anti pneumococcus jab and adenoid question.

[SenoraPostrophe]

Doc thinks that dd and ds should have this because dd keeps getting ear infections and had a very nasty case of mastoiditis last year.

Has anyone elses dc had it? Anything i should know?

She says that it will help prevent nasty complications of the type that had dd in hospital for 2 weeks. She also says she should see a specialist about having her adenoids out. I am tempted to bring her to the UK for this to be honest but that would obviously be difficult. How long do they stay in hospital usually? how long are the queues in the UK?

[coffeebean]

ds (3 months) has had first injection of pneumococcal vacination - second now due. Long list of possible side effects - but luckily ds did not really suffer any adverse reactions. Common side effects are vomitting / upset stomach. We decided to go ahead with it as ds had to be ventilated when he had bronchilitis and pneumonia and we did not want to risk that again.

[noddyholder]

I had this but not ds but I had no ill effects at all from it.

[psychomum5]

My DD3 had this jab when she was 2yrs old. It is not routinely offered in the UK as far as I know..(out of all my friends with kiddies, my Natahsa has been the only one to have had it). Natasha was offered it because she has immune an deficiancy, and had suffered bronchial 3 times already by then!!!

Her reaction wasn't great, She had a febrile convulsion as we were unable to control her temp, and then had to kept in hospital for 2dy's following. Having said that tho, that was her only reaction, apart from a swollen injection site, and so once we were home, we stopped worrying.

Waitng lists for adeniods to be removed really depend on how urgently the consultant thinks they need to be done. In my Natasha's case, she was on the waiting list for less than 6wks. My DS1 had to have his removed too (along with his tonsils), but because he doesn't have the same immunity issue's as Natasha, he had to wait for 6mths.

Hope this helps....xxx

[SofiaAmes]

My ds had this (as it's standard in the usa) and after his 2nd dose (4 altogether, I think), he never got another ear infection. He was almost 2 at that point and had already had at least a dozen ear infections that had high (104/105) temps and had to be treated with antibiotics. He had no side reaction from the jab. Dd had the jab too and although she has eczema and other weird allergy things, had no side effects either from the jab. The jab also had the added benefit (and main purpose) of preventing pneumoccal meningitis which can be deadly ( a mumsnetter's child died of this a few years ago).

[Ailsa]

My DD1 had her adenoids removed, don't really remember how long she waited though. The consultant decided that nearly 4 years of antibiotics for ear infections was enough. She was only in hospital 1 night, just over 24 hrs in total. She was 4½yrs when she had the op.

[mears]

My DS3 had his adenoids removed as a day case. He didn't actually wait that long after he was referred to ENT.

No advice about pneumococcal jab except to say my DS2 had pneumococcal meningitis at 6 months old and nearly dies. However he is a healthy 15 year old today with no lasting problems. Nasty disease and we were fortunate. He got it as a result of a probable cold/ear infection which got out of control.

coffeebean - I thought it was a one off injection?

[jabberwocky]

Is this the same as Prevnar?

[SenoraPostrophe]

Jabberwocky - the Spanish name the the doc told me was something like prevnar.

I hope its only one injection - its not on the Spanish social security system so I'll have to pay about £50 each for them (she says both kids should have it).

[SofiaAmes]

Yes it is Prevnar. The number of shots depends on the age of the child...This is from the Mayo clinic website:

The number of injections your child will receive for protection from pneumococcal infection will depend on your child's age at the first dose:

Children 6 weeks to 6 months of age?4 doses

Children 7 to 11 months of age?3 doses

Children 12 to 23 months of age?2 doses

Children 2 years through 9 years of age?1 dose

Children older than 9 years of age?Use of this vaccine is not recommended in this age group.

[SenoraPostrophe]

phew - just £150 then!

I think dd should definitely have it - this doctor is nice and doesn't usually prescribe unneccesarily. She needs it because she had mastoiditis last year and is apparently now prone to that (and ultimately meningitis). Not sure why ds should have it.

[jabberwocky]

We did get this one for ds last month (he was 17 months). The ear infection decrease with this is not that significant however I was keen to get the protection against meningitis especially as I have been told that it is becoming more and more resistant to antibiotics.