We choose not to vaccinate.

Our oldest dd (4yo) was vaxed up until she was 6mo, and our youngest (2yo) hasn't had any ever. Our 4yo is in preschool for the first time.. she's had 2 colds since her first day :( (compared to twice a year). Of course, our little one gets sick from her, and so on. Actually, our 2yo had a fever of 103.7 the other day. I have never had to deal with high fevers. Luckily our homeopath walked me through getting her temp down (with vinegar as one of the rememdies :thumbsup: ). But it got me thinking... What would I do if our 4yo does get pertusis, measles, etc.. How prepared AM I? Believe me, I'm not changing our position on not vaxing, but I'd like to be prepared. What have do done to be prepared? Do you have some sort of support system in case you child becomes very ill? Please share. :)

Our family doctors are very comfortable with not vaxing, and have many patients who don't vax, so that's a start, for us. If Louisa got sick, I know they would treat her and not give us a hard time about it. They try to avoid unnecessary medical procedures, so I wouldn't feel the need to do a lot of second-guessing them. I also try to educate myself about treatments (both alternative and conventional) for illnesses we might encounter. Louisa was exposed to chicken pox about a year ago, so I read up on it and made sure we had the appropriate herbs on hand. She ended up not catching it, but I felt confident that we could have gotten through it if she had.

Excellent post mama. River is totally unvaxed, and my other two are selected vaxed. I, have no !!!frickin' clue what I would do if one of them got (insert vaxed disease here)
I had a couple of friends who's kids got pertusiss and their kids were vaxed, those kids coughed for a year, but did survive.
I a little bit beleive that because I don't vax my kids are stronger/healthier and therefore better able to fight disease.
Raynbow, River and I go to a chiropractor regularly...........
Hope to H*ll they don't get sick that is how I deal with the no vaxing plan. Dh is not really supportive of the kids not being vaxed, he just goes along with it because I make it a big deal. But again God help me if they did get something.
One problem I am facing here in Toronto is that they have begun to vaccinate for chicken pox so it is becoming increasingly hard to find kids who have chicken pox. The problem with that is that Robyn, who is 6.5 yrs. hasn't had them yet and it is something you really need to get as a child.
well that turned into a big ramble.......you can always tell when I haven't been on Amity for a few days 'cuz I come back and post with a vengence. LOL
anni

We have measles here right now, and we haven't vax'd.

It is a rash. Didn't get a fever, instead a bad cold/sinus/chest. The rash doesn't itch, and my kiddo is acting absolutely normal (down to the grumpiness with his sister).

We are quarantined (homebound) until the spots disappear completely. The contagious time is 3 days before the spots appear to when they are gone. So, all in all, a week and a half.

IMO, he is now immune for the rest of his life. The rash looks bad, but he isn't bothered by it at all. He's bored out of his gord though. *I* was more bothered by it; having been to the Dr's every single day this week to find out what the heck was going on!

I've heard of other children getting a high fever, and in that case, I would turn to homepathy.

Do you have a household kit with remedies in it? It's a life saver.

http://www.vitacost.com/store/products/ProductDescription.cfm?SKUNumber=354973293045

Pardon my posting, but how did your DS get measles? How were the other kids affected? How bad was the outbreak?

My kdis have not gotten the MMR, and were selectively vaxed until recently when we stopped altogether.

Just wondering.

I would use homeopathy and herbs. My kids are under the care of a professional homeopath who I respect highly. We just went through "late summer flu" and strep and she helped us through it. We also have a pediatrician who is supportive should we get a vaccinatable illness. (ie she would swab them for pertussis without giving us an earful)

And there is a great book by Aviva Jill Romm...she is my favorite kids' herbalist. It is called Vaccinations: A Thoughtful Parent's Guide. In it she discusses not only pros/cons for vaxing, but for each illness, she presents an entire herbal treatment plan for caring for a child with that illness. It's a really great resource!

She also has a wonderful general kids' herbal, Naturally Healthy Babies and Children.

I don't treat, even with herbs or homeopathy, unless a complication develops - other than the real basics like chamomile/catnip/lemon balm tea, vit C, zinc lozenges. Letting the body do its thing is an amazing experience. Trust is needed. If they have issues, I turn first to our homeopath, then I open up Romm's herbal and see what else I can do to help the healing process. I'd do exactly the same were it measles, pertussis, mumps or whatever.

(This from a woman who sits here, typing, on antibiotics and Motrin for wicked strep throat - the only illness for which I go for conventional treatments as I get terrible arthritis from it, and several in my family have had heart damage from it.)

Thanks for the suggestions!

I've started my own journal that lists all the symptoms of most childhood diseases. I have a homeo kit, so I'm cool there. I'm thinking of getting a Naturopathic physician (along with our homeopath RN)....... that way all of our bases are covered (including diet changes, chiro stuff, etc..). I live in New Jersey (the most densely popluated state) and there is always something going around. I just don't want to be caught off guard or feel guilty later, kwim?