Summer colds are no fun.
But usually, they’re no big deal.
This one was different:
All three of our kids, ages 8, 5 and 23 months, had a terrible cough. None of them had a characteristic “whoop,” that the symptoms of whooping cough describe, but something about it was itching at the corners of my mind for a day.
The next morning, as soon as my eyes opened, I thought: my kids have whooping cough. I was on the computer figuring out symptoms before anyone else in the household was up – or at least, up to stay. My toddler had, of course, been up what felt like dozens of times that night.
It’s hard for me even to know where to start with this story, which will unfold over the course of three posts.
For a while, I didn’t want to change the title because I thought it still had a lot of worth. But now that I’ve met too many people with actual vaccine injuries that impact their lives every day, I know the truth: THEY are the ones who truly lost the vaccine odds. Getting whooping cough and having no lasting effects from it is actually a win.
When we were in the throes of whooping cough with all three, I was unable to share on social media for weeks because it was too raw, too real (and you all know I’m pretty darn open with my faults and being “real” around here!).
I felt embarrassed.
Overwhelmed.
Pained.
Now, as we’re nearly finished with the effects of whooping cough, I’m looking back at the notes I jotted down when it all began. It already feels like a distant memory. Was it really that bad?
I’m glad I wrote quite a bit while everything was fresh, because it’s a different story from the foxholes than it would have been if I was sharing from my current vantage point.
How Bad is Whooping Cough?
When the child wakes up at 10:00, 11:30, 12:00, 1:00, 2:30, 4:00, 5:00, 6:00 and 7:00…
When vomit three times and more per day becomes the new normal…
When you as a parent have to take on a detached feeling when the child is coughing, even though it sounds like the most awful thing…
…you know it’s not just a cold.
Experiencing whooping cough was bad enough that I felt embarrassed to share not only on social media, but with friends in real life. It took a while for things to feel less raw, but even now, my mouth is dry and hands shaking as I put the story together in print.
We felt like it was our fault that our children, and in particular our 23-month old John, had to deal with the awful coughing and not being able to breathe. It’s gut-wrenching to watch. It’s equally gut-wrenching to question our decisions.
How did we get a Preventable Disease?
I really can’t talk about contracting whooping cough without sharing our vaccine background as a family.
When my oldest, now eight years old, was born, I did what the doctors told me, more or less. I hated the thought of formula and cried when I was told he wasn’t gaining weight well enough, and I had to supplement. But on vaccines, we followed orders. So son number one, Paul, was fully vaccinated until it came time for his kindergarten boosters, and then we entered the wonderful world of “the waiver.”
We made individual decisions on each booster, but records show that at age 5, he did receive his DTaP, the inoculation that includes “protection” against pertussis.
The reason for that is the research I did with baby number two, Leah. She’s three years younger than Paul, and our lifestyle had changed a great deal in those three years that I spent as a mostly stay-at-home mom.
When I was expecting Leah, I read The Vaccine Book by Dr. Robert Sears. It’s wonderful in that it breaks down each vaccine as a separate decision and shares research on the risks and benefits of the vaccine.
As a result, Leah started her young life with far fewer shots than Paul. We opted out of about half and delayed some others. By this summer, she had received two of her recommended five pertussis vaccinations (the vaccination for whooping cough).
After Leah’s birth, I started blogging and entered the wild world of far “crunchier” mamas than I encountered in my regular life. By the time John was born three years later, I had a pretty healthy fear of vaccines. (Not fear in the, “I don’t trust God to take care of my family,” sort of way, but the, “I don’t really want to put that directly into my child’s bloodstream, especially when he only weighs 8 pounds,” kind of fear.)
Although we had planned to begin one or two vaccines last year at his 12-month checkup, and he was even taking Vaccishield (a review product) in preparation, he got his very first cold right before the appointment, so we backed out, shooting for the 15-month checkup.
At that time, although he was mostly healthy in between, he contracted another cold, and instead of shots, he came home with a diagnosis of pneumonia (Read more: Home Remedies for Pneumonia).
Our much-loved pediatrician left her practice to be a stay-at-home mom, and at the time of the 18-month appointment, I just didn’t know where we wanted to go for care, so I chose to hold off. John had pneumonia again right around his half birthday anyway (Katie rolls her eyes in disgust).
The bottom line was that by mid-summer, a month before John’s second birthday, and through a series of odd coincidences and conscious choices, our toddler was completely unvaccinated against pertussis (and everything else).
Believe me, even though I already said we had to learn to feel a bit detached during the coughing spells or lose our minds, the guilt of feeling like we did this to our child (and children) was intense. Raw. Embarrassing.
Learning that Someone You Love has Whooping Cough
Whooping cough (pertussis) starts out like any other cold. You might notice a bad cough, but at first – when your child is quite contagious – you probably don’t even know what’s going on.
Most people can figure out from whom they got the disease, because it typically takes consistent and persistent contact with someone actually coughing, then sharing the germs with you. You realize something like, “Oh, so-and-so was coughing a ton too – this must be from him!”
With my oldest son, we don’t have a clue who shared pertussis with him. He started coughing on June 22 – a day I know exactly because we were at a family reunion at his grandparents’ house, swimming and socializing. He was perfectly healthy when he woke up, and by the time we were leaving the party, I thought, “Sheesh! This kid just got sick, right now, today! Darn summer colds…”
Almost exactly two weeks later, just before we were considering taking Paul, the oldest, to the doctor’s to see what was up, the younger two started the cough.
None of the kids seemed very under the weather or felt awful all day, but we kept remarking on how, “Goodness! They seem fine for a while and then this huge coughing fit! How odd!” or “It really amps up at night and sounds horrible. I can’t wait for this one to be over…”
I’m not sure exactly how I started to wonder about whooping cough.
Maybe John was just starting to develop the “whoop” sound, but he wasn’t very obvious yet. I just couldn’t stop thinking about our vaccination choices, how something was awry with this cough, and that it might be whooping cough, even though I couldn’t determine where in the world was the “whoop”.
On that early morning research foray, my searches led me to a few basic sites that defined whooping cough, like this one, which began to confirm my suspicion but kept me looking. I read all the details at Mayo Clinic’s site, but it wasn’t until I found this whooping cough information and browsed around that site that I was 100% convinced.
The WhoopingCough.net site is written by a family doctor from the UK who studied whooping cough in his community for 30 years. His goal with the site is help both parents and doctors diagnose whooping cough more accurately, because it is his opinion that whooping cough is severely underdiagnosed, and in my experience, I agree wholeheartedly.
He has a few videos shared by parents, and the second I saw them – heard them – I knew we were dealing with a triple case of whooping cough.
I can barely remember how I shared the news with my husband, but I can recall a visceral feeling of oppression. Of weight, literally sitting on my shoulders. I had no choice but to lift it up and move on, but it wasn’t an easy load to carry.
That was two weeks in, and one of the facts I learned on my research expedition was that antibiotics are most effective in the first five days and really only help to keep the disease from being contagious. The disease itself more or less ends after three weeks (but may last up to six weeks). Since we were 14-15 days in, by the time antibiotics would kick in, John would likely not be contagious anymore anyway.
We decided against pursuing a prescription, my one silver lining: two of my kids still have never been introduced to pharmaceutical antibiotics.
One other fact I learned was that in Asia, whooping cough is called “The 100 Days Cough.” We were about to find out why.
What Whooping Cough Sounds Like
Only half of all whooping cough cases present with the “whoop” sound, which is one reason pertussis goes severely underdiagnosed.
It’s recommended that if you suspect it at all, or if your child tends to go long spans of time without any coughing, and then has a huge coughing attack (a key symptom of whooping cough), you should try to get a video to show to your doctor. Chances are, the child wouldn’t end up coughing during the doctor’s visit and you’d get an inaccurate diagnosis.
This is what whooping cough sounds like without the whoop (the video of my 5-year-old daughter was taken about 3 weeks after symptoms started):
EDIT: I’m very dismayed to share that YouTube removed this video for “violating terms of service.” They feel it is not important for parents to have help identifying a very contagious disease, which presents itself often without the whoop. I’m so very sorry you cannot view this video!
And here’s our little guy, almost two years old, at the same time, three weeks after symptoms began:
If you can’t see the video, click HERE to view it on YouTube.
He clearly has the whoop, which started about 15-16 days in.
The sound of the deep, chesty coughs reverberates through the walls at night. The rhythm isn’t hack, hack hack; it’s “Ah-tum, ah-tum, ah-tum,” almost two syllables, more like a sneeze cadence than a cough.
The classic “whoop” is a fairly easy-to-recognize sign, but neither of our older kids exhibited it. They both did have coughing fits that made it hard for them to breathe, like too much “out” without enough “in” for their air, and also exhibited the classic whooping cough sign of going long periods with no coughing at all.
What Whooping Cough is Really Like
Back in the midst of the pertussis grip on our household, I wrote:
“He wakes up about every hour (or more) for much of the night, then somehow sleeps peacefully, generally, from 6-9 in the morning.”
“We can’t drive anywhere without being ready for vomit, and ‘bucket management’ has become part of our vocabulary, i.e. making sure there’s always either a bucket or hard flooring nearby at all times.”
It was during this time when I had the unfortunate experience of blueberry smoothie making a return appearance, after John had been enjoying our new review product, a Squooshi reusable food pouch, and wandered onto the carpet before I realized it.
I was pretty adept at knowing when the upchuck was coming – did I mention yet that he vomited or at least spit up about a dozen times a day? I caught some but not all of the green/blueberry smoothie. This natural carpet spot cleaner post was one of the first times I alluded to the whole saga, and that wasn’t even written until some months later.
And how long does it really last?
Somewhere around 7 weeks (or 49 days). I wrote down that “50 days might as well be 100.” It feels long, and I couldn’t imagine how 50 more days was going to feel.
While preparing for this post, I was still trying to tape the sound of John at night through the monitor to share online, because he still had the “whoop” sound. I checked the calendar, and it turns out that it was exactly a frightening 100 days from the start date when symptoms appeared.
Symptoms of Whooping Cough
With three cases in the house, we saw plenty of whooping cough symptoms. If you really want to understand the disease, I can’t say enough about this doctor’s site, which has everything the rest of the Internet has on whooping cough plus a ton more information and experience.
For those who just want an overview, here’s a list of possible symptoms:
- long span of time between coughs, often 2-4 hours without a problem (but not exactly “fine all day, coughs at night,” which is more related to croup)
- a choking cough that lasts 1-2 minutes (although not always, in our experience, and not with every child)
- turning red or blue in the face during a coughing spasm
- coughing so hard you vomit
- Our 8-year-old wet the bed nearly every night for two weeks, perhaps because he was coughing so hard, perhaps because of some other related side effect (being so tired from the coughing waking him up?)
Not everyone will demonstrate all the symptoms, but whooping cough is almost always characterized by a long break between coughing spasms.
By the way, did I mention I’m not a doctor, not a nurse, not anyone qualified to give medical advice of any kind? I’m just a mom who had three sick kids, read some stuff on the Internet, and felt compelled to share. Please, don’t take any of my advice with any more weight than you’d accept advice from a random neighbor.
Beyond the Symptoms: Life with Whooping Cough
Reading a list of the symptoms, and even watching the video of my kids, neither of whom had a truly serious case of whooping cough, cannot do justice to the fact that it’s literally a new lifestyle, with as many emotional pressures and habit changes as the transition to say, a grain-free elimination diet meal plan.
During our experience, when I had an extra brain cell available to think, I was often thinking about how I would eventually have to share the whole story with all of you, because I think it’s important to get beyond the text in a book describing a disease and into the life of a real family who experienced it.
Many of you are in positions where you’re deciding on vaccinations for your children. I’ll talk much more about our decision process and how it may or may not change from here on out, but here are some of the thoughts that Katie-in-the-midst-of-the-whooping-cough-crisis often wanted you to hear:
If you don’t vaccinate against whooping cough, you need to know what you’re risking:
- You have to be ready to deal with coughing-to-vomiting a dozen times a day. Not for one or two days, but for 2-4 weeks, potentially.
- Are you ready for 100 days of shortened or missed naps?
- You have to be willing to have your child cough so loudly and sound so scary that everyone in the room looks at you.
- Imagine yourself saying to someone you’re acquainted with: “My child has whooping cough.” Evaluate how that would make you feel.
- You have to be ready to keep your child out of school or daycare for 21 days – and siblings too? That includes church, library time, and any other fun family functions you might have planned in a given month, summer or winter.
- You have to be willing to stay away from all the babies in your life for a long time, 3-4 weeks at least, and probably all elderly people too.
- Consider an illness that lasts 7 weeks to three months. Can you sustain care that long for your child?
- You have to be prepared to deal with rude people who will judge you for not getting your baby/child vaccinated.
- You can’t love your sleep. You’ll likely wake up somewhere between once an hour and three times a night, or sometimes once every 5-20 minutes.
Then again, you may have to go through the same list even if you do vaccinate…which is precisely the problem. Keep in mind that our fully vaccinated son brought this illness home to us, likely from summer day camp (in retrospect).
The range of emotions as a parent can’t be underestimated – from being in agony watching your child suffer, to feeling guilty and second-guessing about the vaccine decision, to becoming detached during every coughing spasm, to acting more like a doctor or nurse than a mother or father, to fearing the spread of this disease to babies.
I cannot tell you what it’s like to imagine your child as a walking death trap to a newborn child, and to attempt to walk backward through the two weeks when you didn’t know that it was whooping cough, trying to figure out if we could have infected anyone else.
I’ll pick up the story in the next post with the social aspects of your child having a contagious disease for which there exists a vaccine…
Other Natural Health Posts:
- Fighting Infection without Antibiotics
- Are Hand Sanitizers Safe?
- Get Rid of Warts Naturally
- Natural Remedies for Ear Infections
- Foods to Bind Diarrhea (BRATY Diet)
- How We Kicked Whooping Cough
- You Probably Need a Parasite Cleanse
- Natural Pneumonia Treatments For Toddlers
- Natural Remedies for Croup
UPDATE: Here’s part two on being contagious with whooping cough and part three on the decisions (and inaccurate statistics).
Wish You Knew All the Answers to Keep Your Family Healthy?
How about a crash course?
I’d love to send you a 7-day “Quick Start Guide” email mini-course to give you Health Agency! When something goes wrong in your family, YOU can be the agent of healing and not allllllways have to call a doctor for every little thing.
Imagine this email series as a virtual chat over the backyard fence with your own neighbor, a wise older mom who’s raising 4 kids with intention, trying to avoid unnecessary medication and being kind to the earth.
Looking forward to connecting to help you learn EXACTLY what you need to know to stock your natural remedies “medicine cabinet,” deal with normal childhood ailments, and even the dreaded, “What’s that on my skin?” issue! 🙂
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Have you read what Suzanne Humphries, MD has to say on this subject? She is a wealth of information.
I haven’t the time to read all the comments. Thank you for this important information. I will say however, that in rebuttal to some of the ill informed vaccine promoters here, may I remind you that there is now vaccine resistant pertussis, probably caused by those with vaccines and by those who are recently vaccinated, causing harm to the vulnerable, those with weak immune systems, with no care taken for this? And if there are many people with vaccines to protect against pertussis, why are the vaccinated worried that others with pertussis could infect them?
It is very sad that doctors and hospitals have little to no knowledge of the wonderful uses of Vitamin C, done by mouth, intravenously, or injection. Vitamin C will render a virus or bacteria or toxin harmless if enough is given, and especially if given early. Pertussis produces toxins in the body and Vitamin C will detoxify these toxins and help the body processes to get rid of it. This is has been documented since the 1950’s by Dr. Klenner and others, who used it against pertussis, mumps, tetanus, measles, and others. In fact most of the diseases vaccines were made for, will succumb in many cases to large doses of safe, nontoxic Vitamin C through IV. If more hospitals and doctors would be open to this therapy, and if every Emergency rooms would quickly apply this therapy even before the diagnosis, we would see a lot less suffering. Big Pharma has helped to create this madness, disinformation, and confusion about not using C to serve their own purposes. Vitamin C doesn’t make them any money, for it can’t be patented. Strong words I know, but I’ve studied it long enough to understand it and have seen it first hand. Our dear friends lost a sweet baby to Pertussis. We tried and tried to persuade them to use this therapy within a few days, had protocol and advisory doctors standing ready and could not convince them to try it until the very end. After 2 months on life saving machines, the doctor was finally convinced to give it a try, she began to improve, but it was too late for her lungs to repair, and she passed. The doctor afterward said he will remember this therapy for a child in similar circumstances and do it early in the future.
Oh, what an awful and tragic story. 🙁 🙁 🙁 I thank you for sharing all of the information here, very much.
Katie
I don’t even know how to start. I’m pretty moderate on many issues- I NEVER comment on pages or FB posts on polarizing issues, and I even find myself regularly reading through comments and shaking my head about why people feel the need to comment when they are so angry or uninformed about an issue, and then I just end up closing the window! But, I can’t explain it. I just NEEDED to say something. SOMETHING. I really truly tried to read through all the comments, but I have a nine month old who is currently teething and have already stayed up way later than I should! I found this post while searching for safer sunscreen options- we just ran out and I wanted to try a new brand before we hit the beach this week. (Thanks for the information, btw!) I saw the link to the post and it jumped out at me.
We choose to vaccinate. We considered delaying or stretching out the schedule, but the more I read on both sides and talked with my doctor and older family friends who had lost siblings to some of the diseases and prayed about it, my mommy gut led me to that decision. The first dTap shot is given at two months, which was too late in our case. My second daughter was hospitalized with Pertussis at five weeks old. The videos I have I’m sure would be too graphic to post. I’m in tears sitting here remembering. I can’t even describe the fear and panic. We were sent home after a week because there were so many other children being admitted with RSV, and the risk of her catching another respiratory disease was too great. She was on home oxygen for a few more weeks and then it was truly the “100 day cough” experience for us. Getting her to keep down her milk and keep up her oxygen were our two main priorities for months. I could go on and on, as I’m sure you understand, but I won’t.
We are still not clear on how it all happened. There was a small outbreak at our older daughter’s preschool and the health department became involved. The first child to have it (by a few weeks margin) was a little boy who was not vaccinated. The ONLY reason I know this information is because the little boy’s mother rushed up to me with tears in her eyes and apologized profusely. Her older two boys (vaccinated) suffer from extreme developmental delays, and so she opted out of vaccinating her youngest. My heart went out to her. She truly was doing what she thought was best for her family, and I totally understood that. There were a handful of children in the preschool who went on to get Pertussis over the next month or so. Some were vaccinated and some were not. According to those affected parents I’m friends with (roughly half those involved), the children who were vaccinated had a much more mild case, but I haven’t talked to ALL the parents involved, and I do find it interesting that the vaccinated children got sick in the first place. After the experience I learned much more about the weakened vaccine and how it’s losing effectiveness much sooner than anticipated. Another tiny baby sibling of a child at the preschool was hospitalized as well.
I’m torn. We want the best for our children and our families. And at the same time that might come with a hefty cost to either our own family members or those in another person’s family. I do think your title is appropriate in that you lost when playing the odds that your children wouldn’t get Pertussis. I’m very grateful that you were blessed and your children made it through the other side and were old enough to handle the effects without major medical intervention, even though I know it was a rough time. In that way, I understand how people could say you didn’t lose, but lose what? Lose your children to Pertussis? That was so close to being a reality for my family, it’s hard to read someone make a comment that makes it seem like a victory that your children contracted a disease that is so infectious and deadly to tiny infants with no immunity, as long as YOUR children were ultimately ok. (I know that’s totally not what YOU were saying, btw). As you stated, your children could have easily picked it up from the library or grocery store- so it’s very possible that other families could have picked it up from your children in the same way without you ever knowing these families. And that’s where I come back to being torn. Because of course you want to choose what’s best for your children, and if you feel that vaccinations are riskier to your children than the diseases they prevent (or attempt to prevent), it’s neat that we live in a place that allows you to choose that. But there is a whole community of children that you live within to consider also. Those close to you with infants or children with lowered immunity
or even adults going through chemo. Or just those people who come after you at the grocery store checkout on the day someone in your family has Pertussis in its most contagious stage, which won’t be diagnosed for another few weeks. I’m not at all about judging or guilt and I definitely don’t have the lingo or articles to back up anything I’ve said. I’m just a mommy of a baby who spent the first few weeks of her life struggling to breathe. The guilt of not somehow protecting her better felt crushing at times. It is wild to me that some of these diseases are still being spread through vaccinated children, though not in epidemic proportions (thankfully!)- I know many people that I’ve spoken with who are from a different generation think that we are taking more risks because we haven’t seen the devastation of some of the diseases firsthand like they have. I have seen a glimpse of what is possible, but I also know that the mother of the little boy who came to apologize to me has seen a glimpse of what she believes to be damage from vaccinations. I wish there were a better way! Thanks for putting up with my crazy-long comment, and thanks for your very honest and heartfelt post!
Leigh,
I’m so sorry you had such a terrifying and life-threatening experience – no mother can bear to see their baby hurting. 🙁 And my heart goes out to the mom of the preschooler who “started it” in a way because she sure had an awful choice to make and horrifying situation too with 2 potential vaccine injuries. Parenting is hard enough with discipline and keeping everyone fed and clothed without these medical decisions that are about as far from “black and white” as you can get.
So thank YOU for your honest and heartfelt comment and your gentle notes. I definitely understand taking care of those with lower immunity as my dad just went through chemo and surgery and my grandparents are quite elderly and in failing health. It’s scary hearing conflicting evidence from all sides. I, too, wish there were a better way, and I hope you never have to experience a serious disease like that again from any source! I’m glad you were so understanding and gracious to the other mother and I’m sure she greatly appreciated your kindness as well.
Thank you,
Katie
SO brave of you to write, thank you. These are truly the raw emotions of a mother. My husband and I struggle so much with this decision with our nearly 8mo baby girl after having twins diagnosed with autism and another son with ADHD. Our lifestyle has changed dramatically since those diagnosis – I can relate to your story quite a bit.
I woke up one morning panicked my daughter had whooping cough – mind you, she had no symptoms except a little inhale that turned out to be from pain because she was constipated. I am NOT a panicked mama, but there I was at the doctor’s office with a totally healthy child telling her she had whopping cough…I am fortunate to be able to look back and laugh but that was a wake up call for me. my husband and I despite all of our research against vaccines did decide to do the first vaccine against pertussis (single dose, only). we are following a plan by Dr. Kenneth Bock that we feel mostly comfortable with but with our genetic pre-disposition, we still feel like it’s roulette sometimes…
Thank you for bringing attention to this subject in a non-annoying, super aggressive way 🙂
Cindy,
Thank you for sharing your story, too – who knew parenting had these sort of decisions for the thinking people! Wonderful that you could get a single shot, really, those are more and more rare. You’re doing great- and it’s all roulette I guess, which is why I’m grateful for my faith, that God’s providence is in every particular, the good and the bad.
Best to you,
Katie
Thank you, Katie, for all the sharing you do! Our third child, not vaccinated, had whooping cough. Before there was the “whoop” sound, and before we realized what it was, we goggled coughs and found two helpful things, which I am posting in case it might help anyone else. One was (for any bad cough) to smear Vick’s Vapo-Rub on the bottom of the feet (gets absorbed very quickly and very effectively there). I know it sounds weird, but WOW did that help. We smeared a lot on, and put socks over it (and sometimes some plastic wrap between the slathered foot and the sock-to help keep it on the skin) especially at night. Really, really helps a cough. The second thing, and I don’t want any bunk about this, we tried the homeopathic remedy Drosera Rot. (which I keep on hand in the 10M strength-just in case). If given early enough this almost stops W.C. in it’s tracks! I am sure that it lessened the time a lot, and between this and the Vicks…..we were spared and the severity was lessened. Please do not anyone try to tell me that it was “not” W.C. It was!
By the way, our first child was started on vaccines just as prescribed, and when given the first MMR, she SCREAMED “bloody murder” for about three days straight, with a fever. The doctor said, “Oh, a little discomfort and a little fever can be normal after a vaccine”!!!!! That was the last drop of anything we ever put into the bloodstream of any of our three children. Nonstop screaming is NOT normal and is NOT okay.
I know that everyone has to deal with making these difficult decisions, and then must deal with the consequences. I am only relaying our experience.
I hope this will help someone else, and my heart goes out to anyone with small children. I totally agree with the comment above about not taking ANY chances. If others are coughing (and say it is “just allergies” and “don’t worry”)…..I would take major precautions.
I’m a biochemistry major and have always wondered about why people choose to leave their children unvaccinated after the childhood stories I’ve heard from those children after they grow up. Why have you chosen not to vaccinate your children? This is genuine curiosity since it applies to my line of study.
Hi Emily,
As a curious person myself, I’m happy to help satiate yours. 🙂
Perhaps I haven’t heard the stories that you’ve heard, but the really basic bottom line is that I have trouble making a choice to put something in my child’s body that may hurt them when the tradeoff is to possibly maybe prevent a risk of a disease that might hurt them, but maybe not as badly – which may or may not hit them. Even though the disease itself may be far worse than the vaccine – it also might not. And none of my children are completely unvaccinated. We make each decision about a vaccine one at a time, not as a whole “to vax or not to vax” decision.
I talk a little more about this and what a torturous decision it really is in the other two posts in this series:
http://staging.kitchenstewardship.com/2013/11/01/whooping-cough-keep-it-to-yourself/
http://staging.kitchenstewardship.com/2013/11/04/i-called-the-health-department-on-my-own-kids/
And the more I read, the more I mistrust the established “authorities” who say vaccines are important – the data that proves that they are effective just isn’t there, for starters, and then I’ll see something like this and feel more secure in my choices: http://gnowfglins.com/2013/02/08/4-things-you-didnt-know-about-vaccines/
That’s just a start…but I hope it gives you some insight! 🙂 Katie
It seems everyone is so surprised on here that vaccinated children can get whooping cough. Everyone has their opinion, but the research states whooping cough vaccine is only 75% effective. Almost always has. Measles vaccine is 95% effective. Which is why you probably see more outbreaks of whooping cough than measles.
Yep, the DTap insert itself lists 72% effective on the “P” part I believe…so if anyone ever read the insert, they wouldn’t be shocked!
I wish I had the references at hand, but I read study results from the government over this last winter highlighting that the acellular pertussis vaccine reduces the severity of the disease if you are vaccinated, but unfortunately still colonizes your throat and does not prevent you from passing the bacteria on to others. This study result was held as a potential explanation for why the outbreaks of pertussis seem to go on despite the ongoing push for booster after booster to the general public. It was also pointed out as an effect of this observation that BEING FULLY VACCINATED DOES NOT PROVIDE HERD BENEFITS TO THOSE WHO ARE TOO OLD/YOUNG/IMMUNE COMPROMISED TO GET VAXED. I’m wondering if a fully vaccinated person, with less pronounced symptoms as the study noted, (and therefore little reason to think they were contagious and needed to stay home), may have been the one to expose your oldest son. Could explain why you can’t figure out who it came from.
Did I read your article right– with your oldest, you had followed all vaccine recommendations– meaning he had had several pertussis boosters and was mostly vaccinated from pertussis at age 8, right? Wasn’t he the *first* in your family to get sick (and therefore the one who exposed your other family members)? Please tell me if I misunderstood…
The conditions of my experience: (1) I am vaccinated, (2) I was extremely stressed mentally, (3) I was pushing my body way too hard at work, and in the gym, and (4) I was eating a completely unstructured diet.
The Sunday before Thanksgiving, I thought I was getting a bad, and sudden flu. The doc I called that day said it was the flu, and he couldn’t give me anything. The cough started three or four days later. Went back to the doc and was told it was whooping cough. The prescribed narcotics, but I did not take them. I did start taking ibuprofen.
Over the next few weeks, coughing became increasingly painful. I braced my rib cage to cough, but it only helped for a few days. Around the 3 week mark, I dislocated my first rib.Over the next two weeks, I dislocated two more- the pain was blinding. The fever started the week of Christmas, and lasted about 8 days. I found that breathing steam was comforting, and sat holding a clothing steamer under my chin as much as I could. I started taking various vitamins, hoping something would trigger my recovery.
The cough began to subside towards the last week of January. I wrapped my rib cage as forcefully as possible to allow some semblance of normal activity. By mid February I was done coughing for the most part, but the pain from the muscle spasms in my back, chest, and between my ribs are still a problem.
It was absolutely the sickest I have ever been. I wonder how it would be different today, given that I eat and treat differently.
That is painful just to *read* Leslie, yowza! I’m very thankful my little ones didn’t dislocate any ribs…
PS: that was Thanksgiving 2009.
I could have practically written this post myself. In 2011 my 7 month old came down with a cough where he would start choking. I decided to take him to the dr.(which I NEVER do) and he told me it was allergies. I took him back a week later because my mommy intuition told me something wasn’t right and he again said it was allergies. It wasn’t till my other 2 kids(5 and 4 at the time) started with the same cough that I realized something really wasn’t right. I didn’t even know what whopping cough was but I looked it up and found one of the websites you mentioned where they have audio files of what the cough sounds like. I called my husband and said “I know what’s wrong with our children”. When I had him listen to that audio, he couldn’t believe how much it sounded the same as our daughter. I don’t think ours was as bad as your kids but it was still difficult. I know that my husband and I got it also but it wasn’t as bad as the kids. My oldest was current on her vaccinations until she was 15months and I think that she got it worse than anyone else. I also believe that it is underdiagnosed.
Rebekah,
Phew, I would have so much more nervous if one of my kiddos had been as young as 7 mos., but it sounds like you got through it okay! Crazy underdiagnosed…good for you to figure it out!! 🙂 Katie
This has been on my mind since I first read this, and forgive me if I’ve said it already, but, as I am watching the vaccine debate get more and more polarized (reminds me of the abortion debate, actually), I really really want to say this…
Unless you were actually betting on your kids not getting pertusis, you did not “play the vaccine odds and lose.” What you were betting wasn’t that your kids wouldn’t get pertussis, but rather that getting it would be better for them than getting the vaccine.
This distinction is important to me because I see all over the media that all us anti-vacc-ers are depending on herd immunity to protect our kids. And while that may be kind of true with some bugs (like the stuff the HiB and PCV protect against), with chicken pox, mumps, rubella, I’m personally betting that I’d rather have my kid have it naturally than via vaccine. And as far as the Hib and PCV go, from what I’ve read my kids are at low risk for getting it anyway.
Maybe that’s dumb. I don’t know. We’re constantly re-evaluating our vaccine decision. Our kids will likely get the MMR because I do believe immunity to those diseases is important in adulthood and the diseases themselves aren’t common in the US anymore. My grandmother, who had measles, is very pro-vaccine and that weighs heavily in my mind. As does the fact that I had a great-aunt who died at just over 2 years old after contracting pneumonia following a case of whooping cough (the letter an aunt of hers wrote to inform other family of her death is heartbreaking). And I’m absolutely thrilled I don’t have to worry about polio or smallpox anymore – those vaccines would be no-brainers for us! (Yeah, our kids get the polio shot).
Anyways. The anti-vaccine position is so complex, and in the circles I run in, so not about herd immunity or autism – rather it’s about the fact there are so many vaccines now, and what they protect against, and they’re so new and most importantly to me, the medical community really doesn’t like to even consider the…uncertainty that so many parents feel. If they want us to vaccinate, stop calling us stupid and careless and start answering our questions!
K. Stepping off soapbox now…thanks for the “listen”, Katie, and don’t take this too personally, as I’m fairly sure we’re roughly on the same page on this whole vaccine issue. 🙂
Cory,
I bet you’re right, that we’re on the same (fluttering) page on this one. And yes, we didn’t “lose” which people told me right away…it’s just such a catchy title. 😉 The debate is so ugly, and the disrespect makes me upset as it does you. I love this:
” If they want us to vaccinate, stop calling us stupid and careless and start answering our questions!”
Thanks for the share! 🙂 Katie
Katie,
I have to come back and thank you for this post many months later. In the past few weeks, I’ve been dealing with a nasty cough, and my 3 children (ages 1-5) have each started having the same cough. I really didn’t think too much about it, other than to say, “Man what an awful cough!” Last night, I randomly thought “whooping cough”, started researching, and then remembered your posts. Can I tell you what a relief it is to understand what is going on and how I can best support my children! My only issue that I have right now is how many people I have unknowingly exposed to it, because I had no idea. Once again, thank you for coming out on a limb and sharing your experience.
Heidi,
I am glad our story helped, but even more I hope you can get your family through it!!
It’s a tricky one, isn’t it? Poor kids…and mama. 🙁 Katie
I skimmed the article, and will have to come back another time when I can finish reading it, but I wanted to point out that our then 1 yr old son got whooping cough after recieving all the pertusis vaccines recommended. He was misdiagnosed by 2 Drs and spent more than a month on useless steroids and a nebulizer, when he was finally sent to a respiratory specialist at a children’s research hospital, who immediately diagnosed whooping cough. His cough lasted 100 days. It was horrible and I was saddened to hear your children’s coughs in video. My point is, the decision to vaccinate your children is not as simple as “the risks of vaccination” vs “not getting the disease” b/c the vaccine has a really low sucess rate. We did not vaccinate the remainder of our children. I am sure you probably address that point later in the article, but in our experience, vaccination is not worth it.
The benefits of vaccines outweigh the risks. Lots of anti-vax people (mostly moms it seems) read the list of ingredients and freak out! Have you ever read the ingredients of a blueberry? I used to think a blueberry was a blueberry…but break it down chemically and you have:
WATER: (84%)
SUGARS: (10%) Fructose, Glucose, & Sucrose
FIBER: (2.4%) {E460, E461, E462, E464, E466, E467}
AMINO ACIDS: Glutamic Acid, Aspartic Acid, Leucine, Arginine, Alanine, Valine, Glycine, Proline, Isoleucine, Serine, Threonine, Phenylalanine, Lysine, Methionine, Tyrosine, Histidine, Cystine, Tryptophan
FATTY ACIDS: Omega-6 fatty acid, Linoleic acid, Omega-3 fatty acid, Linolenic acid, Oleic acid, Palmitic acid, Stearic acid, Palmitoleic acid, Ash, Phytosterols, Oxalic acid, E300, E306 (tocopherol), Thiamin
Colors: E163a, E163b, E163e, E163f, E160a
FLAVORS: Ethyl Ethanoate, 3-Methyl Butyraldehyde, 2-Methyl Butyraldehyde, Pentanal, Methylbutyrate, Octene, Hexanal, Styrene, Nonane, Non-1-ene, Linalool, Citral, Benzaldehyde, Butylated Hydroxytoluene (E321), Methylparaben, E1510, E300, E440, E421
FRESH AIR: E941, E948, E290
NOTE: All chemicals unknown at this time are just letter/number combo. IF YOU saw this listed on a package of blueberries, would you want to eat it? Probably not, and yet you do because it’s considered a Healthy Whole Food…something that BENEFITS our bodies in ways we don’t yet understand. We are told they are good for us, so we eat them.
Vaccines are the same. They benefit our bodies. Nothing is 100% so yes, someone who has received a vaccine may still get an illness, however, it’s duration and severity are much less than those without the vaccine.
I can’t imagine choosing to not vaccinate my children and forcing (yes, that’s what I consider it….forcing) your children to suffer. It’s abuse and neglect.
Tammy,
I’m going to need a source to show that there’s a paraben in a blueberry. You’re right, that list of ingredients would be alarming to me – but at least a blueberry was designed by God to be perfectly balanced and to be eaten. Things designed by man are going to be much more flawed. I’d also like to remind you that I am NOT antivaccine. All my children have received some vaccines to date; we just take our time and consider their little bodies. I would not give a blueberry in its whole or pureed form to a 1-month-old infant, either. Nothing is black and white…
If you reply, please refrain from attacking anyone here in this community (i.e. “abuse and neglect” is your opinion but verging on slander).
Thank you, Katie
I have 12 children. The oldest 10 were all vaccinated against whooping ch because I thought the benefit outweighed the risk in that particular case. Three years ago they ALL got whooping cough!!! In our case… 10 out of 10… (The youngest two were newborn and not born). The vaccine was 100% ineffective. My unvaccinated newborn did not get it. I’d say I was the one who played the odds and lost! 🙂
I am so sorry this happened to you!
As far as vaccines go, I hope that one of these days these billion dollar vaccine companies will do a double blinded extensive and long term study of the effectiveness of these vaccines. The packet on a vaccine lists death as a side effect of the vaccine, yet it does not refer you to any double blinded long term studies. The manufacturers have the money to “prove” that these vaccines are effective, yet they choose not to do it. Are they hiding something?
Katie, I’m so proud of you for being brave enough to share this. I’m so sorry for what you’ve been through. I can’t imagine. I can hear so clearly in your post how much you love your children and how hard you’ve worked to make the best choices. Big hugs to you!
As far as vaccine choices, I would not ever judge another parent’s decision. We went with a delayed approach with our first, with our pediatricians oversight and guidance. But I wanted to scream “AMEN!” when you made the point about accepting the risks and social responsibilities of not vaccinating. I think that many parents underestimate what contracting a disease like whooping cough is going to cost. Most children will survive it just fine, but you have to be mentally prepared for everything you just described. You are doing your readers a great service by describing in detail what it is actually like. Thank you so much. I’ll be very interested to read the rest of your story.
Thanks Beka, I really appreciate your comment. I was surprised when you said you were interested to hear the rest – they were all posted in the same week. Here are the other two installments:
http://staging.kitchenstewardship.com/2013/11/01/whooping-cough-keep-it-to-yourself/
http://staging.kitchenstewardship.com/2013/11/04/i-called-the-health-department-on-my-own-kids/
I edited the post to make sure those were more obvious. Thanks again! 🙂 Katie
I gotta tell you, Katie, that pertussis is my biggest vaccination question mark, because pertussis just seems SO. MISERABLE. for SO. LONG. (And I do NOT do vomit well.) I am overwhelmed at even the thought of my kids getting whooping cough.
Ironically, it’s also the vaccine we’re least comfortable with. And, frankly, I don’t understand why the vaccine was developed the way it was. There’s a book called Dr. Denmark Said It. Dr. Denmark was apparently one of the pioneers of this particular vaccine, and there’s a quote in there where she’s talking about testing an early version of the vaccine – by administering it to someone who had the disease and watching him recover quickly. So why in heaven’s name did they not develop it as a TREATMENT?! The whole risks-benefits balance shifts radically when one has actually come down with a given illness.
Huh. Well, at least maybe I feel better that we GOT the durned vax while already sick with whooping cough, just because we determined that the other ones attached to it (diptheria and tetanus in particular) were the most important ones to give our kids this summer.
I’m just reading your comment on the other post too, and what a well-said assessment of “before and after” vaccines. I’d never considered that by vaccinating, we have made it SO THAT our youngest ones are most at risk. Crazy.
Thanks for all this new food for thought! 🙂 Katie
Sorry you and your family had to go through this, both the sickness and the emotional aspect. I kind of can sympathize but in a different way. My daughter, at the ripe old age of 16, contracted a horrible case of shingles. Why? How did this happen? Had she had chicken pox? Nope… but being the good mama that I thought I was, I made sure she had the chicken pox vaccine when she was little. Sigh… Yes, she still could have gotten chicken pox if I’d not vaccinated her but that would be MUCH preferable to the shingles she had. And yes, she could still have gotten shingles, but I believe the odds would have been much less. And then I had to deal with the questions and comments from everyone who disagreed with my decision (our decision, as my daughter is not all that small) to treat it naturally at home and not go to the doctor… I feel for you. Thanks for sharing your experience and for putting yourself out here for all of us. 🙂
We have also chosen not to vaccinate. My oldest had three DTaP starting at 1 year, 18 mo, and 24 mo due to my fear of Pertussis. That was the biggest disease I was worried about. He had a reaction to the vaccine, and the doctors denied it so overtly that that was a red flag to us. In fact, they pushed for his 4th vaccine. After being >98 % immune with a reaction that was obvious yet the doctors were so funny about, it was absurd to think the doctor’s advice was good idea. We totally stopped after that and chose not to get any for my daughter. We continually reconsider and pray about what to do. We were not necessarily against vaccines, but rather, we just didn’t feel like it was right for our kids. It’s been a tough road when dealing with schools and pediatricians, but I am so greatful we trusted our gut.
Fast forward 5 years: We found out that I had contracted lyme disease more than 7 years ago, prior to the birth of my children. As a result, both of my children had contracted lyme in utero. Part of the reason for this lag in finding out that I had lyme disease is due to the fact that it can suppress your immune system and even be dormant for many years. We didn’t know it at the time of our vaccination decisions, but we are all immunodeficient as a result of this disease. When we first were diagnosed, our levels of all kinds of minor viruses, common through childhood, were through the roof. I thought my kids had awesome immune systems because they seemed to get over virsues so quickly and rarely got sick. On the contrary, my friend… signs of sickness come when your body is mounting an immune reaction. If your body doesn’t mount much of an immune reaction, you won’t know you are sick. No snotty nose, no fever, healthy kid, right?
Vaccination was absolutely the wrong choice for my family, and I am so greatful that we were guided by prayer in every step of our decision. My biggest advice is to pray about your decisions and trust your gut!
Phew, what a crazy ride you’re on, Elizabeth – lyme is NASTY. I’m sure you’re looking into all sorts of things to rid you and your kids of it, and I wish you all the best. It’s going to be a long struggle, and I’m so sorry. Thank you for sharing yet another fascinating and important perspective on this issue!
🙂 Katie
I admire you so much Katie for writing this. We we think of these choices, we often think “it will never happen to us” anyway. You have been one of my most favorite crunchy bloggers BECAUSE of your transparency. I hope you have found the “bright” side of you and your family’s sacrifice. With much loss, is much gain. (I know you know this but want to reiterate it). I look forward to more on this topic
Thank you, Shannon! That means a lot! 🙂 Katie
What a great bunch of resources have been shared! Katie- it is awesome that you are willing to share the belligerant as well as the supportive! I am a STRONG believer in communication without recrimination, tried hard to tech our kids how to argue their side of whatever without descending into name-calling-I hate you-you are stupid behaviors. Pretty much successful, but they sure can get loud!
I believe that being willing to agree to disagree is a largely uncultivated skill in our world and the evidence is all around us.
Thank you for your blog and all the interesting stuff you share.
I appreciate the article. We partially vaccinated initially and now do not vaccinate at all. However, we take that decision very seriously. We appreciate all of the input on what to do in case of this illness. Of course, parents that do vaccinate should also be aware that their children can still catch these illnesses – from other vaccinated children – and should also be aware of how to care for their children. Vaccination is not a gaurentee. Anyway, the only part of the article I dislike is the title. As a non vaccinator I do not consider that we are hoping to never contract these illnesses when we decide to not vaccinate. that is not the scenerio we are weighing vaccinating against. We are weighing the risks of vaccination with the risks of the illnesses. Even if we contract the illness we have not “lost”. We do not regret our choice. It is a gamble either way. At the most, one could say that if we contract the illness and have serious, life threatening or life long side effects from the illness or die from the illness then we have lost the “gamble” as that is what we are trying to avoid by not vaccinating. We weigh the likelihood not of getting the illness but of long term consequences or death from the illness and the likelihood of long term consequences or death from the vaccinations. Most people who choose not to receive vaccinations are doing the same v. blithely “gambling”/playing the odds to never contract the illnesses. Knowing how to handle an illness, the risks of the illness, the ways to lessen an illnesses impact on long term health etc. are all important to know for all responsible parents, esp. those who choose not to vaccinate. We also take antibiotics very seriously but the risk from those is usually lower than vaccinations and the long term harm can be mitigated more easily than the long term harm done by vaccinations in so many cases.
How could a parent let their child go thru this. I acquired whooping cough from a student whose dad had it. I ended up sick for weeks, and a trip via ambulance to the ER b/c I couldn’t stop coughing. They kept telling me my Ox Saturation was 100%, but I told them the cold air felt good on my throat. So no Oxygen. Couldn’t get an IV in either. They send me home on meds, I felt like crap. Don’t let your children go thru this. Please get them the pertussis vaccination. Yes, they may have a fever for a day or so, and be irritable, but worth it. They will not get AUTISM from it. Please put your children FIRST!!!!!
Victoria,
My kids really didn’t feel that badly…no hospital visits at all, so their case was much more mild than yours. I am grateful at least that they’ll never get it as an adult and have the experience you had. EVERYTHING is a risk.
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I appreciate you sharing. I do think it is your choice to vaccinate or not. However, having a child with a compromised immune system, and even if I had one that did not, I don’t think I am RUDE for judging you if your failure to vaccinate your child made my child sick. frankly, as a single parent without other support, I judge people who bring their kid to daycare knowing they are sick, as I make every effort to not bring my child to daycare/school sick or even out in public.
Frankly, I think it is rude of anyone who doesn’t make an effort to realize that they may be endangering others by their choices.
Nina,
I’m so sorry you feel the fear of having a child with a compromised immune system – it’s always hard for a momma to have a sick child. I hope you will read my next post and realize that I’m not an unfeeling, selfish person: http://staging.kitchenstewardship.com/2013/11/01/whooping-cough-keep-it-to-yourself/
Thanks, Katie
Thank you for sharing your story so honestly. I think it’s important that people have ALL the information, and having your perspective is a valuable one. It is obvious that this was a heart-wrenching situation for you and I’m glad to hear that you are on the other side of it. For me, it confirms that I’ve made the right decision for my child, but I realize that my choices may be different than others. I very much appreciate your disclaimer explaining what people need to know if they choose not to vaccinate–it’s important for people to know the risks on both sides.
Katie, I am so glad your kids are on the mend. I am so sorry you went through the inevitable emotional roller-coaster ride we go on when something like this happens. Not wanting to add any emotional burden, I do kinda wish you had used a different title for this post – it implies that you know for sure your kids would not have contracted whooping cough had they been vaccinated and boosts the confidence of those, like Scott above, who don’t understand why anyone would not vaccinate their kids. Although he has every right to fully and totally believe what he will and do what he will, the fact that he admits not even being able to understand a different course of action is telling.
I followed ALL the medical protocols for my kids and my husband also had all of the recommended vaccines throughout his life. Still, whooping cough came and camped out in our house. For a long, miserable time.
No one is able to say with absolute certainty that with the vaccine your children would not have contracted whooping cough. No one can say for sure that without the vaccine your children will never experience Guillain-Barré syndrome. We as parents have to make decisions, but we will never be in more control of our children than He who created them.
So, more accurately I think you should consider that you played the “being around people, some of whom get sick” odds and lost, but not by much and not for long since your kids have come through it! And the praise will still go to Him! 😀
Penny,
You’re not the only person who said that! And you’re right- for the reasons you mentioned and the fact that we didn’t even have it that badly, we didn’t “lose.” But it might be too late to change the title now…hmmm….
Thanks! 🙂 Katie
Wow – thanks so much for sharing. I think this is a great case for selective vaccination – too many parents are all or nothing – many make the decision based on fear as opposed to well done research. I appreciate your openness – this is a one of a kind post – a great addition to the vaccination debate.
Hello,
My grandkids had whooping cough. Both non-vaccinated, a 2 yo and a 9 yo. I still have a younger child, 8 yo at the time and not vaccinated. The 2 yo definitely had a worse case than the 9 yo, did gag up some phlegm several times. The 9 yo had the cough and nothing more. My 8 yo did catch the cough, but nothing severe. Other than the fact that it lasted so long, it wasn’t any more worrisome than any “bug”. My older, non-vaccinated kids had a cough, but not bad and did not last as long. My 80 yo mother was also exposed, did have a nasty cough but not scary-so. Just wanted to share that our kids are completely non-vaccinated and that perhaps our sun-loving lifestyle helped?
Hey Katie – thanks for sharing your story. There’s so much I want to write just showing you love and support from one mama to another (understanding the feelings you’ve expressed, and encouraging you that you need not be embarrassed), but I only have a moment, so just as a real quick share for the conversation… There was a confirmed case of pertussis in our elementary school last year – and the child had been fully vaxed. The vaccine doesn’t always prevent it. Love to you.
Thanks, Lacey – you’re the best!
Thank you so much for sharing this. I can only imagine what it must feel like as a parent, and as a young mom with an unvaccinated 20 month old, with a grandmother who was an immunizations nurse her entire life, if this happened to us I would have a LOT of explaining to do. Or being quiet to do 😉
What I have to be ok with in making this decision is that we WILL get sick. Being healthy and having strong immune systems doesn’t mean the goal is never to get sick…it is to fight it off well naturally and make your body stronger. I remember my first midwife, who raised 5 unvaccinated kids, saying ‘Oh they were sick ALL the time!’ And she saw it as a good thing. So different from the mainstream.
Not that it’s my goal, but I do want my children to be strong and to have natural immunity. I would love them to pass on that natural immunity cycle to their children – the one that was broken by vaccinated generations, where kids get things at an age where it isn’t serious and can’t get it when they are at higher risk – teens, pregnant, elderly. But it’s scary! And I’m thankful that I can stay home (and will homeschool) and caring for them will be possible.
I’m not really trying to say anything specific (and this is definitely not a reply to anyone skeptical!), but your choice did NOT fail by getting sick!
Thanks for sharing your story. I vaxxed 5 of my kids (but refused a few, this was over 2o years ago) and the last 3 had some vaccines, but not all, and none of their boosters.
Since the 1970’s I’ve had a cough syrup used for whooping cough to help with the spells. I’ve also heard of the vitamin C protocol discussed on here by several other readers, and I am surprised you did not talk about any medication (homemade or store-bought) that you might have used. And if you used nothing, why?
Just curious, that is all, as I would think you’d be sharing things that worked, or discussing why you chose not to medicate in any way.
Not trying to be negative and not trying to put you down, just wondering.
None of my kids ever got whooping cough, though they came down with other things over the years, and I tried to ‘doctor’ them with as many home remedies as I could, almost always with great results.
And again thanks for sharing as I know it must be helpful to so many moms.
I wanted to say I am very sorry your family had whooping cough.
I had whooping cough not that long ago- as an adult and a pregnant person.
I have mixed feelings about vaccines.
The DTAP wears off after a period of time, so if you did not get the booster as an adult, you can get it, and I got it- and it was AWFUL. Yes, I coughed until I vomited and wet myself. And, I was pregnant so I could not take most of the medicine (regular or alternate) to alleviate the symptoms. I got contacted by the board of health, everyone who had been around me was advised to get the booster.
At this point, I was glad my older son had been vaccinated because he could be around me (and did not get sick). But, I had been in contact with a baby- and whooping cough is most dangerous to babies and pregnant women in their 3rd trimester. The baby I was around had been vaccinated and did not get sick- but if it wasn’t, or had gotten sick, I cannot imagine how bad I would feel if he had gotten the disease from me and had had serious consequences.
Luckily, me and my unborn baby are okay- but it was a rough ride.
I look forward to the rest of your vaccine posts, as we are not sure how we want to proceed for our second baby.
Katie
I cannot believe how similar this is to our story of whooping cough. Now, the emotions are not quite as raw anymore (I hope this encourages you, Katie.) because it happened 8 years ago. My eldest was fully immunized to 18 months and my second born was not immunized at all. My boys are 5 years apart and I learned/experienced a lot about immunizations between the births of each. My boys were 7 and 2 when whooping cough descended on our home. My husband was working full-time and in law school, so I was on my own. My 7 year old got the runny nose and started coughing. My 2 year old followed suit, though he was never nearly as sick as my older son. And, then, I got it. I coughed for 100 days. I definitely had it the worst. I could not lay down at night or I would cough until I puked. I was so exhausted from being sick and caring for 2 sickies. We used homeopathy and herbal stuff which helped but didn’t resolve. I finally took my older son to the doctor and he prescribed both of us cough syrup with codine which didnt touch the cough, but did make it harder to respond to my boys in the night as it sedated and made me more foggy. I asked him where we would have gotten this and he said that there had been a pretty big outbreak in a neighboring school district among newly immunized children. We are homeschoolers but not hermits so I am sure we picked it up at the library or grocery store or church or gymnastics–the choices are endless. We actually finally got some relief from honey tea and aconitum. I am better equipped now to handle such a situation as I have become a student of homeopathy and have a good naturopath on our team. I will say it was one of the hardest mothering times of my life probably because it went on and on and….on. If you can console yourself with the idea that once you have fought it off (and survived(smile)), you have the best immunity possible and also there is a lot of research that supports the idea that when children go through these childhood illnesses the natural way they gain immunities and strengthen their immune systems to handle bigger, uglier illnesses later in life. I will say with out a doubt (at least at our house) that the youngest faired the best and the oldest the worst. I was fully immunized as a child/young adult though have never had a booster which is the norm among the adult population. I say build immunities through good nutrition and supplements, avoid known sick people, and support the immune with natural methods when illness strikes. My boys are now 15 and 10 are doing great. I hope this is helpful to you younger mamas coming on behind. I wish I had had a mentor who had known something about alternative meds to encourage me. Thanks for sharing this story as I think lots of mamas who do not follow typical mainstream meds with their kids feel very alone and vulnerable.
I also have to mention that my husband is a medical malpractice attorney; thus, I have seen firsthand many times when “science” does not work out so well and results are far from what was intended or communicated to the patient. Our family has an MD and I do not write modern medicine off completely, but neither will I blindly obey the system without my own research, prayer, discussion and thoughtful consideration. I still often second guess myself especially with regards to my boys. It is much harder to go against the grain as you are on the line (somewhat alone) if things don’t go well. If the medical system screws up or has bad info, they are on the line and you bear very little personal responsibility if you “did what your doctor told you to do.” However, this does not preclude me from my responsibility to do the best by my boys as far as I am able.
Me, my husband and two of three kids got whooping cough several years ago. All of us had been vaccinated. It was awful. The health department called us because there hadn’t been an outbreak in our area for many years and they wanted to know where we got it. As if we knew! We were not sick for 100 days, I do think the vaccine helped us have a milder case as in it didn’t last as long. I’m not sure though. Anyway, the vaccine doesn’t mean you are 100% safe from getting it. I’m sorry you had to go through that. It is so hard when our children are sick and we have to see them suffer
I am sorry you went through this:( The fact that your oldest still contracted pertussis even with being mostly vaccinated tells you how “affective” the vaccine is…not. I work in the ER and we have recently in the last couple years been including the pertussis with all tetnanus (dtap) vaccines because studies are showing it is losing its affectiveness. It was once thought this vaccine series as a child was all one needed but that is not the case.
Making the decision to not vaccinate is definitely a hard thing. It takes courage. When one chooses not to vaccinate, it’s saying you are ok with the risk of getting the illness. And when you vaccinate it’s saying you are ok with the toxins and risks that come with the vaccine.
In my family we choose not to vaccinate for the lesser things like flu, rotavirus, and gardisel (yes I spelled it wrong). Things that I know will be bad to catch and treat like tetanus, pertussis, mumps…we vaccinate for these. I don’t think I will finish the vaccine series up for varicella (chicken pox) because I don’t remember that being all that bad when I was a kid.
I think vaccinating is a personal decision. I understand the embarrassment part. As an ER nurse not getting the flu shot it’s like I’ve broken some sacred oath…heaven forbid I get the flu because everyone will be like, “see, you shoulda got the shot”….
Hopefully your kids will have a much more prepared immunity for the next time they are exposed to it. I wouldn’t be surprised if they had an even stronger resistance for their whole life. Thank you for the transparency.
Regarding varicella, when my older was getting her vaccines, I had a bit of a panic wondering if she had her varicella vacine as my mom was enduring a horribly, severe case of shingles, meaning she was contagious to my daughter if she had not had the vaccine. Seeing Mom’s outbreak, I wanted to make sure my daughter would not risk getting shingles as an adult. I thought the vaccine would prevent that. While my daughter is only 10 now (she was a young toddler at the time) and should not have to worry about shingles for decades, I did find that I was wrong in that assumption. As they are injected with a live virus – one that may not protect them fully from chicken pox anyway, it means that that virus will stay with them and make them still susceptible to shingles. Great! It’s so frustrating to think we are doing the right thing when it doesn’t help.
Even the rubella vaccine that I was caught up on as a child, I found that I was not immune with my older daughter, so I got the vaccine again. When I was pregnant with the younger daughter 3 years later, I found that I was still not immune and had to have another vaccine. I know the risks of rubella to unborn children, so I did not mind getting the vaccine, but it is another one that doesn’t seem to be doing a good job.
The chances of getting shingles after the varicella vaccine are about 20x lower than getting shingles after having chicken pox unvaccinated. You are playing the odds the right way.
I’m a little confused as to your title. Why do you think you lost? Because your child contracted a disease that has a vaccine they could have had? I would say that you won. Your child contracted the disease and came out the other side alive and healthy. The chance of complications from pertussis is still less than the chance of side effects from the vaccine. In my opinion, we lose as parents when we bury our heads in the sand and go with the flow, whichever way that takes us. Whether you vaccinate or don’t, do it because it’s the decision you’ve made based on research, not because someone told you so. You made a decision based on your research. That’s the best you can do. There are no guarantees when you vaccinate, or when you don’t, that your child will not contract a disease. The majority of those currently contracting pertussis are vaccinated. Losing a battle is when we’ve made a decision and the consequences are permanently adverse. By saying that you lost, you imply that you would have won if you had either vaccinated or had never gotten the disease. Whether you vaccinate or not, if your child survives the disease, you’ve won! In fact, I think it shows the world that it’s possible to fight these diseases that we live in fear of and I thank you for sharing! No one ever said that not vaccinating would prevent disease. We’re just choosing to take our chances on the outcome. Which is the same thing that you do with a vaccine. It’s all about informed risks and chances. We always feel guilty when we see our child suffer, that’s inevitable. Thank you for your transparency, but be encouraged that you won! Homeopathy has a lot to offer in curing these diseases in a much quicker pace than conventional medicine, but the remedy has to be very specific to the individuals symptoms. You wouldn’t necessarily give the same remedy to all three children. Be blessed and enjoy the regained health of your children and know that you did a great job!
Denise,
You’re right, as are many others who disagreed with my title (I edited the post a little to reflect). You say it perfectly: “we lose as parents when we bury our heads in the sand and go with the flow.”
Thank you!
Katie
Bless your heart. Thank you for sharing!
We fully vaccinated our 6-year-old and this summer decided to put a halt to the vaccinations for our 4 & 2-year-old. We met a DO that gave us very open and thought-provoking information about vaccines. The vaccines that had been given to my children up to that point were developed from aborted fetal tissue and my husband and I could not in good conscience use those products. There are alternatives that are available for most of the vaccines, but not from our doctor. With a fourth child arriving in about a month, we now have no pediatrician because I was told that my unvaccinated children were not welcome in her waiting room. It really made me sad since we’ve seen this doctor for over 6 years.
It is a pretty sad state of affairs that I feel like we shouldn’t even mention this decision to certain members of our family or most other people we know, because we made that mistake when we decided to leave our sons intact. Sigh. I make a concerted effort to keep my mouth shut about the parenting decisions of others unless it somehow infringes upon mine.
You must be the passionate and faithful parent that God created you to be. You must be true to your conscience and your understanding of the facts. If you do read these comments, (which I don’t know that I’d recommend) please don’t be hard on yourself for trying to do as you see fit for you and your family. No one else is in your shoes, there making every little choice that needs to be made daily in your home, or there going through the daily struggle of caring for and raising your kiddos (especially while they were sick!). You’re the momma and God put you in charge of running your household, not mine and no one else runs yours. Hang in there!
Thank you for sharing. I’m sure it was heartbreaking to watch your children suffer because of your decisions, but you did what you thought was best at the time. Thank you for sharing what it’s like to have a child/children ill with a preventable disease. I hope all parents read your article and watch the videos. I’ve almost been swayed by all the reading I do of crunchy mom blogs, and also consider myself semi-crunchy, but I’ve worked in a family practice office for 20+ years and I think the benefits of vaccination well outweigh the risks. I hope you don’t mind if I share your post.