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” Unlike today, when anyone who suspects his child has measles will go straight to the pediatrician’s office, then not everyone went to the doctor. They kept their kids as comfortable as possible and hoped for the best.”
Going to the doctor if you suspect measles is an easy way to spread it. Stay home and call the doctor and get instructions on what to do. Measles can be tested with a urine sample which can easily be delivered to the doctor’s office without the possibly infected child in toe. The problem is people are scared of the measles as if it was bubonic plague or ebola. To be clear, it’s not benign, it’s risky, absolutely, but panic will not help. Keep a level head, call the doctor and quarantine the child. They will have high fever, upper respiratory infection (cough, runny nose, possibly ear infection), red eyes, possibly diarrhea and sore throat. 4 days before the rash and four days after they are contagious. Beezras Hashem, they will get through it without complications. The CDC recommends vitamin A supplements to prevent complications, look up how much depending on age. There is nothing for the doctor to do for you other than to tell you to “keep the child comfortable” and keep an eye in case of complications. It’s a virus, there is no medication. Lots of rest, lots of fluids and lots of siyata dishmaya.
If you think you need to go to the hospital, call ahead and let them know so they can wait for you at the door with a mask so you won’t infect anyone on your way in.
Wash your hands and know that the virus can live on surfaces for 2 hours, so wipe your phone down before you leave the house.
May all cholei Yisroel, pro and anti vax, have a refuah sheleima!
@Health, I was waiting for an answer as to why you attacked what I said but maybe you never saw what I posted because it’s no longer here. So I’m reposting now:
@ Health: Another Anti-vaxxer Lie!
That’s Not why they switched DTP to TDaP.
From NVIC:
“DPT vaccine is a combination of three inactivated bacterial vaccines: diphtheria, pertussis and tetanus. There are many different forms and combinations of these vaccines licensed for use in the United States.”Not sure why you are attacking what I wrote, the DPT was live virus and changed to acellular. The NVIC is explaining that these vaccines can come in different combinations and forms (Dtap, Tdap, a combo with polio and Hib, etc depending on the manufacturer.) I did not elaborate on why they did it, but here is the reason:
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Due to the possible reactogenicity of the whole-cell pertussis component of the DTP vaccine, acellular pertussis (aP) vaccine was developed as a replacement in 1991 (DTP became DTaP). This new vaccine was administered to children in 1992 [7,8] and then phased into the infant immunization schedule beginning in 1997 [9,10], following approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and recommendations by the U.S. Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP).There was a lot of noise about whether the DTP was causing reactions -there were some documentaries, news reports and a number of lawsuits which led to vaccine manufacturers threatening to stop supplying vaccines. So the government removed liability and created the vaccine court, etc. So the companies worked on developing an acellular vaccine, (I think Japan succeeded in producing one first, but I would have to look it up again) and once they had it, they phased it into the schedule. If you want to look up the whole megilla about it, here is a nice paper from the IOM:
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Without going into this whole history lesson, my point was the acellular polio, and the acellular Dtap, have the chisaron of not preventing transmission, which can complicate things because we think we are doing our bit for society getting a vaccine before coming in contact with newborns, but if we are exposed to pertussis, instead of coughing, feeling lousy and knowing we should stay away, we think we’re fine and can potentially bring the virus to the most vulnerable. ( link removed Acellular pertussis vaccines protect against disease but fail to prevent infection and transmission in a nonhuman primate model.)
@ubiquitin, the oral vaccine may not be used now in the USA, but we had to use it in Israel when there was an outbreak a few years ago. The inactivated vaccine can protect the individual from getting sick, but it does not block transmission, which means if there is an outbreak, vaccinated people can spread the virus without knowing it. The oral vaccine does create gut or mucosal immunity, meaning the vaccinated individual, after the initial period when they will shed the virus in their stool, will no longer transmit the virus to others. But the OPV (oral polio vaccine) does carry a danger of spreading vaccine strain polio, which can be more serious than wild strain polio (which was the case in an outbreak last year in Syria). So we all had to go and get the oral dose in addition to the IPV (inactivated polio vaccine). For those who don’t remember this outbreak, this article does a great job explaining the 2 types of vaccines, the upsides and downsides. http://science.sciencemag.org/content/342/6159/679.full
Similarly, the DTP shot was a weakened live vaccine and had to be changed out, like the oral polio, for the inactivated Tdap. This creates the same problem, symptoms in the vaccinated individual are absent, but they can still transmit the virus to infants and other susceptible individuals.For those calling on the government to take away the children of antivaxxers: Regardless of where you stand on the vaccination issue, keep in mind that calls of restricting a parent’s right to make medical decisions for their child can lead us all down a slippery slope. Once the precedent is set, what is to keep the government from deciding if metzitza bepeh or Milah in general endangers a child or deciding R”L that the state can pull a plug or force treatments on a child that can render him or her sterile? Freedom is not something to take lightly, once you start chipping away at it, you never know where it will lead.