Info on Rotovirus Vaccine?

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/Vaccinations/

I recommend joining this yahoo group. Very informative!

M.-
Mother of 4

Yeah my youngest has never been vaccinated and she's as healthy as a horse, not to mention the roto virus (if this hasn't been mentioned yet) was actually initially pulled off the shelves in 99 I believe it was (released under a slightly different name) because it caused enough deaths due to intessuption (sp?) that the pharmaceutical company couldn't afford to pay that much out. Then because the man who owned the patent on the drug pushed for a 're-release' (because he was losing TONS of money) in '05 I think it was? Caused the same problems and the best part is, rotovirus (or diareahea as some call it) is perfectly treatable and while some children do suffer more than others, is rarely life threatening. Certainly to a lesser degree than getting that vaccine is.

We stopped vaccinating after my first born reacted negatively to his vaccines and suffered lasting damage. My second son has not had ANY vaccines (he is 4.5) and has never been really sick with anything.

NONE of them are 100% safe. If you want to look at reactions to vaccines, you can look at http://vaers.hhs.gov/ It is a government run database of vaccine reactions, there were over 10,000 adverse reactions in 2006 to vaccines. It does list which vaccine caused the reaction, who reported the reaction (usually a doctor or nurse), what the reaction was, whether the person died or not and a follow up. Keep in mind that not all reactions are reported, so actual numbers are probably higher.

Good luck.

I read the same statistic actually. There are some books that have more info about it including the vaccine guide and vaccinations: a thoughtful parents guide. i would recommend either or both of these to all parents. we didnt vaccinate our daughter who is now 9 months and has only had two or three colds. flu and sickness are a part of life, even if you vaccinate, your child will eventually get sick. and its better for the immune system to get sick naturally, it makes for a stronger body, more able to fight off disease in the future. vaccinations carry risks, we decided it wasnt worth the risk but its a decision every parent has to make. its good that youre asking questions!

Hi A. ~

I didn't vaccinate either of my children with that vaccine. When my daughter was an infant they had given me info on it and I just didn't feel comfortable doing it so we didn't. Then with my son they didn't even offer it...my daughter was born in 2003 and my son was born in 2006. At the time, in 2003, they had said that their were many forms of the rotovirus and that the vaccine may work against all of them or it may not. Just as the flu vaccine doesn't guard against every kind of flu bug.

Both of my children have had the rotovirus...and I'm not even sure how my son got it, but he did acouple of weeks ago, because he stays home 99% of the time and the only child he comes in contact with is a little girl I watch during the week...but she is healty as can be and so is the rest of her family...also no one else in the family got it and no one at my daughters preschool had it....anyway I guess we must have been lucky because we never ended up in the hospital or anything...I've heard some children are hospitalized when they get it :(

That is just my experience with it and what we decided. Best of luck to you in making this decision!

M.

I won't get this vaccine for Peter at all. I'm not a huge fan of vaccines for small infants at all either. Peter will be 6+ months before he gets ANY vaccine. Just my $0.02.

Oh.. and my reason for not doing this one... is simply because there is not 10+ years of hard statical data to show me what it really is or is not doing for our children. Best of luck to you A.!! All these decisions we need to make as mom's are not easy.

I am not a big fanof al the vaccines that they want to give babies now a days. Rotavirus is a nasty virus. But it is only dangerous in the very young. If your child was in large commercial day care I would definately get the vaccine. The risk of exposure is very high in a day care setting. But becuase you stay home I really dont see any reason why you should vaccinate your child. My daughter is 15 months old. Sh had a nasty stomach bug at 13 months (it might have been rotavirus) My husband had it first -thenthe baby got it then I had it. It was a horrible week for the family- but we all survived. I didnt even take her to the dr. as Iknew there was no treatment but time. I watched her closely and called the pediatrician and she recovered.

There was an old version ofthe rotavirus vaccine that was pulled off the market due to serious side effects. The new version issupposed to be better. There was one study taht showed some serious side effects with the new vacine but an additional study that did notsee a link between the vaccine and serious injury.

But just because the vaccine may be relatively safe does not mean that your healthy stay at home baby needs the vaccine.

I would skip the vaccine. - I skipped it with my daughter.

I will also be skipping the chicken pox vaccine - as it is not effective- the immunity wears off in time. and I feel it is not necessary.

Hi A.---I think another thing to remember, along with all of the other advice you've received about the vaccination, is that there is much you can do to make sure that your baby's immune system, as well as the rest of the family's, is strong and able to protect itself from many of these problems.

You optimize the function of your immune system by the food you eat: 7 tyo 13 servings of fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains and legumes, and minimize animal products including milk. As for my experience, I am a wellness educator with a degree in Home Economics. Part of my business is facilitating workshops, in your home for you and friends and family, helping people to optimize their health through whole food nutrition. These workshops are at no charge to you.

I also recommend reading a book by Dr. Bob Sears, son of Dr. William Sears, pediatrician, author and contributor to Baby Talk and Parent magazines. Check out the following websites and feel free to contact me for any additional information, especially on how to get more fruits and veggies into your daily diet.
http://www.askdrsears.com/thevaccinebook
www.strongbones.org
www.dianeshealthed.com

I think part of the problem is that there are so many vaccines today that it overwhelms the body, particularly in little babies. Dr. Sears' book addresses this issue.

Good luck, and feel free to contact me if you have any questions. In health, D. ###-###-####

I have never heard of that happening. My daughter is 14 months old now and she is doing fine. You have to remember, ALL vaccinations run a risk of something happening to anyone. It is totally up to you to make that decision, which is why your doctor did not argue with you. They can only tell you how important it is, and let you decide. You will do what you feel is best for your children. Good luck!

Hi A.. My daughter is 5 months now and has had the Rotateq vaccine twice already (2 months and 4 months). She was five weeks premature. She got rotavirus when she was three weeks old and ended up back in the hospital because of the 13 days of symptoms...You don't want to know how horrible it was for her. :( I believe that the benefits are greater than the risk. I am a stay-at-home-mother, but my son and husband bring home germs everyday even though they wash up right when they get home. Plus, we buy Lysol, Clorox wipes and Anywhere spray. Please keep in mind that germs are everywhere...unfortunately! It really is kind of scary what we have to think about as parents. Good luck to you and take care. A.

If you are planning to send your kids to school one day, you might want to have them healthy. The shots are to keep your kids healthy. If you don't get them their shots they can get very sick from other children. Also the schools do not have to except your kids if they don't have their shots. Think about their health. One day you might let them play with other kids and if they get anything that the shot could have helped, They will be very sick. I hope you make the right choice for you and your kids. Also, you might want to think about kids that get their shots but still have a low tolerence to sickness. If your kids are sick and don't have shots they will get other peoples kids sick.

If you can get a vaccine to prevent getting it, I would. I am home right now with a dehydrated puking and diarhetic little boy who would just love to be able to keep something down. He got it from a neighbor and he is now contagious for 10-12 days past when the diarrhea started. Keeping them healthy far outweighs any risk that might be listed-FDA is pretty strict about approving things, and make them list anything possible for full disclosure.

i asked my doctor about it and she advised me agai nst it. more problems with vaccine than rotovirus??? whatever she said convinced me NOT to do it. i know its realllllllllly bad to have but 7 month old had it s o bad. but he didnt get hospitalized..

I too kind of tossed the idea up in the air. My 5 yr old got rotovirus when he was a baby, and I know first hand how difficult it is!!! I just got my other son vac. for it though. After talking to my Dr. we decided it was a good idea. he said that even if you don't get your child vac. for it, they have almost as much chance form dieing form destended bowel from the major diareah they get with the rotovirus!!! Another reason I had him get the vac, is b/c my 5 yr old is in school, and I don't even want to know the amount of germs he brings home from there!!! If your children don't have a lot of exposure to germs, then I don't think it's bad not to get the vac, but rotovirus is HIGHLY contagious, and they could get it just from coming in contact w/ rotovirus at the grocery store, gas station....etc. so it is up to you!!! My Dr. also said they have redone the vac, to make it safer for the little ones!!! The decision is yours, but I would talk to your Dr. and get all the facts before making a final decision!!! Hope this helps!!!

This is an apparently new vaccine because I had to search the internet to find out about this rotavirus vaccine. They use to have one that had been on the market for a year, but was taken away in 1999. Experts say that this new oral method seems to have quite impressive results, however, with any and all vaccines, there is still a small chance of side effects. Do some checking on the internet yourself and see what you come up with. I believe it was reintroduced around Feb 2006 (??) and neither of my kids (13 mos and 3 1/2 yrs) have had the vaccine offered or suffered from rotavirus. We are also not around tons of other kids which helps limit germs/sickness. Sorry I don't have experience with it, but this is what I found. Best of luck.

my 3 yr old got the shot but she ended up with the rotavirus. she was put in the hospital for 26 hrs. i would get the shot didn't your 2 yr old have the shot? is anything wrong with him? my almost 2 month old is getting the shot 4-4-07. my daughter has nt been in day care since aug 2006 so i have no idea where she might have caught the rotavirus. my 10 month old niece got it from my daughter. it is going around there is no meds to treat it. my 3 yr old is on the brat diet. which is Banannas Rice Applesauce and Toast. can't give them dairy products if they get the rotavirus cuz dairy will falre it up. my 10 month old niece they told her mom to keep her off of formula fora few days. when my daughter was in the hospital there was a lil baby in there with it and i heard the dr says no forumla to those parents. so it is up to u if u want to get the shot or not. if u have a boyfriend or husband they could get it from work and bring it home to your kids.

Hi! my son (almost 9 months) got the oral form of it. he did fine! my doctor is very for it. his sister died from the rotovirus when she was an infant. even if they stay home with you and you dont work. you or your husband can get it or bring it home. do you ever take the kids grocery shopping or out to eat. they can get just as exsposed. the decision is yours! this is just from my opion! hey my son is allergic to the (p) int he dpt shot.(which is rare. so you never know! good luck with your decsion!

The only reason children are hospitalized for Rotavirus is dehydration. My 14 month old (also stay at home - no daycare) son just had it and we didn't need the hospital. Of course, should your child get rotavirus, you MUST keep her hydrated. That means forcing very small amounts of fluid very often and when she will drink on her own, limiting it to very small amounts until the vomiting stage of the virus passes. My son is unvaccinated, breastfead and very healthy.

IMO, for your stay at home baby - the risk of the vaccination may be higher than the risk of the virus and the virus is totally treatable at home.

Good Luck to you!

With my first daughter she was given the vaccine as a shot. We had no problems with it. My next daughter, who is 14 months younger, has been given the Rotatec, a new oral version. She just finished her last one yesterday and everything is fune. I am not sure if the oral one makes a difference but you might want to ask about it. Good luck in your decision.

Hello! I have not actually heard that statistic. I can only say that my daughter got the vaccine at that age. She never had any adverse reactions. She also never got any sort of the flu. This year, I didn't get her the flu shot (she will be 2 in a week). And, she got a horrible flu bug. She was vomiting and had diarrhea for a week. She was fussy, had a fever and nearly became dehydrated. She wouldn't eat or drink anything. It was by far the worst week of my life. It is really a personal choice for you. I think that they have to tell you of any adverse reactions with the shot. It may be that those babies had bowel problems prior to having the shot and the shot just made it worse. I don't know. But, I know that I will definitely get my daughter, and all future children the shot when it is offered. Like I said, it's a decision that you and your husband have to make for your daughter. I wish you all the luck in the world. God Bless!

If you don't feel comfortable getting the vaccine then don't get it. My son is 5 years old and has never been vaccinated. He is perfectly healthy. He gets the common colds but otherwise has not had any problems, not even an ear infection. My decision not to vaccinate was based on a lot of research that I did on both vaccines and the childhood diseases. If you are really concerned about the rotovirus research it thoroughly, the same with the vaccine for it. Weigh the pros and cons then make your decision. And if you decide not to get the vaccine don't let the doctor pressure you into it. That's a nice thing about MI law, you are allowed exemptions. Good Luck.

okay, My almost 2 year old had rotovirus and even though it was bad and she was hospitalized for dehydration she did get over it. The vaccine is fairly new and i would not recommend getting this vaccine. Why take the chance with a new vaccine, when they don't even know what they will do. Goodluck! you will make the right decision, Besides you are a stay at home mom.

My son and daughter has had all of the Vaccinations. Each vaccination has one small percentage of SOMETHING happening. In my minds eye - I would rather run the risk of the VERY small percentage than them not having it. It protects them against something far worse.

A.