If you HAD to pick one

[eh bien]

I'm just wondering, if you had to pick one vaccine to give to your child/children, what would it be, and why?

[Bokonon]

It would really depend on how old my kids were and why they HAD to get one.  If they were teenagers and hadn't yet had chicken pox, then probably chicken pox.  As infants, maybe Hib or Pn.

[nia82]

infant HiB, toddler and older monovalent measles.

Why? HiB is scary. But I still don't vaccinate before 2 and only did so once and I'm on the fence on doing more or not. Measles is scary to me because my generation didn't have it and there is a lot of fear mongering about it, and it does get to me. I don't want the MMR though, but I do have access to a measles only shot. So I have a lot of going back and forth at all times.

[kathymuggle]

Teens.  Measles, mumps, rubella.  I have 2 girls and do not want them to get rubella when pregnant.

If they had a safe vaccine for pneumonia I would consider it for infants.  There is Prevnar - but I would have to do more research.  A quick google search was not re-assuring, but as we all know, research is more than a quick google search.   Rationale for consideration?  Pneumonia is fairly common and can be serious.

Edited by kathymuggle - 10/15/11 at 3:09pm

[miriam]

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Edited by miriam - 5/28/12 at 9:22pm

[eh bien]

I ask because my 15 month old DS was just diagnosed with pneumonia (via x-ray) and I've just started him on a course of antibiotics. My son has not had so much as tylenol so it was really difficult for me to consent to the xray and give him the antibiotics but I felt it was the best decision to make. This was the second time we were at the hospital in 2 weeks.

When DS gets sick (not often, and he's still bf) I start to get a little anxious about the thought of taking him to a doctor because he has not had any vaccines and I've not had the time to research or come up with an acceptable answer as to why he's not had any shots. I'm not comfortable making the decision to vax without proper information but I realize that choosing to not vax is a decision as well, and one that I can't comfortably back up at this point.

Roundabout way of saying I was hoping to get perspective on what disease people are most fearful of/which vaccine they'd actually consider so that I can start my research somewhere.

Thanks for all of the replies thus far.

[kathymuggle]

eh bien.....my youngest (8) has been chesty for years, and has had a couple of bouts of pneumonia.  It has lessened as she aged, thank goodness.  She has had too many xrays and rounds of antibiotics.   About 2 yrs ago a doctor prescribed an inhaler for use when she sounds rattly (first sign a chest cold may be settling in her lungs) and this has helped a lot. I am sure inhalers are not the best, but they beat doctor/hospital visits, xrays and rounds of antibiotics IMHO.  Something to consider if your child stays chesty.

I am sure it goes without saying, but no one should smoke near a chesty child.  

I am sure you have seen this, but just in case.....here is some light reading <grin> from MDC on prevnar and hib

http://www.mothering.com/community/f/114/hib-and-prevnar

[Mirzam]

Originally Posted by eh bien 

I ask because my 15 month old DS was just diagnosed with pneumonia (via x-ray) and I've just started him on a course of antibiotics. My son has not had so much as tylenol so it was really difficult for me to consent to the xray and give him the antibiotics but I felt it was the best decision to make. This was the second time we were at the hospital in 2 weeks.

When DS gets sick (not often, and he's still bf) I start to get a little anxious about the thought of taking him to a doctor because he has not had any vaccines and I've not had the time to research or come up with an acceptable answer as to why he's not had any shots. I'm not comfortable making the decision to vax without proper information but I realize that choosing to not vax is a decision as well, and one that I can't comfortably back up at this point.

Roundabout way of saying I was hoping to get perspective on what disease people are most fearful of/which vaccine they'd actually consider so that I can start my research somewhere.

Thanks for all of the replies thus far.

I am with Miriam, I would not give any vaccine, because they (IMO) always cause harm and never good, they create wounds in the body whatever the vaccine from which the organism then has to heal, hence an antibody response. A child recovering from pneumonia that has been given antibiotics doesn't need a further assault on their bodies in the form of a vaccine. If you child is getting "sick" often then you should look to healing their body so they can handle sickness without having to express symptoms, people call this boosting the immune system, but that really isn't how it works, but the result is the same I guess.

I understand why you are asking your question, because you hold the belief that vaccines actually work, so you would like to do a risk benefit analysis. Personally, I do not believe they work and I have no fear of any, and I mean any disease. I have seen personally how a body can heal from even diseases considered considered very serious and life threatening without any conventional medical intervention at all. FWIW, pneumonia is one of them.

[kathymuggle]

here is another thing we did (the cut and paste is from Dr. Sears) and it seemed to help:

Chest pounding (percussion) therapy - this is VERY IMPORTANT. Four to six times each day, take your child into the bathroom with the hot shower on and let him breathe the steam for 10 minutes. Use your cupped hand to firmly clap on your child's chest, concentrating on the area that the pneumonia is. Pound rapidly for one minute, then rest a minute, then continue again on and off for ten minutes. This will shake the mucus and pus pocket loose so your child can cough it up. Encourage coughing during this time.

I would encourage you to look up other ways of dealing with pneumonia as well.  Vit. C may be worth looking into.

[miriam]

. 

Edited by miriam - 5/27/12 at 8:53am

[japonica]

Originally Posted by kathymuggle 

here is another thing we did (the cut and paste is from Dr. Sears) and it seemed to help:

Chest pounding (percussion) therapy - this is VERY IMPORTANT. Four to six times each day, take your child into the bathroom with the hot shower on and let him breathe the steam for 10 minutes. Use your cupped hand to firmly clap on your child's chest, concentrating on the area that the pneumonia is. Pound rapidly for one minute, then rest a minute, then continue again on and off for ten minutes. This will shake the mucus and pus pocket loose so your child can cough it up. Encourage coughing during this time.

I would encourage you to look up other ways of dealing with pneumonia as well.  Vit. C may be worth looking into.

I was just going to add that I actually had a version of this therapy done by a physiotherapist at the hospital as an outpatient when I had double pneumonia at age 10. I don't recall much except that I thought it was funny that my mom would have to drive me 20 minutes away to the hospital a few times a week so some woman could pound on my back, but it did help...I'm here today. LOL.

[hildare]

to answer the original ?, tetanus.  which we are actually considering....

[lokidoki]

Originally Posted by hildare 

to answer the original ?, tetanus.  which we are actually considering....

Curious as to why? This has never been something that has concerned me. Hib and Prevnar I can understand ~ but tetanus isn't really deadly and is extremely rare.

[kathymuggle]

Originally Posted by lokidoki 

but tetanus isn't really deadly and is extremely rare.

Tetanus has a high fatality rate (10% seemed to be a common number listed on google) , but it is very rare.

Good luck in figuring out if you want it Hildare, and good luck getting the Td if that is the route you want to go.   

[mama to 2 girls]

I do not vaccinate at all, but that being said the one that makes me nervous is Polio. My mom lived thru a Polio outbreak when she was young and my grandma did NOT vaccinate any of her kids and my mom had 9 brothers and sisters and not one of them contracted Polio but she did say that people down the street had a teen who contracted it and died. She said all of the people that she KNEW of who got Polio, they were either permanently disabled or died. So that is the one that is always in the back of my mind. 

[lokidoki]

Originally Posted by kathymuggle 

Tetanus has a high fatality rate (10% seemed to be a common number listed on google) , but it is very rare.

Good luck in figuring out if you want it Hildare, and good luck getting the Td if that is the route you want to go.   

Sorry ~ this is what I get for reading 2 threads at once in here and trying to respond to both : ) What I was intended to say was why would you be concerned because it is so rare and preventable/treatable by using an immuniglobin or by simply keeping wounds cleaned or making them bleed to cleanse the wound. I guess what I was getting at is does the PP feel like they are in a situation where their children are at a higher risk of contracting tetanus? I should have elaborated but I was doing too much at once : )

In a search it appears that the highest portion of our society at risk are over 65 ~ and that is likely due in large part to a decrease in good circulation (i.e. getting blood to the wound to cleanse it of the tetanus spores). It is extremely rare in the US ~ and from what I have read previously regarding the vaccine is that it is proclaimed to be nearly 100% effective but the truth is they really do not know because it is so rare...will now need to go back and find a link with that info as I read it when researching vax decision for DS1 5 years ago.

ETA ~ in response to the question in this thread ~ there used to be a time where I considered one or two vaccines perhaps worth getting...but the more research I do and the more I read...I just do not feel comfortable with the level of (or lack of) safety testing done. I think what is WELL worth all of our time is educating ourselves on how to prevent the VPD without giving vaccines ~ and helping our bodies to fight off disease. I found it much more helpful to find out how people have had VPDs and survived...and what they did to sustain their bodies to do such at thing. I am set now that I do not think vaccines are doing us any good at all ~ so I spend most of my time learning how to sustain me, DH, DS1 and DS2 through illness so their bodies can be stronger for it!

[Bokonon]

Originally Posted by mama to 2 girls 

I do not vaccinate at all, but that being said the one that makes me nervous is Polio. My mom lived thru a Polio outbreak when she was young and my grandma did NOT vaccinate any of her kids and my mom had 9 brothers and sisters and not one of them contracted Polio but she did say that people down the street had a teen who contracted it and died. She said all of the people that she KNEW of who got Polio, they were either permanently disabled or died. So that is the one that is always in the back of my mind. 

Keep in mind that many of the polio cases back then were caused by the polio vaccine.  In over 90% of polio cases, the illness presents like a common cold.  I've know people who had polio and ended up with a limp, but my grandmother also had polio as an adult and recovered without indicident, dying 2 decades later of lung cancer because she smoked 4 packs a day.

If polio was to return to the U.S. and become an epidemic, I'm not concerned that it would start with my kids with no notice.  Sure, it has to start somewhere I suppose, but if it does become an issue I would base my decision on a situational basis and not preemptively vaccinate them for it just because it may or may not come back.  Otherwise we may as well be vaccinating for smallpox as well, or any other diseases that are endemic in other continents because they "might" come here.

[miriam]

l

Edited by miriam - 5/27/12 at 8:54am

[eh bien]

This is super delayed but thanks to everyone for their replies. I spend a lot of time reading these forums since I found this site a few years ago, but I hardly ever post.

I've got a few ideas of where to seriously begin researching - this summer when I have some free time. My follow-up question is how do you keep your research organized? I feel like I need a system once I really get started.

DS remains unvaxed and I have no intention of vaxing this LO on the way. But as I mentioned before, I want/need to feel informed regarding my decision.

TIA for any replies.