17th November 2009 / Comments (7)
Children's Ailments
Woman's Weekly: 9th March 1957
Presumably the whooping cough vaccine was in its early days, as I don't think a handy cut-out-and-keep guide to it would be considered necessary nowadays, a tribute to just how successful the vaccination programme has been. My mother, born in the early 1940s, survived whooping cough as a baby, which made her fortunate, but I was even more fortunate not to have to face the risk.
Comments
Unfortunately, whooping cough is making a slow return these days as the vaccinations are not effective for life unlike previously assumed. I speak from experience, as my son contracted it (from an adult relative) at two months old, one month before he was due for his vaccination. We spent a horrible two weeks in hospital but fortunately he's recovered with no ill effects, apart from still being more susceptible to other respiratory infections (he's two now).
Here in Norway they're now starting to give booster shots in primary school, but some doctors argue that the adult populations should also be revaccinated. My wife and I have both taken the vaccine again for this reason. Even discounting the public health benefits, whooping cough can be highly uncomfortable also for adults, with some people coughing to the point of ribs cracking.
"...put glucose in all her fruit drinks for extra nourishment" - just to give the NHS Rose-Hip Syrup and Orange Juice a helping hand in rotting all her teeth so she can get her NHS dentures by the time she's 18.
My mum said there was some scare stories around about the whooping cough vaccine when me and my bro were babies, so she didn't give it to us and we both caught it. Nasty.
Thanks for the interesting information, odd parity: this isn't something publicised in the UK yet. I suppose it's tough enough getting parents to give their kids the MMR vaccine at the moment. And thanks for illustrating the consequences of vaccine scares, Estelle: I do feel like strangling the type of person who spreads them without understanding the issues involved.
Juliette has had her MMR shot. She's fine. I can't stand parents who don't vaccinate thier kids. I really don't want to be exposed to whatever ailment that the vaccine is treating because somebody hasn't had the shot. VC was exposed to somebody who had suspected mumps or measles can't remember which now at the hospital before J had her shot which really made me nervous since we didn't want her getting either of those when she was that tiny.
Yes, I think our society has got blase about these diseases, because so few of us knew what they were like before.
It's called Keuchhusten (wheezing cough) in German and thanks for reminding me to renew my immunisation!
By TheLeen
November 17, 2009 @ 9:03 am / #
delete / edit