Has your child got measles?

[Marie100]

Hello,
We are looking to expose our children to measles, mumps and rubella. Does anyone have a child with any of these infections so we can expose them to it, along the line of the old style measles parties.

I appreciate this is an emotive subject. Vaccination is not compulsory and every parent makes their own choice. I respect the choices all parents have made but do not wish to debate on those choices.

Many thanks in advance.

Adults and children under 1 are the at-risk groups for measles.

" the most significant contribution that medial science has come up with.."

I disagree with your opinion about vaccines. Antibiotics have saved more lives than them.

If the single measles jab doesn't last as long as the MMR (if that's actually true), then people like me are at risk of measles as I had single jab(s) as a child.
So much for herd immunity! There must be an awful lot of people like me in the UK. Hey ho.

Sorry, not having a go at you, Bubbly. Just pointing out that, as an adult, I'm not scared about catching measles. I wish I'd had it as a child instead of the jabs.

" the most significant contribution that medial science has come up with.."

I disagree with your opinion about vaccines. Antibiotics have saved more lives than them.

MMMM....
I wonder why then that the World Health Organisation puts its efforts and money into vaccinating children in the third world, as opposed to just shipping out lots of antibiotics.

Two of my children have had measles, one of them had Rubella too.

They were ill, very ill. I would have found the guilt unbearable had I exposed them purposefully eg at a party. If you want your child to be immuned then vacinate.

going - so sorry to hear about your DCs. It's so rare to hear from someone with recent experience of measles, would you mind me asking how long the temperature lasted and if they suffered any complications?

illuminasam It happened 4 years ago. The girls had a temp, were very tired and had what seemed to be a throat infection for about three days. Felt better for one day. Next day they both went rapidly down hill with very high temps and the rash started - first as a butterfly on thier faces and very quickly spread to the rest of thier bodies. They did take a couple of weeks to recover (normally very heathly children). No lasting effects for the kids. They caught it from me. I was really ill, ended up being admitted to hosptial, had a miscarriage at 16 weeks and was so ill thought I was going to die. The dr's didn't dianose measles until I took one of the children to the gp as I thought they had throat infections. We all had swabs and were confrimed cases.

So sorry to hear about your loss going. Unfortunately I think there are many adults at risk now due to waning immunity from the vaccine.

Imadgeine, well if you look at the eradication of various diseases in the 20th century then it would seem that the best thing the WHO could provide is clean water and decent sanitation! Things that we take for granted while attributing our good health to a few jabs.

You're right about water and sanitation - which is prob why she said medical science.

Grimma, my post was in response to her comment about the WHO putting effort and money into vaccines. Based on history, providing clean water and good sanitation would go a lot further in eliminating disease.

Grimma, my post was in response to her comment about the WHO putting effort and money into vaccines. Based on history, providing clean water and good sanitation would go a lot further in eliminating disease.

WHO does put effort into water/sanitation, its not an either/or.

Two children I nanny for had measles in MArch both ended up in ICU one with encephalitis and one with pneumonia. Both had not been vaccinated a choice I agreed with until I saw them connected to machines helping them breathe. Mum used Vit A, homeopathy, herbal meds etc. and still they ended up very ill. They will not be strong enough to go back to school until September, everyday she beats herself up over her decision not to vaccinate and has begged me to vaccinate my girls to protect them from the horror she has been through, I have.

I had measles at 12. It was horrible. I couldn't see properly - couldn't focus my eyes - couldn't eat, couldn't stand by myself. And I didn't have any 'complications.'

I don't get this anti-vacc stuff. People would have given their right arm to be able to protect their children just two generations ago.

Yes folks, clean water, good sewage disposal and vaccines are the three most important preventative measures and together they will have far more impact than drugs. Then there are mosquito nets.
After that medical science falls back on health education, surgery and drugs. Interesting posts from those with experience of measles. I remember my little sister suddenly getting a bad squint in her eye when she had it. Fine before. Afterwards glasses, eye appointments and an operation (partly successful) to correct. Could have been a co-incidence of course.

It is completely your choice and I don't want to spark off the non debate even more that is going on but I suggest you look at all the options before deliberately exposing your child to anything.

What are now thought of as fairly mild diseases have only gotten this way through vaccinations and treatments the risks are there and especially at the moment as there is talk of a measles epidemic in France and the US. People are dying of measles now because the strain is stronger and less people are have any immunity.

I am not telling you what to do, just because there are media lies and exagerations on both sides of the story doesn't mean there are not risks.

Goodluck

Testimonials of those above and others I've spoken to seem to have the same thing to say about measles: it affects children differently. Some sail through it with a few days of temperature and no repercussions and for others the affects are much more sinister and long lasting.

Does anyone know what causes this difference? Assuming that nutritional status is the same, what causes some to develop encephalitis, pneumonia etc and others not?

People are dying of measles now because the strain is stronger and less people are have any immunity.

That is nonsense - measles have always killed children or left them with disabilities. They have not gotten any more dangerous than they were 100 years ago (when 3% of each birth cohort in Berlin died of measles - obviously also because of lack of sanitation and antibiotics) or 50 years ago. Under "normal" circumstances (i.e. in the developed world) about 1 death is reported per 1000 reported cases.

Catherina it's 1 in 8000-10,000. Before the measles vaccine was introduced in 1968 it was 1 in 5000.

Also agree that it is nonsense that the strain is stronger and that less people have immunity - unless you are specifically talking about natural acquired immunity rather than vaccine immunity? That is true although I think those who are vaccinated would also like to consider themselves as having immunity (although this is not guaranteed)

1 reported death per 1000 reported cases. That is an average - some countries have more (like the US), some countries had fewer (like Italy and particularly Switzerland in their ongoing epidemic), but especially in all sort of "medium sized" outbreaks (so 1000 to 3000 cases, Germany, Netherlands, Ireland), this ratio stands.

oh and measles vaccine was first introduced in UK in 1968 and had 33% uptake

oops on wonrg thread here!