what? Is this true?

[suddenlyamama]

Hi new mom here, deciding whether to selective vax or none at all.
Read this on the FDA site:
"Without the vaccine, rotavirus infects over 95% of children in the United States by their 5th birthday."

Has anyone's child had rotavirus? How was it treated? I mean, have I had it? Is it not that big of deal?

Thanks

[SanJosemama]

I'm assuming my unvaccinated kids have had rotavirus, just because it is so common in unvaccinated kids. They've had diarrhea a few times, so probably one of those times was rotavirus. The only problem that occasionally happens (as with any diarrhea) is dehydration. Dehydration is prevented by adequate fluid intake, which should be no problem for breastfeeding babies. And even the vast majority of formula fed babies (in developed countries) are totally fine and require no treatment at all. Rotavirus can be fatal for formula fed babies in Third World countries because they do not have clean water.

[tanyalynn]

Rotavirus is a very common cause of diarrheal illness, not the only one, but pretty common. I think DD had it around 14 mos old, the smell was pretty foul and it lasted a long time, and I did monitor her for dehydration. Mostly at this point, I remember her poor bottom being so red and irritated from that nasty, very frequent poop and so much wiping. In the US, since we have decent sanitation and good nutrition, it's a lot less serious than in third world nations where diarrhea kills a whole lot of kids.

I think the decision to put it on the regular schedule in the US was due to a combination of factors, partly the hospitalization costs for kids in the US who did become dehydrated, partly the cost of doctor visits and lost parental working hours in the US, and partly to reassure third world nations that it was safe and appropriate for their use, even though the risk/benefit equation is very, very different.

[MeepyCat]

You have probably had rotavirus. There's no way to tell unless you're currently ill, but it is really common. Rotavirus is one of those things that *sometimes* take a very serious course, but are usually just a nuisance.

My kids are vaccinated for rotavirus because they attend daycares, and I work, and in order to keep my work, I need them to keep attending daycare and to be bounced for diarrhea and vomiting as little as possible. Despite this, I am fairly confident that we've all had rotavirus: the vaccine isn't 100%, and we have certainly had our share of stomach bugs. One or another of those was probably rota.

[Devaskyla]

None of m kids have had anything remotely like the descriptions of Rotavirus. None have had the vax, either.

[CrazyCatLady]

Yeah my unvaxed dd had rotovirus when she was a toddler. Eight days of vomiting and the most foul smelling diarrhea ever imaginable. Poor thing was pretty miserable. But we all survived it and I still would never consider that vaccine for any future kids of mine. I'm not vaxed and I'm pretty sure I've never had rotovirus.

If nothing else, the side effects of the vax are often vomiting and/or diarrhea. Seems kind of pointless for a vax that isn't 100% guaranteed to work anyways.

[SuburbanHippie]

My kids have had it. It wasn't exactly a picnic, but it wasn't awful either. Just keeping them hydrated was key.

[MountainMamaGC]

Its a bad stomach bug and most hospitalizations are due to dehydration. After some IV fluids they tend to send you home.

[2boyzmama]

2 of my 3 have had lab-confirmed cases. One was hospitalized for a week (note, though, that he is special needs with a very long list of underlying medical issues that complicated things) It was 8 days of non-stop vomiting and diarrhea, with the most foul smell I have ever smelled. It was pretty awful, I'm not going to lie. I just laid them on towels and kept a spray bottle of water because the diaper rash was horrible by the end of the first day alone. Besides, the diarrhea was so frequent, we would have spent a fortune in disposable diapers.

So yes, my kids got it, I expect my 3rd to get it at some point. It meant sick kid, no sleep, and lots of laundry, but it was no different than any other virus that causes vomiting/diarrhea (except that smell! And the length was longer than any other bug we've had)

Interestingly, when my second son got it (and was hospitalized), my first son, who had had it pretty badly two years before, also got sick. For a much shorter time (one day of vomiting, two days of diarrhea) but he definitely did get sick. It kind of surprised me, I thought that one exposure conferred immunity. My husband was feeling a little under the weather too, so it appeared to have effected him a bit.

[nicky85]

Gastroenteritis is often caused by rotavirus. When I was 21, I got gastroenteritis from my nieces who were vaccinated for rotavirus when I was visited for their birthday. (I was reading on wikipedia that gastroenteritis can also be caused by adenovirus and astrovirus though too.) My nieces got sick and gave it to everyone else. I was the only one hospitalized though. I was in the ER for a few hours fainting and throwing up with diarrhea and then was released home. I spent the next day recovering. 36 hours after my adventure in the hospital I aced a midterm for a capstone class I was taking. It was an adventure, but I came out just fine.

I have a six month old who hasn't been sick since he was released from the hospital at two weeks old after surgery for a birth defect. SanJosemama is right, the biggest threat with rotavirus is 3rd world formula fed babies; most other kids who aren't severely immunocompromised will be fine if they are well hydrated.

Incidentally, there have been some of rotavirus vaccine recalls lately. Pig virus dna was found in the Merck rotavirus vaccine. Two children died from and several more were hospitalized for severe bowel obstructions that developed after receiving the rotavirus vaccine. And MeepyCat is right, it's not 100% effective. Weighing the data, I've cast my lot in favor of risking the actual illness.

[nia82]

DS hasn't had it yet, jsut a question of time. We all had it, and thus we are all immune to it, the vaccine immunity will wear off, I'm sure. They don't even know yet when. Rotavirus, let's say for an old grandma in a home, can be pretty dangerous.

[EVC]

When dd was about a year old a "stomach flu" went around her daycare. It spread like wildfire and was truly awful for some kids. Almost everyone got it, and one girl in dd's room was hospitalized for dehydration. I suspect it was Rotovirus, but no one called it that, so who knows. Dd seems to have had a very mild form--she had diarrhea off and on for about three days. Other kids were out for a week or two. It was pretty nasty.

[ammiga]

Pretty sure dd had it when she turned 2. We see a very natural-minded DO, and called him when the diarrhea had gone on for 2 days. We described the symptoms to him (including the horrendous smell) and he said it was almost certainly rotavirus. He instructed us to keep dd home until there was no more loose stool for 48 hours, wash hands and the toilet after each use, and get dd electrolyte water (costs the same as any bottled water).

DD never threw-up, and she was ok to leave the house in less than a week. She maintained her appetite and good mood, and even managed to get to the toilet on time for the entire course of the bug.

It wasn't pleasant, but it wasn't awful.

[Angela512]

My oldest never got it, but my 2 younger ones did. It's definitely not a big deal as long as you keep an eye on things and make sure that the little one gets enough fluids. My kids got it while still EBF, so I wasn't too concerned with it. The older a child is when they get it (especially if they are not BF), the more important it is to get any and all kinds of liquids into them.

The vax is not 100% and it does shed (which means having your child vaxed and then taking them around in public is exposing everyone else).

[mama1803]

Originally Posted by Devaskyla

None of m kids have had anything remotely like the descriptions of Rotavirus. None have had the vax, either.

Same here.

[kittywitty]

I don't think my kids have ever had it, but with their food allergies, it's hard telling. I would assume not but if they did it certainly wasn't dangerous enough to warrant my attention or stress.

[Anastasiya]

Originally Posted by mama1803

Same here.

Same here as well. No vaxes, four kids, no rotavirus. No one's even ever had diarrhea.

[MissE]

My kids aren't vaxxed for rota and I don't think they've had it yet either. We did have our fair share of stomach bugs and it seems like the more you get, the more immune you get to it. My MIL and DH just had a bad bug a few weeks ago which lasted about three days. While DS compained about his belly hurting, he was playing in the pool just a little bit after that and me and DD didn't have anything whatsoever.

[japonica]

My kids haven't had anything like that either. Neither are vaxed for rota. My DD had her first GI bug this year at 5.5 years old, but it was just two days, pretty short lived and not serious.

My DS hasn't had a GI bug or diarrhea...he had super mushy BMs from all the SA he got when he had pertussis, but no GI infections.

From what I've heard of how rota is described, I'm sure we'd know. I recall someone on this forum arguing with me one time that they must have had it and I didn't notice it but reading about days of horrendously stinky green diarrhea, it seems like something you'd remember (and want to forget!--LOL).

[Mosaic]

If you think you must have had rota at some point but aren't sure, then you probably didn't have it.

DD1 got it when she was about 5 months old... they didn't have the vax then, but I doubt we would have gotten it anyway. It was, in all honesty, one of our worst weekends ever. It took down DH and my MIL for about 4 days and they felt lousy for longer than that, and DD vomited just once and then had the most disgusting diapers for a week. She was sleepy, cranky, and uncomfortable. She was exclusively nursing, so we just nursed through it; though it was nasty and memorable, it never felt dangerous or scary. DD got through it better than DH and MIL. The problem was disinfecting my house every waking moment and stripping my diapers after it was all over.