Rotavirus Vaccine Help

Tell her if she breastfeeds, her immunity will protect the baby, and there is no need for it. I personally would decline, even if I wasn't breastfeeding. If the baby is not exposed to children with roto, she shouldn't be concerned. If she puts the baby in a big daycare, her risks would be higher for contracting it.

This is the one vaccine that we decided against. It's a newer vaccine and there have been problems in the past with children having severe reactions to the vaccine. I'm a stay-at-home mom, so my daughter doesn't have that much of a risk of getting Rotavirus, since kids are more likely to get it if they are in a daycare setting. Like I said, we do all the other vaccinations, but this is one that my husband and I were very much against. She needs to do her research for herself so she can make an educated decision and decide what's best for her child.

My 5 year old was not offered this vaccine when she was born, and she got the virus when she was one. It was HORRIBLE! I had to take a week off work to be with her...she had the runs sooo bad it was like water, and she almost had to be hospitalized for dehydration. My 11 month old son was offered the vaccine and you can bet I took it! It was an oral vaccine and he took it well with no side effects at all. I highly recommend the vaccine, especially since this virus is so common among babies, and has even led to death in some cases. No mother would want her child to have this horrible virus. I hope this helps and good luck to her!

PLEASE DO NOT GIVE THIS TO ANY BABY! Sorry, but from what my friend and the other experimental babies went through, I would NOT get this vaccine. My friend's ped said that this would be required for school, so she gave in and let him give it to her baby. He then, not only got rotavirus, but then came down with C-DIFF that is a secondary infection from it. And, C-DIFF is VERY serious and VERY contageous. The child could infect siblings or daycare kids. She was lucky that her 11 other children didn't get the CDIFF. All 3 babies got these diseases, and the doctor told her that she would not vaccinate him further nor EVER give it to anymore babies. And, this is a very pro vax doctor. So, that is my experience.

Hi S., I am the one noone wants to be, my son has a rare neurological auto-immune disorder triggered by his vaccines. www.omsusa.org The thing that I would say if people choose to vaccinate there kids is to make sure that they do NOT allow more than one 'live virus' vaccine at a time. The Rotavirus is live from what I remember, just don't allow anything else live that same day. It is worth making seperate trips to the Dr. to space out the vaccines. Tell your friend good luck!

I would question a doctor who insists that a vax must be given at a particular time. There is never harm in delaying a vaccine (except the possible risk that the baby will be more likely to get the disease in the meantime, which I personally question), but once a vaccine is given, it can never be taken away. Trust me, if she doesn't give it on schedule, the md will be all too happy to administer it at any later date.

(In case you hadn't guessed, we do not vaccinate in our house, and we have very healthy children who rarely get sick, and get over it fast when they do.)

Mothering.com has a discussion board with an extensive forum on vaccinating. There is a huge amount of information there, with articles, links, and a large community of moms who are very supportive of people who choose not to vaccinate.

My little babe is 4 months, hes had it twice with no effects. I asked the ped if all of the vaccines were necessary and she assured me none of it will harm my child. So far so good!

I was never offered a vaccine for rotavirus with any of my 3 kids. But, if there's a way to prevent it, I would totally do it. My oldest was hospitalized 3 times in 3 years with rotavirus. My youngest 2 were both hospitalized once with it. If they do get it, it's really nasty- so if there is a way to prevent it, I would say go for it!

Hi S.-
I don't know if this is a dead or attenuated virus vaccine (I'm sure your doctor will tell you or you can find out on the internet), but rotavirus can be very dangerous and I highly encourage you to protect your baby. Our son was vaccinated but still got the virus at 3 months, and while he responded to it mostly as a very bad cold, he still had enough breathing problems that we had to get a nebulizer and give him breathing treatments, and it spurred a bout of infant asthma. For babies at risk and preemies, rotavirus is especially dangerous. Especially since it's not a shot, it won't hurt at all, and any risk is far outweighed by the benefit.

I'm pretty sure my son took this. It is an oral dose. The first time he took it he did get mildly sick - diarrhea and a bit more fussy than usual. The second dose gave him only a slight reaction. The third dose did not effect him at all.

We did it when my son was younger (now 2 years old) and had no problems. The vaccine was not offered for several years (it was pulled for a couple years while they fixed the vaccine) and in the mean time, my cousin's little girl got rotovirus and said it was horrible!
Our son didn't get sick at all from this one.
When he got the measles vaccine, he got a few little red bumps but that was it.

My daughter has had the first 2 doses of the vaccine, no ill effects. She wasn't too happy about getting it, but she fussed less than for her shots. My husband says my stepdaughter had it when she was little, and it was bad. So I would definitely get the vaccine. Oh, and I think this is a fairly recent vaccine, as my 2 1/2 year old wasn't offered it.

My daughter has had this twice and no problems for us either.

My 10 month old had the vaccine with no adverse reaction. My niece (5 yrs old) did not (don't think it was available) and spent 3 days in the hospital with Rota Virus--nightmare! I would vaccinate:)

I would advise your friend to get it...it wasn't around when my girls were little and they ended up with a mild case of the RV and it was not fun. My youngest had it worse and they had it at he same time. It was mild, so I couldn't imagine what a full blown one would be. I do know most kids who get it end up in the hospital. So please advise your friend to go ahead and get the vaccine. It will be worth it. Good luck and God Bless.

My nephew had the rotavirus and ended up in the hospital severly dehydrated. The vaccine was not around for him. I asked my pediatrician about it for my son who is now 3 and he told me that they pulled the first one off the market because it had caused some severe reactions and even death in too many children. My rule of thumb on vaccines is if I feel comfortable with (in other words if my mommy intuition is saying its okay) then I vaccinate. I would tell your friend that if it is bothering her a lot then maybe she should skip it. If she does skip it she needs to make sure she is cautious when going to supermarkets or any type of outing. I always changed my child in my car just so he didn't come in contact with those changing tables in public. I also made sure to see how my daycare goes about changing him as it is passed by feces. Goodluck.

I did the rotavirus for my now 11 month old and it did not bother her at all. I think this is a fairly new vaccine. I have known several people whose kids got rotavirus so bad they had to be hospitalized. That is what convinced me to do it for my daughter.

I remember being offered this vaccine when my daughter was a baby,the pediatrician gave me a choice as well and I denied she was ok with it and told me that she does highly recomened it with children who are in a daycare setting and since my kiddos are home with me being a Sahm she was completely ok with it and so was I.

When my son got the vaccine he didnt get sick but the doctor said that it was very possible because it is a mild live vaccine. They told me that the average reaction to the vaccine is diarrhea for about 3 days. When handing dirty diapers you have to use extra care not to infect another child in case they have not been vaccinated.

I have had my 6 month old receive this vaccination and he just finished his last dose. He had no side effects from any of the doses and after dealing with a 11 month old with Rotovirus in 2005, I am looking for anything that will help prevent that from happening again. My doctor said it mainly lessens the impact of the virus and shortens it. When you are looking at 10 days of vomiting and diarrhea, every little bit helps!

We had the vaccine given to our daughter and all was well. A friend of mine did not get the vaccine and her child ended up with a bug and in the hospital. I would totally get the vaccine. My daughter had no side effects what-so-ever. Good luck.

My little girl had this and it's not a big deal. they just make them drink it. My daughter never got sick from it. Hope this helps.

I may be a little late with this response, but I feel I need to clarify a few things. Some people have been warning you about deaths caused by this vaccine... I believe they are thinking about a different vaccine that was out years ago for rotavirus. That vaccine is different than the one offered now. I haven't heard of any deaths or even serious complications from the current vaccine (however, I'm by no means an expert). I did some research on this because the vaccine was brand new when my first son was due to get it. I did not give it to him simply because it was brand new and I didn't know enough about it. My second son has had the first dose and had no problems with it.

It was also posted that you can always get the vaccine later if you choose to, but I'm pretty sure that you have to get it at 2,4, and 6 months. They do a lot of research to find out the most effective times to give these vaccines. Just wanted to let you know what I've discovered about it! Good luck!

I have a 14 month old daughter and she got this vaccine. My doctor didn't give me the option to do it but it was painless. The liquid is like a clear syrup consistency. It seems they end up spitting most out but that's what they do. It did not give her the virus - much like a flu shot it keeps the child from getting the virus. I would recommend your friend go through with it.

Rotavirus recently went through my house. My 2 year old was so sick for two weeks. It was miserable. Everyone was vomiting or in the bathroom. It was not like a regular stomach flu. Everyone except my 8 month old, who had the vaccine. She never got it and avoided two weeks of misery.

My son literally had diarrea for a month. We went to the doctor twice and they just said it had to run its course.

In this case the vaccine saved my daughter from a powerful illness.

I have a 8 month old and this was the only child my ped. recommended the rotovirus for. I said yes because they were kinds pushing it. Come to find out, it is not covered by insurance. i wish now I didn't get it. The only thing is, we have 2 other school aged children who brought the stomach virus home and my 8month old only threw up one time and just wasn't very hungry for a couple days. If I hadn't gotten it, he might of gotten it worse off. Who is to say though? My advice is if she has other children at home who go to school it might be a good thing to get. If she stays home with her little one and doesn't have anyohter children, I wouldn't get it. One for the cost reason and two, it really hasn't been reasearched enough and that is why the doctors are pushing it, to get it researched in detail and if I had to do it over I would say no. My children aren't going to be the FDA guinea pigs!

My son had the vaccines and had no problems. The liquid tastes good so they had no problems giving it to him with his other shots. I actually saw a story on the news one night about how this vaccine has drastically reduced the occurance of the virus, in turn reducing the number of kids hospitalized due to the dehydration it can cause. Just like other vaccines, the more kids that get it, the less it spreads. I would reccommend it.

S.,

I have an 11 year old and a two year old. My daughter got the rotavirus when she was little. In my experience, it's well worth getting the vaccine rather than letting a child go through what my daughter did. She had it coming out of both ends for a few days, ran a fever and had absolutely no energy. I got the vaccine for my son and he's had no problems of any kind.

I know you're going to be getting a lot of advice. Tell your friend to talk about the pros and cons with her doctor and do what she feels is best for her little one.

Wish I could've been of more help... Good luck! ls