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Original poster

Measles

25 replies

RagDoll · 25/01/2003 17:43

I think my dd aged 7 may have this. Ive spoken to my GP today and to the NHS direct line (who are very good I have to say) and it seems the symptoms I am describing point in that direction.
Just wondered if anyone has had recent experience of this and can give me some idea how long before the child starts to feel better? She has had all her immunisations so I am told she should get it mild. also how long is she contagious for, how long should you keep children off school etc? any advice greatly appreciated!

OP posts:
sb34 · 25/01/2003 20:08

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Original poster
RagDoll · 25/01/2003 20:12

Thank you for replying - I appreciate that.
This evening my dd seems a little better, perkier anyway though very tired. I am putting her into bed with dh and I this evening just so I can keep a close eye. Says her rash is 'itching' this evening - I cant think why.

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sb34 · 25/01/2003 20:38

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Jimjams · 25/01/2003 21:42

RagDoll - give her as much vitamin A as you can (and she will take). (not megadoses though as it can be toxic in really high doses). If you look on the MMR thread near the end you'll see a quote from some papers about vitamin A and meales- it reduces the severity of the disease and decreases the time patients are ill for.

Original poster
RagDoll · 27/01/2003 12:56

Thanks for the vitamin A tip - I will look up that thread in a moment. Ive taken dd to the docs this morning and its been confirmed as measles, mild though. Anyone know how long they are contagious for?

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CAM · 28/01/2003 08:48

sb34 did your child have the MMR as Ragdoll says hers did?

Jimjams · 28/01/2003 09:34

sb34- not answering for cam- but at 11 months I doubt her daughter had MMR. They don't recommend vaccinating this young as there is a high failure rate. Actually there's fairly high faliure rate for the measles component anyway. In this summer's outbreak in London the majority of children were vaccinated. I think a US study showed about 60% of children in outbreaks had been vaccinated.

cam- genuinely interested- did you have measles as a child, or were you vaccinated, or neither?

PS The rash can be itchy-although usually only slightly.

Jimjams · 28/01/2003 09:35

wrong way round- cam not answeimg for sb34 and sb 34 did you have measles as a child etc -see below and apologies- not awake yet!

Original poster
RagDoll · 28/01/2003 09:37

pleased to report dd progressively better today - thx for saying rash is slightly itching cos it was. She kept saying yesterday her chest was sore which worried me somewhat but seems better today so lets hope we have turned that corner! Thanks for your support everyone.

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Jimjams · 28/01/2003 09:38

ragdoll not sure about how long they are contagious- but I think it's most contagious before the rash. I remember playing with a friend who was off school with whooping cough when I was off school with measles but feeling better. She didn't get measles and I didn't get whooping cough.....

sb34 · 28/01/2003 22:23

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sb34 · 28/01/2003 22:26

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Jimjams · 28/01/2003 22:33

ahh sb34- not starting the debate but this is my biggest worry about measles vaccination (any form). 11 month old babies should still be protected by their mother's antibodies (although they do begin to wain after a year- so she was right at the limit)- but I just don't believe you get the same protection from vaccination - for whatever reason the protection wears off. It just worries me that tiny babies (by which I mean weeks old rather than months) could be at risk. I had measles quite badly as a child (no complications but I was quite ill with it). I've always assumed i wasn't vaccinated but my mother said I was the other day (although her memory is a bit ropey for that sort of thing). I think about 60% of people who get measles have been vaccinated anyway - (study from the states). I'm burbling but thanks for the reply I was interested. Glad your daughter's getting better ragdoll.

Frieda · 28/01/2003 22:44

Jimjams ? I read that in the so-called "epidemic" (of I think about 21 children in South London last year), at least one had been vaccinated (although hadn't had the booster).
7 or 8 kids from my ds's nursery, including ds's best friend, had it this summer (though not ds ? he had homeopathic preventative treatment and we were fortuitously on holiday during the height of the epidemic). All made a full recovery afterwards, including one who had chickenpox at the same time. What my friend (ds's bf's mother) said to me, was she was horrified at the treatment she got from her GP ? no one would even come out but suggested instead she bring this highly infectious child down to the surgery ? presumably to wait in the waiting room with everyone else!!!
I seem to remember most of the children with measles were off nursery for a couple of weeks, no more. But best to check.
Good luck with it, ragdoll. Hope she'll recover quickly.

sb34 · 28/01/2003 23:18

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Original poster
RagDoll · 29/01/2003 18:00

DD continues to make good progress - thanks for your support everyone. Will keep her off school till Monday probably (she needs to build up her strength). Inow have a severe sore throat!!! boo hoo.

OP posts:
Jimjams · 29/01/2003 19:51

sb34- yep she should- my guess is that you didn't have much immunity to give her! I do find this worrying. At 11 months it's not so much of a problem- but what if she had been 6 weeks old or something.

Frieda- they were very cagey about the actual figures- but I did hear that about 2 thirds of the children had been vaccinated (I suppose a lot would have been too young for the booster). Don't know how reliable that was- I did try to keep an eye out for official figures but didn't see them. Heaven forbid it got out that these things don't even work as well as they're meant to

Ragdoll- glad dd is getting better.

tomps · 07/02/2003 00:38

frieda - did you do homeopathic 'vaccination' ? I'm considering this and would love to know how it worked. Thought dd had measles before xmas - rashes, v high temperature, miserable, so rang gp surgery to say I thought she had measles so needed to see a dr. So they told me to come on in ! Turned out to be severe ear infection, but receptionist couldn't have known that. I would have been v p'd off if I had been the pregnant lady with 2 small kids who was also sat in the waiting area with us, and I had known there was a suspected measles case there. I'd hate to waste nhs / drs time, but this seemed odd.

susanmt · 07/02/2003 02:06

Ragdoll, she will have long lost the immunity you gave her as a breastfeeding mother. The immunities last at best a couple of years past the end of breastfeeding. You did really well to feed her until 9.5 months but at 7 years old this will now bw having little effect. Sorry to disappoint you!

Rhiannon · 07/02/2003 07:55

Sorry to add doom and gloom to this thread. My cousin's little girl died of septacaemia (sp?) when she had measles. I have posted about this b4 but some time back. If you are in any doubt if she gets very poorly, go to casualty.

The doctor's receptionist refused the 4 year old a home visit and when she lost consciousness the GP finally came and called an ambulance. But by then it was too late and she died.

I know it is rare but I had never heard of it before this case. It was 4 years ago now but you never forget.

Batters · 07/02/2003 12:16

This reply has been deleted

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Frieda · 07/02/2003 12:48

God, Rhiannon, what a terrible thing to happen! I can't believe the doctor wouldn't come out to such a terribly sick child!
Tomps ? about homeopathic vaccination: I think it's also known as a "nosode", though I haven't got my book to hand. Like all homeopathic remedies, it's a very, very dilute dose of morbillium (the measles virus), and is thought to provide temporary cover in the same way that an immunoglobulin vaccination does conventionally. And like conventional immunoglobulin vaccinations, the length of time it will cover you for is also unknown.
My homeopath actually advised me against using this method ? she thought it better to catch the disease & get permenant immunity that way, though dh was very much against this course of action, as there was an outbreak at ds's nursery at the time.
You can also build up the immune system homeopathically, anyway, which I'd recommend in any case if you're thinking of going down this route.

I'm also staggered to hear other tales of people being told to bring children with suspected cases of measles down the surgery! Think it's outrageously irresponsible to expose all those vulnerable people ? not to mention young babies ? to a highly contagious virus like this.

sb34 · 07/02/2003 19:34

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sb34 · 07/02/2003 19:35

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tomps · 15/02/2003 23:53

Well I was keen on dd getting measles naturally rather than immunising, but friend's dd has just been in hospital with the dreaded disease and it's given me the fear. So it's measles vaccination for us (not the other 2 though) with homeopathic treatment before and after. Fingers crossed.

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