Melb baby dies of whooping cough...

[Little Chicken]

i was talking to my mum about it.
its so sad that this poor baby passed due to whooping cough. and honstly it scares me that the vax isn't working as well, seeing as DS1 now has a higher chance of getting upper respiratory infections due to other medication he is on. can i ask a really stupid question - whooping cough will (in most cases) mend its self like a cold (even if it take months) wont it? i know its not a nice thing to see but just a thought.

as for chicken pox DJ got 'em at 11 months old. so vic wont get the vax for it. its a 'right of passage' as a child IMHO. but i'm an odd ball!

Yes it will mend itself, over months not days. Months of a horrible cough that can be bad enough to break ribs, and in babies at least, they can't breathe while they are coughing. Unlike disease like chickenpox, catching the natural form of whooping cough does not give long term immunity either.

[Phteven]

Poor baby
And his family, what a nightmare. I hope they don't find themselves grieving in the midst of a propaganda war.

[Fleur]

Poor baby
And his family, what a nightmare. I hope they don't find themselves grieving in the midst of a propaganda war.

^^Absolutely...it's just heartbreaking... If I were his parents, pro-vax or not, it would make me furious to have his death being bandied about as part of the whole debate.

Interesting to note, there was a case of whooping cough at Pie's DC Centre last week, and the notice on the door is that ALL children in attendance on that day are excluded - no mention at all of vaxed vs non-vaxed kids being excluded. Everyone.

[nothing2lose]

I will be honest and admit I don't know much about the vax debate. My own child is fully immunized. But I can't help wondering how prolific and how deadly these diseases would be if no one was immunised. Even if they are not effective for absolutely everyone surely it is better for society if more people were vaccinated than not.

[nothing2lose]

I should also say as a child i watched my sister in months and months of agony while hospitalised with whooping cough. She had two tracheotomies and eventually died aged 18 months of a collapsed larynx. I will never forget the barking cough which was almost inhuman or her turning blue because she could not breathe. Nor will I forget my mum's scream when she found her after she had taken her last breath. So for me it is personal. I couldn't imagine not vaxing. To do so would somehow be disrespectful to both my sister and my mum.

[trishalishous]

such a tragedy!
I really wish we had an adult vaxx schedule, so that people received boosters and provided the herd immunity for our kids! I had pertussis as a newborn, and was also vaxxed against it (delayed though) and I *STILL* dont keep immunity! I had a booster for DDs sake, but they dont think that it will "hold" in my body.
Still though an 85% chance of DD not getting sick/as sick is worth it for me.

[sunshine_sieben]

I remember when I was at my doctor's one of the interns said that she had had the Hepatitis shots 4 times and just doesn't develop immunity. How annoying would that be?

[trishalishous]

I remember when I was at my doctor's one of the interns said that she had had the Hepatitis shots 4 times and just doesn't develop immunity. How annoying would that be?

my DH is the same with hep a/b, it jus doesnt take!