the first few days, and it was like a cold, then), and a kid in her class had a confirmed case of pertussis prior to the start of school--the kid had abx, but now we're thinking she might have still been contagious. The CDC pink book suggests that there is immunity for up to but not more than 7 years (from infection). Anyway, I think we had it in our house already. DS1 and I both had bad coughs that winter, but it seemed too removed in time from DD's illness (unless there is a huge incubation period for pertussis).

LACandy: hope you're both feeling better soon!

[newmum35]

Originally Posted by mom0810

Here's a quote on the matter from Dr. Sheri Tenpenny today...

"Craziness. How to you like the WORDS chosen for this headline? I'm sure it was on the TV news too. And then they declair an epidemic over 5 deaths in the last six months. Pertussis is most serious in children under 3 months; this is really nothing new...and the statistic is pretty constant from year to year. Just a way to get the fear-drummer to whip up another round of hysteria. No on knows the Vitamin D3 stats of those hispanic babies...or anythign else about their health...and no one knows if what the out come would have been if they HAD been vaccinated. The "assumption" is that vaccines = no illness. Not true!"

Hmmm... does vitamin D status affect susceptibility to whooping cough? (I already know about D levels and influenza) - can anyone provide some links or know more?

[Deborah]

Yeah, I'm not sure the Vitamin D thing works. Because peak pertussis, I've been told, is in August in the Northern Hemisphere.

[newmum35]

Originally Posted by Deborah

Yeah, I'm not sure the Vitamin D thing works. Because peak pertussis, I've been told, is in August in the Northern Hemisphere.

Excellent point.

What about arsenic? Remember the swine flu outbreak in Mexico which proved to be more deadly than it turned out to be in other parts of the world? High arsenic in the area was suggested as one possibility (may have been on naturalnews site)

CA has high levels of arsenic in drinking water too right? Could this be playing a part maybe? (just wondering why the surge only in CA and not across the states) From what I read 2010 is expected to be another natural "peak" year for pertussis. So I would expect this to show up around the country and not just in CA right? Maybe it is, and CA is just getting the press at the moment.

Perhaps its not really that unusual after all.. they are just taking advantage of this "peak" year for propaganda? just throwing some thoughts around here

[amnesiac]

Please remember to remain focused on the issue as it pertains to vaccination & continue discussion regarding the illness itself, susceptibility, treatment, etc in Health & Healing.

[sophi4ka]

Originally Posted by ma2two

SA is sodium ascorbate. It is a type of vitamin C. For pertussis, it is taken several times per day day to bowel tolerance. Too much will cause diarrhea.

If it is pertussis, the doctor will notify the health department and prescribe antibiotics. The antibiotics actually make the illness worse, but they do reduce the time the person is contagious. I personally would never take them for pertussis or give them to my kids, but I would fill the prescription to keep the health department off my back.

Do you have a reference on what is the recommended dose of SA for babies, in case of pertussis?

Thanks
Sophie

[Marnica]

Originally Posted by sophi4ka

Do you have a reference on what is the recommended dose of SA for babies, in case of pertussis?

Thanks
Sophie

Since this thread needs to be about vaccinations and not general health advice I have PM's you the dosing recs for SA

[tayndrewsmama]

Originally Posted by Marnica

Since this thread needs to be about vaccinations and not general health advice I have PM's you the dosing recs for SA

Could you send it to me as well please?

[missbuns]

how does whooping cough begin? my DD started coughing last night and hasn't stopped, a dry cough. she has maybe a slightly runny nose.

[poppan]

WC starts with mild cold symptoms--then 1-2 weeks later (I think the majority in 7-10 days) the cough starts. It's worse at night (although that is also true of a regular cough) and it gets progressively worse with long coughing fits that can have that characteristic whoop (but milder cases might not have the whoop). I would start giving her a good amount of vitamin C--it helps with all kinds of colds and coughs, not just WC, so I think it's a good idea no matter what she has.