Mumps?!?

[tangentgirl]

1952 just called. It wants its weird diseases back.

It looks like my sister has the mumps. I just spent half of last night in the ER with her. She had what she thought was a very swollen lymph node, size of a walnut. Went to the urgent care in the am and they gave her antibiotics. By dinnertime the swelling had about quadrupled. Since you don't want to mess around with lymph nodes, infections, and swelling about the head and neck, we went on a little field trip.

Folks at the ER said that she was the 4th person in there with that yesterday! Apparently, the MMR vaccine doesn't always keep working.

Luckily, mumps is swollen salivary glands, and what I've been reading about it sounds less dangerous than a lymph node infection. The later could indicate all kinds of horrible problems, so I'll (well she will) take the mumps over that. This is very painful, and the poor girl looks like a chipmunk, but it also looks like something that will just run its course and not cause long-term issues.

I'm a little worried about catching it, since my bf and I drove her to the hospital, and then I hung out in the room with her. It takes a couple of weeks to get it. Yikes.

I've never even heard of anyone getting the mumps. Have you?

[Veronica]

My last tetanus shot also had a vaccine for measles, mumps and rubella included in it. Maybe they started doing that because they are making a comeback.

Veronica

[Tokie]

Are you sure Veronica? I thought it was just DPT (Diptheria,Pertussis and Tetanus) in one shot. tokie

[Veronica]

You know I really thought she said it was MMR. But my research makes me think I was wrong.

Maybe it was the pertussis that convinced me to get a tetanus booster last year. Even though I had one in 2007 after my bike accident.

You know, teaching ten year olds you want to make sure you don't get any of those childhood diseases.

Veronica

[Tokie]

If you are of (possible) childbearing age, I think a negative pregnancy test might be required to receive the MMR, as the rubella component could affect the fetus. (as rubella infection itself can cause birth defects) tokie

[tangentgirl]

If I was exposed and got another shot today, it wouldn't help. However, next time I'm at my doctor's, I'm definitely going to ask about this business of vaccines wearing off and see if I need to get new shots. Yeesh.

[Biciclista]

a lot of these diseases crop up. but yes,my sister got it when she was about 6, and I was 8, exposed and never got it. Of course this was in the early 1960's
What i noticed is that they seem NASTIER now than they did back when i was a kid. everyone i knew had chickenpox,but when my sons got it, it was a much more serious ailment, laying them both flat for a week.
i hope your sister is ok...

[goldfinch]

I'm a little worried about catching it, since my bf and I drove her to the hospital, and then I hung out in the room with her. It takes a couple of weeks to get it. Yikes.

I've never even heard of anyone getting the mumps. Have you?

I was a kid before there was a mumps vaccine so I had it as a child. I also gave it to a number of relatives, including my uncle. Then end result is that my uncle was sterile afterwards. Rare complication though and I can't be absolutely sure that the mumps was the cause. However, I do understand that about half of men who get mumps have testicle swelling that can be very painful.

My other recollection is that some cases of mumps can develop into meningitis. And some can result in hearing loss. I that going deaf from mumps is rare but it was one of the scary things from back in my childhood.

[Eden]

Lots of diseases that we think of as gone are making a come back because of people who are unwilling to vaccinate their children.... It's not taken very long to forget how devastating some of those childhood illnesses really could be.

The mumps vaccine only protects about 80% of people given it, so "herd immunity" is important too - it is important to protect those who are not immune, either because it didn't work in them or they for some reason really cannot be vaccinated (immune compromise, serious egg allergy, etc.) by being immune yourself.

It could be worse though mumps isn't the nastiest of the things we vaccinate against...

I've worked in hospitals almost my entire adult life... I have gotten lots of vaccinations... When I was at the VA they were seeing outbreaks of pertussis (whooping cough) in adults and signs that people around my age who were vaccinated as children becoming susceptible again. I'm pretty sure I got a DPT there. I think I might have had it again at my newest job - I work with kids now and it's pretty important to know that employees are not going to be passing this stuff on to babies - especially ones that are already sick.. They didn't think when I was at the VA DPT was available, but I'd swear I remember it... The government may get these things sooner? I don't think I had to re-do the MMR again. They just did a titer to make sure I had immunity. I'm good and do my flu vaccine every year too. I've never had the flu, but I'd feel terrible if I got it and passed it along - not to mention that some people don't get sick... they just carry it around and give it to people... no way I want that worry.

[Crankin]

This.
I got very upset last spring, when my neuropsych professor, a woman a little younger than me, went on a rampage about vaccines, how she didn't let her kids get vaccinated (they are now 16, 18) and the "crap" she had to go through because of this. There were younger, impressionable grad students in the class, who were just eating up her words.
My oldest son had pertussis when he was turning 14. He came home from overnight camp with what we thought was allergies, or bronchitis, until finally, around Oct. 1st, we determined it was pertussis. This was because when he was an infant, he actually did have one of the "unusual" reactions to his first DPT shot (high pitched screaming), so he only got the DT part of the shot for the rest. My other son didn't get the pertussis vaccine, either. I would have rather had him get a shot, than seeing him as sick as he was. I thought he was going to die when he was coughing so badly and couldn't catch his breath.

[Jolt]

It bugs me when people refuse to vaccinate their kids...I'm not saying there aren't risks (unusual reactions etc.) but the risks associated with getting some of these diseases are much worse. That said, I do wonder if the currently recommended vaccine schedule might be overloading immature immune systems with too many things at once. I'm not knowledgeable enough about pediatrics to say for sure, but I would be interested to know if any research has been done on this and if it might be better to spread the vaccines out more. The discussion about pertussis reminds me, I should ask about getting a booster when I go for my physical this year since I haven't had one as an adult and it sounds like I probably should (especially since I work in a hospital!).

[malkin]

There was an annoying article in a local weekly whining about a hospital requiring flu shots for all staff--even clerical. The hospital clerk wanted an exemption from the vaccine, to allow her immune system to work "as nature intended."

If I had more time right now I'd write a letter to the editor pointing out that apparently "nature intends" for lots of people to die of the flu.