Vaccines :p

Parent Cafe
1

<p>Well-
I admit my kids aren’t at the cutting edge of getting things injected.
My oldest daughter had to get a TB test every year ( she worked at the zoo) and it made her faint.( I guess getting stuck every hour for blood gas when she was in the hospital didn’t leave good memories :frowning: )</p>

<p>Her college also never required meningoccocal or Hep shots ( although she did have Hep B to work at zoo as well)</p>

<p>Younger D has sensory/aspergery/ issues that included such ( included headaches, fever & muscle pain ) strong reactions that when she was getting her shots in early childhood- we didn’t finish the series . </p>

<p>She was living at such a high level of uncomfortable gritchy behavior everyday, that anything that pushed her over the edge- I backed away from.
( and this is someone who has high pain tolerance)</p>

<p>But now- she needs a &^%load of vaccinations to go on this trip.
Even though the country doesn’t actually require all of them- they recommend them & I believe the director requires them, although I may ask him about that.</p>

<p>Anyone has to have a yellowfever certificate to enter the country.
She also needs boosters for MMR & Tetanus-
Polio, Typhoid, Hep A & B, Meningoccocal & of course the Malaria in Ghana is resistant to what they usually give elsewhere.</p>

<p>I know to make sure she is healthy before she starts the shots which we will do ASAP- but because she already has some immune system issues ( asthma) I am wondering which ones to start with- which ones not to give at the same time & how long to space them?</p>

<p>( She also wants to give blood- for a thing at school- how long should we wait before/after?)</p>

<p>Since we are going in to start the shots without an appt ( since the drs office is very booked up- nurses however- can give shots anytime), I may not be able to talk to her dr before that.</p>

<p>I also know that ancedotal information can be helpful- as to what to try for pain or when to be concerned about if they get a fever after.</p>

<p>Older D actually did have all the regular shots ( at that time- they have since added many), although I waited long time in between each ( she was also a preemie), as I didn’t take her in, if she had the slightest bit of a sniffle)</p>

<p>She also is motivated to get the shots & Im hoping her reactions won’t be as extreme as when she was younger, still Id like to optimize their efficacy and minimize discomfort
:)</p>

2

<p>There is an excellent travel clinic in Bellevue (WA) that we all went to before we went to Africa:
Peter Hashisaki MD
1200 116TH AVE NE STE D
BELLEVUE, WA 98004-3802
Telephone: 425-455-8248 </p>

<p>We got all 6 shots at once; he used small needles and got it over with quickly. Ice and tylenol help (both of which we used preventively), but it was 48 hours before we all stopped feeling a little woozy. Still it was nice not to worry. Hashisaki has lots of experience with immune issues, since his “day job” involves treating TB and AIDS patients. His nurse will be able to tell you when to start coming in and so on. </p>

<p>Frankly, I was stunned at how much additional information we got from Dr. Hashisaki that was not given to us elsewhere. I would NOT use my regular doctor in this situation. Dr. H gave us a variety of preventive medicines to carry as well. </p>

<p>For malaria, Lariam used to be recommended but really is a TERRIBLE drug. About 25% of people taking it have psychotic dreams; I was one of them. Malarone is much easier to deal with, although it has to be taken every day rather than once a week. Still, on a school trip, that shouldn’t be a problem.</p>

<p>As a comment, about five hours after our 33-hour trip back from East Africa, our son developed a fever of 105 that had no known cause. I was awfully glad to have Dr. Hashisaki’s experienced colleague to call. (His instructions were: “Start him on the Cipro, give him tylenol and a cool shower, and if his headache gets any worse or his fever any higher, call me AFTER you call 911 and I’ll meet you in the emergency room.” The fever went down, the headache went away, we didn’t go to the ER, and four days later my son went to school–but he doesn’t remember those four days.)</p>

3

<p>Lariam is the one that has recommended by the CDC. DON’T TOUCH IT. Very, very risky stuff - banned in most European countries. There really aren’t any good anti-malarials - I always use doxycycline myself (also as a prophylaxis against stomach upsets.) Malarone has a good track record (among European travelers); I haven’t seen any data suggesting it is more effective than doxycycline, which costs 100 times less.</p>

<p>Anyhow, if the trip is two weeks or less, Malarone seems a reasonable approach. Longer than that, and you are looking at a big expense, without much extra bang for the buck.</p>

4

<p>Our insurance company actually covered the malarone. It has far fewer side effects than doxycycline, according to what I’ve read.</p>

5

<p>Remember to have good protection from the sun if you go with the Doxycycline.</p>

6

<p>Why is she giving blood? Let the guys do it. I don’t like the idea of menstruating females donating blood…IMHO.</p>

7

<p>My sister has spent a good deal of time in Kenya. She took Doxycycline both times she went. The last time she developed a yeast infection so stopped taking the medication, but other than that I think she was OK. </p>

<p>Many people aren’t eligible to give blood. You should find out whether you believe she will qualify before worrying about it. (I don’t have a problem at all with females giving blood, as long as they meet the weight, blood pressure, and anemia standards.) I’m not eligible for many different reasons; one reason is because of a genetic and lifelong illness affecting my blood, but there are also many restrictions based on travel–much more specific restrictions than the websites say, sexual history, health, etc.</p>

8

<p>she wanted to give blood for a drive at school- I expect it is a class competition.
I think she would qualify- she hasn’t traveled outside USa and she weighs 115, but if it interferes with her immunizations she doesn’t have to.
I can’t give blood anymore either- I picked up Hep B somewhere- ( maybe I should see if she is immune, then that would be one less shot)
Thanks for the info on the malaria meds- and the dr referral.
That is a big help</p>

9

<p>My daughter also went to a travel clinic for her immunizations last year before she went to Kenya and again before she went to China. She was very impressed with their knowledge, much, much better then local doctor. </p>

<p>As far as giving blood, my husband was not allowed to give blood a few months after she came back from Kenya because he told them his daughter had been to Kenya!</p>

10

<p>The trick to giving blood is not volunteering information that’s outside of their already extensive list of questions. :)</p>

<p>When I went to give blood last year (before I was formally diagnosed with the disease that precludes me) after I turned 18, I was pretty careful not to mention that three members of my immediate family had just returned from Kenya, or the details that my sister had been there for three months, had been sexually active while there, and had been working around contaminated blood as an HIV counselor/tester. I was turned down anyway, but I’m sure I could have added another reason why if I had volunteered that info!</p>

11

<p>Corranged - I’m not sure what you’re trying to do: “the trick to giving blood”?? Why would you want to donate blood that might possibly contaminate the blood supply? What do you mean by “trick”?
On the other hand, the reasons you give for possibly being turned down for making a donation don’t seem to be based on actual exposure to blood-borne pathogens.</p>

12

<p>My take is that if it’s not an issue they include a formal question about, then somebody (or probably a lot of somebodies) didn’t think it warranted a question. That’s why I don’t think it’s necessary to volunteer information (unless you have a genuine concern, of course), like that a family member had been in Africa. The people who wrote up the long list of questions decided that the information wasn’t important, but if you bring it up yourself you can still be turned down for that reason, as Kathiep’s husband was. I do think that some of the questions and some of the reasons you can be excluded are too excessive.</p>

<p>

Obviously I don’t want blood to be donated that would contaminate the blood supply. This part of your post is hardly worthy of a response, which is why I ignored it the first time around. I will say this so that you understand, though: the number one leading cause of death amongst people with the (non-fatal) type of disease I have that I mentioned before is AIDS caused by contaminated blood transfusions. I do have a personal stake in these issues, and a number of people in my family have had blood transfusions over the years. I don’t want the blood supply to be tainted by disease.</p>

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<p>Corranged- From your previous post, I had wrongly assumed that you were withholding answers to specific questions re: travel in high-risk areas and that positive responses to these questions would disqualify you from donating. I apparently was mistaken and I apologize for that.
If you had answered all of their questions and not withheld any pertinent info that they use to screen donors, I have no problem with your actions.
Having been an OR nurse and worked in a transfusion room for cancer and AIDS patients, I know that donating blood is not something that should be taken lightly. I still shudder when I remember transfusing patients in the early 1980s in NYC when testing for HIV was not available. I was a bit taken aback by your use of the the word “trick”.</p>

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<p>I looked on the Red Cross web site and my daughter hasn’t any of the risk factors, and her blood products should be ok.
Im very aware of the supply, her sister received seven transfusions of platelets in the week after she was born, in mid 1982- before blood was tested for HIV.
In response I gave blood when I could, until I was told that I had tested for Hep B.
The only contraindication that D might have is, she might be slightly anemic, as we don’t eat alot of red meat, although I do use cast iron pans .</p>

<p>After her trip it looks like she wouldn’t be able to give blood for several years as someone could theoretically have a mild case of malaria without realizing it, just as I apparently had a mild case of Hep.</p>