Let the games begin.. Up First: Whooping Cough (infants, parents, wife)

[NoExcuses]

Let the games begin... . This is what's going to continue to happen because so many people refuse to immunize their children.
Whooping Cough Epidemic Hits California

(June 24) -- California health officials report whooping cough has reached an epidemic level in the state, with five babies dying of the highly contagious disease and a surge in the number of infections on pace to break a 50-year record.

Local health departments are investigating an additional 600 cases, putting the number of known and suspected cases at 1,510. That's a higher number than the 1,200 cases confirmed midway through 1958, which ended up with a record 3,847 cases by the end of the year..

[Informed Info]

I was wondering why I was seeing commercials about Whooping Cough lately....and I'm clear across the country from CA.

I vax all my kids.

[121804]

My ped THREE years ago told me this is her biggest fear. She told me last yr she feared pertussis over H1N1.

#3 is due in a few weeks.

Anyway, the concern is exposure. I saw an very concerning study last week & asked my parents, who are in their 70s & will be around the baby on a regular basis, to call their gen prac. & I called mine.

My parents gen prac told them that since they were up to date on tetanus & over 65, not a good idea to get another pertussis shot. According to him, it can be counterproductive.

My dh is updated. I need to get updated.

I don't care on this one...whooping cough is very real, it is making a very strong comeback, and it is something that is incredibly hard for infants & young children to rebound from in a healthy way.

We are not talking a sniffle here & there that goes away in a few days.

All our kids get the sniffles. They all get minor colds. That is all good stuff. Heck, the occassional fever is even a good thing to see in a child as it shows their immune system is alive & kickin out something.

But this is not a disease to shrug off.

[NJGOAT]

I am 100% on the side of vaccinating to schedule and it was one of my fears with my kids that others won't and could cause major problems. Everyone screaming about how horrible vaccines are has no idea how horrible (and actually real) the diseases they prevent can be.

This is one illness that was virtually wiped out until people started messing with the vaccine schedules or skipping them altogether. When my youngest was born my wife was actually given a booster in the hospital and I got mine through our GP. My parents had it updated as did my MIL. My FIL already had been updated since he works at a children's hospital. They also were very curious about whether or not our other children had been vaccinated to schedule.

My guess is that over the next 5 years more children will die from illnesses that are preventable with vaccines than will develop any kind of issue do to recieving vaccines.

[NoExcuses]

Now that whooping cough is digging in, it will spread throughout the country. That's what happens when children aren't immunized. It will hit those who aren't.

Everyone will know those parents who have put their children at risk of childhood diseases that had been held at bay with immunizations. Everyone will know those parents who have opened the doors to allow back in, those diseases that killed and will kill again.

Sit up there on your high-horses and watch it come.

Whooping cough is only the first to rear it's ugly head in the comeback of childhood diseases.

[wsop]

I agree vaccinations are important but I don't necessarily agree with the vaccine schedule of today.

Back when my older son was a baby there were VERY strict rules about when to vaccinate in order to make them as safe as possible.

1. Children were never vaccinated if they were ill or appeared to be coming down with something, i.e. if they had a sore throat.

2. Vaccines were given at least 4 to 6 weeks apart, even if that meant they were slightly behind schedule.

3. Vaccines were not given to newborn infants in the hospital. They were typically at least 4 to 6 weeks old.

4. Multiple vaccines were not given. It was absolutely unheard of for a baby to receive vaccines for 6 to 10 diseases at once.

5. There ARE some vaccines that in rare cases can cause brain damage, however they do not alert parents of this fact anymore.

6. I believe Numbers 1 - 4 were put in place to reduce the risk of number 5.

7. The current vaccine schedule has more to do with insurance purposes than the safety of children and the general public.

[NoExcuses]

Justify it any way you want, but whooping cough is making a comeback, and others will too.

[hml1976]

I had Pertussis (whooping cough) three years ago. I was vaccinated as a child but adults need a booster. My case apparently wasn't as bad as many, I was only in bed for a few WEEKS and coughed for a few MONTHS. They have to give you a sedative so you don't crack your ribs from coughing so hard. The idea of a baby suffering an ounce of that disease is heartbreaking.

[lisdol]

I wish they would push more adults to get boosters. I'm not saying that is the problem here, but it would help, considering there are adults out there that would be willing to do so but don't really think about it b/c its thought of by a lot of people as a "childhood" immunization.

Mine are immunized against it.

I have my 40yr old "big" physical coming up and I think I am going to ask about it. I know they are telling parents of young children to get it now, and since I have 3 in school, and my fourth is turning 3 and will be around more and more children, I think I am better off boosting my immunity to it for sure, since they love to share with me every microbe they manage to bring home.

[maciesmom]

Adults should be getting the pertussis with their tetanus boosters...but it's not always included so it's worth checking out....