Has anyone gotten sick from raw milk?

[aprilibarra]

we just got our raw milk Sunday, and our youngest girl got a bacterial infection in a days time. Her only symptom was high fever. She responded really quickly to abx, but I'm trying to tell myself it could be anything. The milk looked like she prepared it well and I saw how she does it. Can anyone tell me, honestly. We've seen so many good things, I just need peace. What I'd like to hear is that yes someone got sick and was fine. I had unpasteurized cheese some years ago and was sick for two days while pregnant, but nothing worse than throwing up.

[tiffany21074]

do you all drink it? any one else have symptoms?

[twins10705]

Originally Posted by aprilibarra

we just got our raw milk Sunday, and our youngest girl got a bacterial infection in a days time. Her only symptom was high fever. She responded really quickly to abx, but I'm trying to tell myself it could be anything. The milk looked like she prepared it well and I saw how she does it. Can anyone tell me, honestly. We've seen so many good things, I just need peace. What I'd like to hear is that yes someone got sick and was fine. I had unpasteurized cheese some years ago and was sick for two days while pregnant, but nothing worse than throwing up.

How do you know she had a bacterial infection? Did they culture urine? Are you sure abx were necessary given her only symptom was fever? I ask because abx reak havoc on the beneficial gut bacteria -- I would load her up on probiotics everyday for the next couple of weeks.
If the rest of you drank the milk and feel fine -- I think there is your answer. JMHO.

--Amanda

[Pinky Tuscadero]

Originally Posted by aprilibarra

we just got our raw milk Sunday, and our youngest girl got a bacterial infection in a days time. Her only symptom was high fever. She responded really quickly to abx, but I'm trying to tell myself it could be anything.

That seems like a big leap to me. If she's the only one who had a fever, I don't see how one could assume it was the milk.

[yitlan]

We've been drinking raw goat's milk for about two years and never gotten sick. But even up in Washington, where there was an outbreak of either e. coli or salmonella (sorry, don't remember which) related to raw milk, the kids all got better and are fine today. Other kids in the hospital at the same time with the same illness from fast food restaurants are still suffering today. This according to Mark Macafee, president of ORganic Pastures Dairy, who feels that the kids who drank the raw milk, though they got sick, were able to heal so quickly and well b/c they had healthy systems BECAUSE of the raw milk.

I hope she feels better soon. Were the doctors able to tell you what kind of infection it was and offer any theories?

[Plummeting]

Originally Posted by twins10705

How do you know she had a bacterial infection? Did they culture urine? Are you sure abx were necessary given her only symptom was fever? I ask because abx reak havoc on the beneficial gut bacteria -- I would load her up on probiotics everyday for the next couple of weeks.
If the rest of you drank the milk and feel fine -- I think there is your answer. JMHO.

I agree. If she wasn't tested, it was probaly viral. Was she given any tests at all?

[momto l&a]

I have drunk raw milk most of my life and never gotten sick from it

[aprilibarra]

No one else got sick, and I know that there are some naturally occurring bacteria but that the bad ones don't multiply. I didn't tell the doctor that she had raw milk ( he would probably report me to CPS), but her fever had gotten up to 105 and had a hard time coming down. After the first dose of abx the fever came down and didn't come back. Usually I would try to ride it out, but this acted really fast. I just felt so guilty. But the milk is really good and I've seen an improvement in my vision and my husband has been able to drink it(milk) for the first time in 15 yrs. He had cream in his coffee and we made fresh butter. We love it.
I tried garlic, but that wasn't helping. I hate abx, after everydose I feed her yogurt. ugh! Thank you for the comment on the kids and the bacteria. I'm new at this and trying to do what's best for my family. April

[luv my 2 sweeties]

Originally Posted by aprilibarra

No one else got sick, and I know that there are some naturally occurring bacteria but that the bad ones don't multiply. I didn't tell the doctor that she had raw milk ( he would probably report me to CPS), but her fever had gotten up to 105 and had a hard time coming down. After the first dose of abx the fever came down and didn't come back. Usually I would try to ride it out, but this acted really fast. I just felt so guilty. But the milk is really good and I've seen an improvement in my vision and my husband has been able to drink it(milk) for the first time in 15 yrs. He had cream in his coffee and we made fresh butter. We love it.
I tried garlic, but that wasn't helping. I hate abx, after everydose I feed her yogurt. ugh! Thank you for the comment on the kids and the bacteria. I'm new at this and trying to do what's best for my family. April

If she responded well and immediately to the abx, it's quite possible that it *was* bacterial. (You can't know for sure at this point, but as a fairly anti-antibiotics person myself, I concede that there are times they are called for, and other times that it's better safe than sorry. Don't feel guilty one more minute about that!)

That said, if no one else in the family got sick from the milk, then I'd be looking elsewhere for a cause . It might not even be from food. You don't mention how old she is, but little kids can pick up bacteria from just about *anywhere* if they are putting their hands in their mouths. Most of the time their immune systems take care of it, but everyonce in a while a nasty one slips through. It can be hard to pinpoint the food souce if it *is* food. It can take a week or more for some food bourne illnesses to manifest, and almost anything can be a culprit -- even fruits and veggies (from cross contamination.)

[aprilibarra]

Right? Don't all of these bacteria occur in the gut anyway? And we get sick when there's some sort of change?

[mrsbernstein]

I have been drinking raw milk since September of 05...and feel BETTER!

The benefits of raw milk are incredible. The fact that your daughter was the only one to get sick makes me believe that something else was the cause of her illness.

Mrs Bernstein

[Plummeting]

Originally Posted by aprilibarra

Right? Don't all of these bacteria occur in the gut anyway? And we get sick when there's some sort of change?

Not all bacteria naturally reside in the gut. Some of them aren't supposed to be there, which is why having a healthy gut is important - if you have enough of the "good" bacteria, there's simply no room for the "bad" ones to set up shop and start multiplying.

I'm still not convinced it was bacterial. A fever of 105 could just as easily be a number of viral illnesses, including infection with a coxsackievirus, adenovirus, echovirus, enterovirus, roseola and many others. Each of those could cause a high fever that could come on quite suddenly, remain very high for a while, then break very, very suddenly.

[twins10705]

Originally Posted by Plummeting

I'm still not convinced it was bacterial. A fever of 105 could just as easily be a number of viral illnesses, including infection with a coxsackievirus, adenovirus, echovirus, enterovirus, roseola and many others. Each of those could cause a high fever that could come on quite suddenly, remain very high for a while, then break very, very suddenly.

Right -- my son is just recovering from roseola. He had a temp of 103-104 for a few days, then the fever suddenly broke and he developed a rash. About 10 days before that, my other son had had a temp of 105+ for three days with no symptoms other than general malaise the first day. Although he did not develop the rash, I believe he did have roseola and passed it on to his brother. According to Dr. Sears, roseola is the #1 cause of fever in infants and young toddlers -- sometimes the only symptom will be the fever as was the case with my ds2. So, who knows, but I doubt it was the milk...I would expect to see more signs of food poisening in that case such as vomiting or diarrhea(and of course, symptoms in all who partook).

[Shirelle]

We started drinking raw milk recently. My thinking is that, your daughter could have gotten sick from the milk....I mean, yes there is so much benefit to the raw milk, with the vitamins, minerals, and good bacteria...but there is also bad bacteria. I think it's one of those things that maybe your immune system has to adjust to. I would probably back off the milk, and reintroduce it a little at a time, letting her body adjust to the new bacterias.

On the flip side, no one else got sick...so it could very likely have been something else. I know how you feel, though. When I joined my milk club, the farmer sent us all this paperwork telling us that "We understand that the FDA considers raw milk unfit for human consumption...and that if we were to become ill, that we would not jump to blaming the raw milk, and reveal where we got it." In the beginning it made me really nervous, but I know we just couldn't go back to the pasteurized stuff.

[Leilalu]

I would think that maybe her body just needs a little more adjusting to it. Some people have highly a sensitive immune response. And when I used to work barista, some people who had sensitive stomachs would frequently ask me when the milk container was last emptied and cleaned,how old the milk was , how long was it sitting in there, yada yada. Some people just have a more sensitive stomach. Also, maybe the bacteria in the milk brought something out that your daughter already had. So maybe it was good you gave her the milk? you said you saw how the milk was prepared...did your d go with you?is it possible she picked something up from the farm?

I would keep drinking the milk and just watch her good.

[aprilibarra]

fever's back

today dd has her fever back. back up to 103 and i'm sure it'll get worse. Still no other symptoms. ugh! I know this problem is on the wrong board, but i can't really find much about its efficacy, does anyone have any experience with homeopathics for kids. Right now i use herbs a lot but not the homeops. April

[luv my 2 sweeties]

Originally Posted by aprilibarra

today dd has her fever back. back up to 103 and i'm sure it'll get worse. Still no other symptoms. ugh! I know this problem is on the wrong board, but i can't really find much about its efficacy, does anyone have any experience with homeopathics for kids. Right now i use herbs a lot but not the homeops. April

I assume she's still on the abx? I'd take her back to the ped -- taking a turn for the worse is never a good sign, be it viral or bacterial. I hope you find out what the cause is! I use some homeopathics, but have never had success treating fevers. Maybe someone else can help you more.

[aprilibarra]

she's still on them, we haven't had any lapses. still the only symptoms are fever. doc said her throat was a little red, but didn't think that it was the cause. You think i should take her back. we don't have insurance. April

[twins10705]

High fevers don't bother me because they are a natural, healthy immune system response to infection. Fevers are a way that the body heals itself and will almost never exceed 106. In an otherwise healthy individual drugs should never be used to break a fever. The best advice I can think of is to watch your child -- if she is drinking enough to stay hydrated and looking around/moving around fine I would just keep an eye on her. Maybe make her a cool pack or give her a bath if it seems to make her more comfortable.
I am much more afraid of taking my child to a pediatrician than I am of a high fever. Generally all a ped will do is prescribe something dangerous like Tylenol or antibiotics. A pediatric chiropractor may be able to make a child with neck and back pain more comfortable -- and a good naturopath can prescribe different herbs or homeopathic rememdies. In the event of a real emergency I would, of course, take my child into the ER.

[AnnC]

I've been drinking raw milk for five years, and have never gotten sick from it. My parents grew up on raw milk. The supposed e coli outbreak in Washington state is very suspicious, since some of the people who got e coli did not drink any raw milk, but the media blamed the dairy anyway. Both e coli and bacteria can be picked up from anything, because they're all over the environment. As long as the milking machine is kept clean, the jars are sterilized and capped, the milk will be clean and safe. .

Ann