Measle-y Meg

[NurseNell]

One word: SHINGLES.

Shingles is caused when the chickenpox virus, which lies dormant along dorsal nerve roots after you've had the disease is reactivated. It is not related to measles.

I haven't read the blog yet, is it German measles (rubella), or measles the child has? We've had a few outbreaks in MN in the past year. Some of the cases occurred in children too young to get the MMR immunization.

[StarrieEyedKat]

How about this for parental stupidity:

http://news.yahoo.com/parents-warned-ma ... 20241.html

...people actually have to be told this is a bad idea?

Seriously, this is the kind of shit that makes me think you should have to pass a test to have children.

[loveandwar]

Oh wow. I love this from one of the comments on the Gardasil post - "I don't vaccinate, I ask them if they know the ingredients in them and I can treat my children w/natural remedies for any disease or virus that vaccinations are used for."

We really need a facepalm emoticon.

:doh:

Here you go. :D

[NurseNell]

What about the pregnant women in the church? There was a big measles outbreak in the NYC area in 1963 and the following year, above average numbers of deaf babies.

That happens from German measles, also called rubella. I read the blog, if she hasn't been diagnosed by a physician they can't know she has measles. She could have roseola or even strept, which can cause a sandpaper type rash.

[emmiedahl]

oh, I did not think about strep. And that requires antibiotics or you can have lifelong health issues.

The rash looks a lot like Henoch Schonlein purpura, but HSP is not raised and I think measles is? One of my children had HSP and that is one freaky rash.

[Eclipse]

Who takes a child that sick to church? It is irresponsible to expose others to the sick child and it would be better for the kid to stay home and rest. God isn't going to smite the child or the family for having the child stay home because its sick with a parent care-giver.

[NurseNell]

oh, I did not think about strep. And that requires antibiotics or you can have lifelong health issues.

The rash looks a lot like Henoch Schonlein purpura, but HSP is not raised and I think measles is? One of my children had HSP and that is one freaky rash.

Purpura is so distinctive looking that it shouldn't be confused with measles, roseola, or a strep rash. But I'm speaking as a nurse, maybe lay people would find them similar. Yes, measles can be raised. The difference between measles and the strep rash is that measles covers most of the body, strep rash is usually confined to the trunk.

[emmiedahl]

I guess my ER people are not as familiar with it as you are; they first thought measles, then leukemia/cancer, and then when shift changed a new nurse came in and said "I know that rash!!!"

I did not think it was measles because it was purple and had those weird defined borders on the spots.

[Paisy]

:doh:

Here you go. :D

Haha that's the one. Thanks. :)

[NurseNell]

I guess my ER people are not as familiar with it as you are; they first thought measles, then leukemia/cancer, and then when shift changed a new nurse came in and said "I know that rash!!!"

I did not think it was measles because it was purple and had those weird defined borders on the spots.

The first thing I think of with purpura, esp in the peds population, is leukemia. And you are right, measles doesn't have a purplish rash. Maybe the ER staff were all young enough to not have seen measles before. I do think they'd have seen purpura before though. Really, when you've seen both you cannot confuse them. Now the rashes of measles, rubella, and strep can be hard sometimes to distinguish. But measles has other signs, like a particular lesion in the mouth. With measles the eyes get very red also.

[doggie]

How about this for parental stupidity:

http://news.yahoo.com/parents-warned-ma ... 20241.html

If we had animals that stupid we would kill and eat them. just saying

[Terrie]

...people actually have to be told this is a bad idea?

Seriously, this is the kind of shit that makes me think you should have to pass a test to have children.

Yep, this is BLATENTLY illegal. You can not send germs through the mail. It's fricking bioterrorism. After all, you have no idea what other germs may be lurking in that kids mouth, and you know how they ship them? Usually in a plastic baggie. Can you imagine being a mail carrier and coming into contact with something like that?

[Kitten]

no friends or family (other than my parents) will be allowed into our home until Meg is fully well...just in case they pass her something yucky, that could harm our girl while she is temporarily weakened.

Well, I'm glad they're keeping her relatively isolated, but find it amusing/sad that the reason is to protect her, not to protect the general population from a child with a highly contagious, serious disease. And I hope her parents have either had the vaccine or the disease, as it can have devastating effects in older people.

Measles is a dangerous viral infection, and routinely killed or permanently disabled many children prior to the vaccine. It is not a "mild" childhood disease, as so many people who have never experienced it seem to believe.

:angry-screaming:

[doggie]

the really stupid part about the chicken pops is that it is not spread through saliva. it is passed around by breathing the respiratory discharge. So you may be passing something nasty onto someone doing this.

[doggie]

What can we say about a parent that chooses to make their child ill over giving them a vaccination? I mean one that has little chance of hurting your child to a option to make them sick on purpose and risking severe heath problems?

KPHO in Phoenix reports that a Facebook group is offering parents the opportunity to receive lollipops in the mail that have allegedly been infected with chicken pox. The parents seeking these disease-riden sweets want their children to get chicken pox when they're young so they can become immune to the disease and avoid getting it later in life.

KPHO also found parents looking for people to send measles, mumps and rubella.

KJ Dell'Antonia at Slate was dumbfounded:

[NurseNell]

What can we say about a parent that chooses to make their child ill over giving them a vaccination? I mean one that has little chance of hurting your child to a option to make them sick on purpose and risking severe heath problems?

KPHO in Phoenix reports that a Facebook group is offering parents the opportunity to receive lollipops in the mail that have allegedly been infected with chicken pox. The parents seeking these disease-riden sweets want their children to get chicken pox when they're young so they can become immune to the disease and avoid getting it later in life.

KPHO also found parents looking for people to send measles, mumps and rubella.

KJ Dell'Antonia at Slate was dumbfounded:

Insane. I've heard of chicken pox parties, which I don't agree with, but buying used lollipops is dangerous. Like someone else said the virus is spread by respiratory droplets. You might get chickenpox from sucking on a used lollipop but you're more likely to get strep or any number of other illnesses. Measles, mumps, and rubella are no longer common, thank goodness so not too many lollipops can be made with those viruses.

[dawbs]

I will say that the chicken pox vaccine is the one that I still feel a bit 'meh' about.

The reading I've done is pretty compelling that actually catching the disease is better immunity than the vaccine. It's also *usually* just a mild disease--as long as someone catches it at the 'magical' ages of older than an infant and younger than an adult.

(although, I say that and I have scarring from mine...)

(that being said, since the danger years are a kid catching it before age 5...I'm not willing to, with my kid, take the chance on her catching it at age 1, when it would still be really really really scary. So she got the vaccine)

[NurseNell]

Measle-y's Mom wrote this on the previous post:

Our family don't know many hymn's...this is something that we have been seeking to rectify.

And she's homeschooling? :roll: Who will be teaching English?[

And yes, I too wonder why they took a child who'd been sick all week to church. It is OK to stay home with a sick child. In fact, it's the right thing to do.

[figgypudding]

Holy moly. I'm trying to understand the thought process for deciding that having your child suck on a used lollipop that was mailed to you by a random Facebook acquaintance is safer than getting a vaccine that's gone through numerous tests and clinical trials to be approved by the FDA.

:think:

Nope, can't do it.

[doggie]

Holy moly. I'm trying to understand the thought process for deciding that having your child suck on a used lollipop that was mailed to you by a random Facebook acquaintance is safer than getting a vaccine that's gone through numerous tests and clinical trials to be approved by the FDA.

:think:

Nope, can't do it.

Plus pay 50.00 for the privilege and don't forget it won't work anyway. So does stupidity in bucketfuls a requirement not to vaccinate in these people?

[Extricated]

Holy moly. I'm trying to understand the thought process for deciding that having your child suck on a used lollipop that was mailed to you by a random Facebook acquaintance is safer than getting a vaccine that's gone through numerous tests and clinical trials to be approved by the FDA.

:think:

Nope, can't do it.

Don't take candy from strangers. Unless they're diseased and spit all over it first. That's fine. :?

[figgypudding]

Don't take candy from strangers. Unless they're diseased and spit all over it first. That's fine.

:lol:

[Jessica]

Holy moly. I'm trying to understand the thought process for deciding that having your child suck on a used lollipop that was mailed to you by a random Facebook acquaintance is safer than getting a vaccine that's gone through numerous tests and clinical trials to be approved by the FDA.

:think:

Nope, can't do it.

Because they'd get autism and the government would now be able to track them everywhere they go! Derrrrr!!!!

[Constance Vigilance]

Because they'd get autism and the government would now be able to track them everywhere they go! Derrrrr!!!!

It's true, I got an MMR booster last week and now this ice cream van keeps following me everywhere.

SAVE YOURSELVES

[Rosa]

do they irradiate all the mail these days, or just in certain places? I was working at a newspaper when anthrax was getting mailed around (and people died!) and mail biosecurity was suddenly a big deal, but I stopped paying attention afterward.