Hello Moms
I am wondering if any of you have had to give your children the rabies vaccine, and if so, how they handled it short and long term. We found a bat in our vacation rental in Boulder last week and were advised to vaccinate both of our children (ages 6 months and almost 2 years) as well as ourselves. We have received 3 of the 5 shots so far and alarmingly there have been no studies on how the vaccine effects children. This is obviously very scary and it would be helpful to know if any of you have been through this before. We had no choice but to vaccinate, as rabies is 100% fatal so we couldn't chance it.
Thanks for any feedback.
J.
Thanks Carla and Shane for your responses. I forgot to mention that it was the Department of Health that advised us to get the rabies shots based on the circumstances. (Our pediatrician told us to call them - and she also strongly advised us to get the vaccine.)
My sons were both alone in the room with the bat and you don't just have to be bitten to get Rabies - saliva from the bat can also transfer the disease. My sons are both too young to be able to tell us if the bat touched them.
30% of the bats tested in Boulder are rabid, and you often cannot see a bite because their teeth are razor sharp and tiny. There have been several cases of children that died from Rabies because parents did not think their child had been exposed to the bat. Once signs of rabies develop it's too late to do anything about it.
I am now doing research to see what the chances are that my sons have already developed the antibodies to the disease after the first 3 shots, without having to do the last 2.
Please, if you ever find a bat in your home, DO NOT LET IT GO. Either call the authorities to have it removed or trap it in a jar. Get it tested for Rabies immediately. Unfortunately we let the bat go before realizing what a mistake we made.
Hi J.
I think it might be a good thing you are vaccinating for rabies and the only reason I say that is, I read that it can take as long as year before one shows signs of Rabies, so in that regard, I guess it's a good thing to get the shots , whereas before I was thinking, if you don't show signs of Rabies, why do it.. now I see why..
best of luck to you..
I think you have done the right thing in getting your children vaccinated. Reread what you have written. Rabies is 100% fatal. The bats in your area have a 30% rate of rabies. Your children have been tolerating the vaccine. I stongly suspect there is no data on partial vaccination and how effective it is. Sometimes in medicine all the answers are not known and you have to make the best decision with the information that is known and balance the risks and benefits. It seems to me that completeing the vaccine is the only option. How would you feel if partial vaccination did not work and one of them developed rabies?
In my opinion, getting rabies is worse than getting the vaccine. This is nothing to play with. Plus you said that the saliva could have infected your kids, meaning that they didn't have to have a direct bite to be infected. There's no telling where the bats were/what they touched in the room/house.Whenever I think about a vaccination, I think..."What's worse, the vaccine or the disease?" Good luck!!!!
You can get a titer test. It measures how much of an antibody for a specific virus is in the blood. I believe the health department do them.
K.
Just a question, aren't vaccines to prevent rabies if exposed? If you've already been exposed, do they work?
Good luck.
J.,
My son woke up to a bat in his room. He will start the vaccine today.
Now that it has been a while for you I was wondering how it went?
Thanks.
They didn't really say one way or the other if my other child or us should have it also, but definitely my son since it was in his room.
Ugh!!
Dear J.,
I don't know who advised you to vaccinate, but it's my experience that it's not usually advised unless there is a strong possibility of rabies. Meaning, all bats, racoons, possums, skunks are NOT rabid, so if there was a valid reason to take the precaution, you probably did the right thing. Health care professionals, animal control, etc don't usually advise the vaccines unless there is valid concern. It's not something to be taken lightly.
I would ask your pediatrician for more information about the possible side affects. And, I would also ask if the vaccines will protect your family in the future and for how long.
It sounds like none of you have had any ill affects or reactions to the vaccines and that's a really good sign.
You've already been through the "rabies" scare, now don't get yourself worked up over what may happen because you got the shots.
I know it's scary, but hang in there.
P.S. some friends had to have the shots for their kid who was attacked by a dog and he has had no ill affects whatsoever.
Hi J., I can see you have had several thoughts shared with you. Rabites is very serious and give yourself a break on feeling bad .. you have done what your doctors advised.
However, I would recommend a few additional preventions for overall health in handling vaccines. One of the issues with vaccines is the preservatives they use.
I am a Nutritional Wellness Consultant and my work is to support others is creating a healthy foundation in the body, i.e. the immune system functions.
Keeping the immune system functioning at peak performance is the best prevention for all health challenges. I
I would encourage you to watch www.sharethecause.com/live..This is a 9 minute documentary on what is happening with our bodies/ environment and what we can do about it.
There are some specific steps you can take to support the body during the vaccination process that are all natural/ whole food options.. even for the young.
If you would like more assistance.. feel free to fill out the comment section.
I would not vaccinate for Rabies because the chance that you are going to be bitten by a bat is really small. These creatures eat fruit and insects, they would only bite if you were to be aggressive to them, and still they would really try to get away from us big giants. Vaccinations especially for young children are dangerous, not only the Mercury(heavy metal) in them but they can cause allergic reactions and even autism especially in young children. Please do not do it., All the best C.
