Would you take your child to a foreign country with no MMR vaccine?

[austinbabe]

My daughter is 2.5 years old and will be just turning 3 when we are tentatively travelling overseas.  The country we will visit does not have a major measles problem (the main one I'm nervous about) but it still exists there.  We will be staying there for at least 5 months or so.  I'm SO confused on wether or not to get her the MMR before we go.  If we weren't travelling overseas, I was going to get it for her at age 4 at the earliest.  Thing is we have alot of family overseas so eventual travel would have been inevitable anyway. 

Since most moms on this website seem to be fans of selective vax or no vax, I'm curious if any of you travel overseas with your children?  If you do, are you concerned about them not having the MMR? 

Thanks...

[Plaid Leopard]

None of my 4 children have had the MMR and we have been living in the UK, Germany, Italy and France for the past 9 years. There have been measles outbreaks in Germany and in the UK in the past few years, but I do not worry about it too much. My children are generally healthy and we have access to medical care if necessary.

[Emma Bryan Fuller]

We live in the Caribbean and our 2 yr old has not had the vax. She has traveled to the UK.

[LiLStar]

Absolutely!! And if we came across a measles outbreak while we were there, I'd be thrilled with my luck :) 

[grumpybear]

Yes. I have taken my kids to the Philippines multiple times sans MMR vax. My son just got his MMR vax last week. He will be turning 5 soon.

[austinbabe]

Interesting responses...

So you all think it's really not a big deal then?

LilStar: how come u say you'd be thrilled about an outbreak?

[scottishmommy]

We've taken DD to the UK twice without her MMR. I *think* the UK has had some outbreaks recently, but I'm not sure. Either way, I wasn't too concerned.

[austinbabe]

grumpybear: how come you finally decided to get him vaxed at age 5?

[austinbabe]

Thanks for the reply scottishmommy. please tell me why u weren't concerned?

& everybody else who replied, please share why you aren't worried about it....

thanks

[Mama2Kayla]

It would depend on the country and mainly what kind of medical care we would have access to.

[grumpybear]

Originally Posted by austinbabe 

grumpybear: how come you finally decided to get him vaxed at age 5?

We do vaccinate albeit on a very much delayed schedule. 5 was the year that I felt comfortable enough for him to get the vax. And maybe my judgment is clouded by my measles experience but growing up in the Philippines, almost everyone I knew got the measles, mumps and/or chickenpox at some point. My brother got mumps, I got measles and chickenpox. It really wasn't a big deal.

[treemom2]

My children have not had the MMR.  We lived in Japan for 5 years and now we're living in Belgium.  There have been some cases here in Belgium, but I'm not too concerned.  In fact, the MMR is a recommended vax here, but not a required vax.  The only required vax in Belgium is Polio.

[kavamamakava]

I lived in India as a child. I have not been vaccinated. The worst thing I contracted there was diarrhea and boils. I don't vaccinate my children.

My older two had measles in America when they were younger. One was 2 1/2 and the other was 10 months.  They were cranky and rashy and it was a few days of a lot of work with babies with fevers, but it's a virus. When I called their doc and told him my niece had a diagnosed case of measles and told him the symptoms my children had  he said there was no point bringing them to the office so that more people were exposed.  He said I was doing fine with pushing fluids, bathing them for rash relief and waiting it out.  However we were exposed to it, my niece actually brought it to India with her because 3 days after she arrived there she came down with it.  She had been babysitting for me a week or so before she left! 

I wouldn't vaccinate my child just because we are traveling. I do a lot to support my children's immune systems and don't feel that they are more likely to contract a disease in another country just because that country may have fewer vaccinated people. 

I do believe I have immunities to measles because that was looked at when I got bloodwork done during pregnancy. I've never had the disease or the vaccine.

[scottishmommy]

Originally Posted by austinbabe 

Thanks for the reply scottishmommy. please tell me why u weren't concerned?

& everybody else who replied, please share why you aren't worried about it....

thanks

Well I'm really spoiled because I have an insanely healthy kid. She's never been to the doctor except for well baby visits. If she had any health problems, I would probably get her vaxed earlier. Also, I was traveling with my dad who's a doctor and I feel like he would know if she needed medical care.

[nia82]

I took DS to Germany at 8 months and 2 years without any vaccines. I understand the worry about measles, it's the only one that worries me. However when you stay in Europe for so long and consider the MMR, in Europe there are several brands of measles only vaccines that you could get for you child if you want to. I'm not worried at all about rubella or mumps. We all had mumps as kids and I'm a 1982 kid! No big deal. It was great though not having to go to school for 2 weeks.

[mangosink0]

I personally wouldn't travel internationally without the MMR.  Almost all cases of measles in the U.S. are imported.  I vax my kids on a selective/delayed schedule.  I keep prolonging the MMR, 1st kid got it at 17 mos, 2nd kid at 3yrs, 3rd kid is 5 and will get it soon.  They all did just fine with it, I prolonged so long this time because I was pregnant or TTC for 2 years, and worried about the rubella shedding to me.