Just saw on the news that whooping cough is on the rise here in Florida at almost double than this time last year. One infant has passed away from it.
I have one partially vaxed child and one completely unvaxed.
What are your thoughts, etc for your unvaxed children when something is becoming an "epidemic" in your area?
It is not an issue if you learn to recognize the early symptoms, and know how to treat the disease. In the case of pertussis, or whooping cough, the early symptoms are cold symptoms. The natural treatment for pertussis is sodium ascorbate, which is much, much more effective than the conventional medicine treatment. So I would have sodium ascorbate in the house, and give it if my child had cold symptoms. Even if it is just a cold, sodium ascorbate is not harmful, so it doesn't matter. Giving the sodium ascorbate in the early days of pertussis is ideal. But most people don't start to suspect pertussis until the cough gets bad, and lasts for several weeks. At this point, the sodium ascorbate will still be very helpful.
We're apparently into our third year of an "epidemic," according to the local media. In 2010, my state had 1452 notifications. Last year, 3989. This year so far, 2326 and we're not into spring here yet (Australia) which is when we see the peak in cases. The notices went up at my daughter's school last spring (November) about confirmed cases and exposure and I fully expect to see cases again this year.
With pertussis, I think the key is to treat all cold symptoms (either in siblings or adults) with a hefty dose of suspicion. Vaxed or not, anyone who has "a bit of a cold," or "just a nagging cough," should not come near young infants until they have recovered.
We had it in our family two years ago. DH (up-to-date) brought it home. DS (23 months old at the time) came down with it. Everyone recovered without complications, and yes, the SA protocol made a difference in the symptoms and severity of the cough.
It is not an issue if you learn to recognize the early symptoms, and know how to treat the disease. In the case of pertussis, or whooping cough, the early symptoms are cold symptoms. The natural treatment for pertussis is sodium ascorbate, which is much, much more effective than the conventional medicine treatment. So I would have sodium ascorbate in the house, and give it if my child had cold symptoms. Even if it is just a cold, sodium ascorbate is not harmful, so it doesn't matter. Giving the sodium ascorbate in the early days of pertussis is ideal. But most people don't start to suspect pertussis until the cough gets bad, and lasts for several weeks. At this point, the sodium ascorbate will still be very helpful.
I'm a bit skeptical of the sodium ascorbate (aka vitamin C) treatment of pertussis. I googled thinks like "sodium ascorbate pertussiss study" and couldn't find any links to any real science checking this treatment (although lots of "anti-vax" and "natural life" websites suggesting it). So I wondering if there is more to it than that, and what you base the recommendation on? I agree it shouldn't be harmful (in sensible doses), so I suppose it's only a problem if it causes people not to seek other treatment when they become necessary (which I admit to having a hard time believing people would do). But I'm still curious to seek out any kind of scientific rational behind the recommendation.
What marsupial mom said…..
I am not opposed to considering vaccine in the face of an epidemic depending on the disease, the vaccine and the person.
Pertussis is not dangerous to most people over one, although it can be unpleasant.
The pertussis vaccine is hardly the poster child for effectiveness - if it were, we would not have so many cases of it. Take a look at the CDC for number of cases per year. Some people think any protection is better than none (and this might be true if vaccines were 100% safe, but they are not)
The pertussis vaccine does not protect infants from pertussis - as their first shot is at 2 months, and then 4 months, etc. After searching the internet high and low, I could not figure out how much immunity was conferred after 1 or 2 shots. Infants - a high risk group, are somewhat unprotected, vaxxed or not. Personally, in a epidemic I would keep an infant out of high traffic places, and consider getting a booster for myself (I would check titres first)
I think everyone with infants should learn the early signs of pertussis and treatment. In addition to the SA mentioned above, antibiotics may be helpful (questionable, please research) if given early enough
Hilary Butler: telling it like it is:
Whooping Cough: What is it that they don't get about "fail"?
I'm a bit skeptical of the sodium ascorbate (aka vitamin C) treatment of pertussis. I googled thinks like "sodium ascorbate pertussiss study" and couldn't find any links to any real science checking this treatment (although lots of "anti-vax" and "natural life" websites suggesting it). So I wondering if there is more to it than that, and what you base the recommendation on? I agree it shouldn't be harmful (in sensible doses), so I suppose it's only a problem if it causes people not to seek other treatment when they become necessary (which I admit to having a hard time believing people would do). But I'm still curious to seek out any kind of scientific rational behind the recommendation.
I googled "vitamin c whooping cough" and got links to studies from the 1930s. Some study showed yes it's promising, some not sure - not sure what the consensus is/was.
For starters:
From BMJ - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC536087/
From Lancet - http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140673600886997 - can't access this, not sure what it's about ... but lists other related studies
It'd be useful to find an overview of these studies. And more recent studies would be useful too ...
I considered it for my toddler and did heaps of research on it. Two major things jumped out at me. 1.) 80-90% of all people in my state (WA) who have had WC have been fully vaccinated. So we (and actually the CDC) are now assuming is that the vaccine is not as effective as once thought, or the strain has mutated. It's a bacteria, and bacteria get resistance and mutate from antibiotics so it makes sense it could due to vaccines. 2.) It is impossible to get a pertussis vaccine without either diptheria and tetanus mixed in (DTaP or Tdap), and there are lots of other ingredients in there such as aluminum, antibiotic residue, formaldehyde, etc...
I would not have considered it except that we are about to have a new baby in the house. I think for adults and healthy children over the age of 1, it might be a terrible experience, but they will come out the other end just fine. I am planning to take other steps to protect the new baby from pertussis as much as humanly possible. All adults around the baby for the first 4 months will have Tdap or titer proven immunity to pertussis (I know, I know, Tdap might not be effective anyway but to me it's worth it to have consenting adults get the vax just in case it can help) and we will also be "cocooning" the baby--not bringing her into public (indoor) places for the first 4 months. After much research we decided to leave our 3.5 year old unvaxxed. She would have to have 3-4 doses of DTaP in what I feel to be a very short time to get the *poor* immunity the pertussis vax offers, and I didn't want to take that risk for her. I am not anti-vax at all. I am just a concerned parent who feels like the possible benefits must outweigh the possible risks to make me feel comfortable with vaccines for children. My children, not others....
If there was such thing as a monovalent "clean" (no Al, etc) vaccine for pertussis only that did not require multiple doses and had a better effectiveness ratio than 56-80% than I believe we would have gotten it for our toddler (due to the infant coming). But the current choice is less than ideal to me, unfortunately.
I have no problem giving antibiotics to stop transmission if anyone in our family does get it. Both to protect the other family members and the general public. But yes, it is true that antibiotics will not actually help the individual with pertussis get better quicker. I am willing to try SA if needed because why not? The only side effect I have heard of is loose stools. But I hope we will never need it. When my DD had come down with a cough during the last year (when pertussis has been declared epidemic in my area) I bring her straight to the pediatrician (through a side door) to be swabbed for pertussis. I think early ID is key to not spread the bacteria to others. I always keep her out of public until the results come back (both times negative, it was just some nasty viruses.)
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