Measles-anyone have any experience of it?

[hellymelly]

My daughters are not vaccinated and there is a measles outbreak here.We have agonised over vaccination and so far we have opted out but measles does frighten me,and reactions vary,my GP is naturally very pro vaccination,the homoeopath I spoke to feels differently,I have been to several lectures about vaccination and I still can't decide.DH is thinking maybe we should give the girls the single vaccine.Does anyone have any experience of measles?How bad can it get? I had it as a child,everyone did,but I don't really remember what it was like.

I don't know anyone who has had it (I am 36) I had german measles twice???

Measles vaccinations have been around for a long time, it's a killer, can leave you brain damaged etc

If there is an outbreak and your dds are in good health I'd get them vaccinated tbh.

Definitely get them vaccinated. IMO.

I would be worried about them coming across measles later in life, unvaccinated. So what if they're pregnant and get measles because of an outbreak? That kind of thing.

As has been said, Measles is a killer, the number of children having serious side effects from measles (brain damage etc) and even dying has risen drastically since the trend away from vaccinations.

I understand people being unsure about vaccines that have know or suspected side-effects but on this one I feel the risk out-ways the potential effects.

IMO I would get them done asap. At the very least I would take a long hard look at the effects of measles.

God I am really torn.We have a massive family history of severe allergy,very bad asthma etc and there is a link between this and vaccination apparently so that is a big part of why we haven't done it.-I had measles in the late 60's and then it was just something everyone got.All my friends have had it,they are all fine,so i don't quite understand why it is now thought of as so serious,was I just lucky,not to know anyone badly affected?

can you not get the single jabs if you really dont want the combined mmr?

I think you were probably quite lucky, I wonder when the vaccinations were introduced? My db was born in 1970 and he was vaccinated????

Biggest risk now I should think is that GP's won't recognise it quickly enough to get treatment?

Understand your worry if they have severe allergies.

You probably won't find anyone with experience as they started vaccinating in 1966 or thereabouts. So there have not been many outbreaks since

How old are your children? Measles is very unpleasant, but it would not usually cause death in an otherwise healthy child. I think the problem is that we live in a climate where the possible risks of vaccination are underplayed, while the risks of childhood illnesses are overplayed. All this does not help parents who are trying to decide what is best for their child.

Are you sure there is an outbreak? We often hear that there is an outbreak where I live in the local paper but I often think is it just propaganda?

You know your daughters best - you obviously have well thought out reasons for your decision so far...

dd had it aged 13 mths
High temp (42) lethargy, breastfed and slept five days solid. Conjunctivitis
Took 3 weeks to be fit again

My brother aged 14 in 1990
Nearly died as brain started swelling.
Luckily responded to superb immediate emergency healthcare.

I have not vaccinated mine with MMR
As my eldest now 15 went into anaphylactic shock with the vaccine.

I'm between rock and hard place to be fair...

I think it is a fair point that it is definitely a concern for a young adult, who has neither been vaccinated, nor had the illness. If my children reach teenage and have not had it, I would at that point consider a single vaccine.

I have had measles
There was a vaccine scare at the time so I wasn't vaccinated

You have to weigh up the risk

• your child having an adverse reaction to the jab

VS - your child having a bad case of measles

they are nearly 4 and 18m.They have always been really healthy,they've both had chicken pox but otherwise hardly even a cold.A few weeks ago they came down with a nasty cough/cold virus and it was the first cough either of them had had,initially the homeopath wondered whether it might be measles but it wasn't.now there is a case in my daughter's school.There were 27 cases in a school close by and clearly some of those children had been vaccinated so i don't know how reliable the vaccine is anyway.My gilrs have no signs of allergy yet,but the rest of out families are laden with it and my brother spent huge chunks of his childhood in hospital with asthma.according to Michele Odent there are no long term studies in place on the non specific effects of the current programme of vaccination.DD2 has had tetanus as it was essential when she had an injury that warranted it,but nothing else.anyone else not vaccinated their dc s?

I have seen it 3 times in my time as a GP- each child looked bloody awful. It can cause deaths in 'otherwise healthy children'- just like meningitis, that is the problem. Many older GPs who remember when measles was commonplace talk of how greatful they were when vaccination was introduced and that they stopped seeing these really sick children and terrible compliactions.

I have a friend who is now 29 and had it as a 3 year old. She developed seizures from SSPE and ended up in ITU for a week. Luckily, she survived without problem.

I also grew up next to a boy who was 3 years older than me, who was autistic. Aged 5 he caught measles and was left blind and profoundly deaf. It was incredibly sad for him and his parents.

I personally would always fully immunise my children, but appreciate that others may chose not to.

Dh had it as a child.

Can't see out of his right eye very well. Optician said that if both eyes were as bad he would have to be registered as blind.

This was due to the measles.

Ok, well I agree your family history and circumstances make it a tough one to weigh up.

I know a GP is not going to give you un-biased information but they may be able to give some realistic advice on what may happen if there is a reaction to it etc. This information may help you to decide.

Sadly it is near impossible to get real information that is totaly un-biased as it is such a difficult and emotive topic.

I had measles when I was 11. I was seriously ill and kept in isolation in hospital for nearly 3 weeks. I made sure that my son had the MMR.

My understanding is that you can get it after a vacine but that it will not be severe enough to cause the horrid effects of days gone by. (in answer to your query about the other school)

I would say 27 is an out-break and with the sibling/family conections that cross between schools then your children are at risk of contracting it - however, that does not mean they are at risk of serious complications....

Really (IMO) we cannot advise you as you need proper facts and figures to sit down and discuss between you. (I know that is little help sorry)

I'm surprised that anybody would not vaccinate. measles can be really serious.

I have measles damage to my left eye. I can remember my mum making me wear sunglasses and having the curtains shut in the house. She said the GP at the time said she was going too far but she's certain if she hadn't done that, that it would have been worse. I don't know how true that is though.

My dh had it as a child. Was very poorly but recovered fine.

My dad and his sister had it as children. She was left profoundly deaf, my dad with significant hearing loss in one ear.

It is just a gamble really - we vaccinated our kids cause we figured the risk of vaccine damage was much lower than the risk of measles damage.

I was never vaccinated for measles as a child and am full of allergies so that connection didn't bother me.

latest stats of confirmed cases

my next door neighbours son had it age 6 andhe had had the vaccine and he was quite poorly with it..my older two had first vaccs but no booster and my third hasnt had many of his usual vacs due to allergies and bad responses

I had measles as a child - I always assumed it was just one of those unpleasant things all kids got, but got over. Its one of my earliest memories, the GP coming to visit (they did that in those days)

But personal experience is not good evidence... I'd simply have never got to meet those that had died or been badly affected, would I? Not in those days, poor mites would have been bundled off to special schools - so of course all my friends who'd had measles were fine.

I would be inclined to trust your GP's opinion more than your homeopath's.