Do you ever worry about yourself?

[AurorasMommy]

I was just curious to know if anyone ever worries about themselves getting menningitis?

Menningitis scares me! I wonder how common it really is to get it? Both my children are NOT in daycare, I am a stay at home mom... what are our chances? Or is it just the luck of the draw?

Both my kids are unvaxed, except for my daughter who got the full HIB series and that is it!

[Marnica]

I am a mother of an unvaxed son who IS in a small daycare. I also work full-time and No I don't worry about mennegitis any more than any other rare illness out there. I feel the chances of myself or my son getting mennegitis fairly slim and I definately feel the chances of him having lasting damage from a vaccine outweigh any tiny risk of mennegitis.

[lirpasirhc]

the bacteria that the vaxes cover are normal and usually nonpathological parts of healthy bacterial flora. they usually cause no symptoms and can help prevent serious staph infections. (have you read about the increased incidence of flu and chicken pox cases being complicated w/ MRSA infections? that's scary. i wonder if it's caused by the absence of normal bacteria).

since the "meningitis" vaxes were added to the childhood schedule, the incidence of meningitis has not decreased. meningitis is just being caused by different bacteria. based on the CDC's data, it appears that you cannot prevent meningitis infections with vaccination. it's probably better to try to give your child the healthiest immune system possible so that he/she will be able to fight off infections more successfully.

have you read insidevaccines.com? it has lots of great information about this.

[Mosaic]

Vaccines cover viruses, not bacteria.

I worry a little. Last year, *3* women in my office got meningitis within a single month. We were informed that it's not contagious with typical office conduct, but we're not a typical office and these folks are my friends, we bring our kids to the office, etc. It turned out that all of them had bacterial meningitis, so hospitalization and antibiotics made them good as new; but there were a couple of very tough days where all we knew was that these young mothers were very very ill and doctors didn't know what kind it was. They all caught it from their kids in daycare (who, incidentally, did not get sick themselves).

Even after all of that, I'd say my risks are still pretty darn slight and your's smaller still.

[xmasbaby7]

Originally Posted by heather8

Vaccines cover viruses, not bacteria.

Actually, vaccines can contain bacterial strains. hib, prevnar, and the menningitis, and pneumonia vaccines are bacterial, not viral.

The problem is, bacteria can keep changing and evolving into new strains so that the vaccine is no longer effective. This is called serotype replacement, which you will read about a lot on these boards.

Ever wonder why MRSA, a bacterial infection, hits children, the military, and the elderly the hardest? Because these are our most vaccinated populations!

We carry these dangerous bacterial strains in our bodies at all times, but in a healthy individual, the good bacteria manages the dangerous bacteria and maintains a healthy body.

Stress, fighting a virus, antibiotics, and any vaccine will alter the bacterial composition of a body and allow a bad bacteria to create an infection. That is why probiotic supplements are good to maintain health in those with weakened immune systems or for healthy people to take for a boost when ill.

[wallacesmum]

Originally Posted by heather8

Vaccines cover viruses, not bacteria.

Do you mean that the idea of vaccinating for a bacterium is nutty? I tend to agree; we don't vaccinate at all but those are way down on the list of things I even worry about. I worry about it the same way I worry about getting bitten by a Brown Recluse at the wood pile. Does the possibility exist? Absolutely. Am I going to be mindful at the woodpile? Yes. Am I going to wear rubber gloves or never go to the woodpile again? No.

For me, mindfulness when it comes to illness is learning what the illness is, how it works, and how to guard against it and treat it. Vaccination always seems like a step backwards in immune system preparation.

[angie7]

My SIL fiance' died of menningitis so that is a scary one for me. I also worry about Measles for myself and my dh. But, I'm not going to get myself vaxed so I guess I'm not too concerned

[Mom2Madolyn]

I don't worry aobut it.

[mamakay]

Actually, vaccines can contain bacterial strains. hib, prevnar, and the menningitis, and pneumonia vaccines are bacterial, not viral.

DTaP, too.

[In Exile]

No, I don't really worry about it. It's not really the meningitis that scares me- it the huge number of incompetent medical personal that scare me.

My ex had a pretty bad case of Lyme Disease, which included a lovely bacterial meningitis. We were running around for over 2 weeks to get a diagnosis. Meanwhile my Ex was suffering from half a paralyzed face, eye problems (nerves in his lid starting to suffer, could not close them well enough to shower, sun etc)

We were running from Doctor to Doctor presenting typical symstoms, stiff neck, horrible headaches, nausea, sensitivity to light, BULLS EYE RASH, he lost 20 pounds because nothing stayed down etc.

And were were living in the prime Lyme Disease county that year- and still they ignored us and wasted precious time talking about HIV and a stroke- despite negative tests. He was put through several MRIs and still nobody got it.

Finally they did a spinal tap and ran the appropriate blood test- you really need to know more than your typical Doctor.

All it takes is a the appropriate diagnosis and the right antibiotics- in the right circumstances the right antibiotic is a god send- and than you still have to watch like an eagle to make sure they don't screw up in the hospital administering the wrong stuff at the wrong time.

It taught me a lot about this system. It's not meningitis that's scary, it's incompetent doctors.

[peainthepod]

Meningitis is scary, but so are cancer, heart disease, plane crashes, armed robbery, and the other possible calamities of life. I don't worry about getting meningitis any more than I worry about those other things. I take reasonable precautions when I can--and for meningitis, that means maintaining the healthiest immune system possible--but I don't worry about it.

Vaccine manufacturers would love us to live in fear of disease, but I don't think that's a very fun way to live. I prefer to face it as it comes, kwim?

[D'smomma]

nope, don't worry about it.

[purplepaisleymama]

I really wouldn't worry about it, all of the people that I know who have had meningitis were ALL vaccinated. One actually had been vax'd and then developed meningitis within a few weeks. I fear more the medical professionals at the hospital who are completely misinformed about the risks of diseases and how they are spread. When we were last at the Infectious Disease clinic at the local Children's Hospital the head of the dept was insistent about how vax would completely protect our child and that by not vax'ing we were essentially guaranteeing his imminent death.
Though they were not as worried about meningitis, they were all up in arms about tetanus.
We do not vax here and we are actually at a bit more risk I would think lately as were are at the hospital more than some of the employees there. I do however worry about Finn getting sick from the newly vax'd kids we are always sitting next to in the waiting rooms, he has an almost non-existent immune system even though we really try .

[Gitti]

No I don't worry about getting any disease. Mostly because I know how to treat myself and my family and have had quite a bit of experience in that. Like a pp said the scary part is incompetent and overly ambitious medical personal. That's why we treat all illness at home.

A healthy life style to keep your strength up is the best prevention.

Personally I've only had two vaccines in my life time, so there hasn't been too much damage done to me.

[lovbeingamommy]

I had a student in my class get bacterial meningitis a few years ago. I was near her, sat at her table, graded her papers when she was contagious and never got it. She was in the hospital for a few days, but back as new the week after.

[Metasequoia]

I had viral meningitis when Dd2 was 10 months old & it's identical in symptoms to bacterial, you just can't treat it with abx, it has to run its course (about 3 weeks.)

The ER docs picked it up right away, I was pretty impressed. Knowing the symptoms, I don't worry about bacterial menigitis so much because I think we could get abx quickly.

I'm more concerned about vaccines.