Immunizations

[Laurie]

How do you feel about immunizations? My son is almost a year old, and has all his necessary shots for his age. However, I am very concerned about the MMR shot that is coming up for him soon. I've heard such horror stories about it, and all this 'it causes autism' stuff is quite scary.

Additionally, I think some of the immunizations are actually a hindrance rather that a help, as in the new chicken pox vaccine. Why would we do that? Chicken pox is a relatively harmless childhood 'disease' and once a child gets it, they are immune for life. If we immunize against it, the vaccine is only a temporary remedy, and then we will have a population of teenagers and adults contracting it, and it is much more dangerous for that group to get it. Why is it now manadatory? It seems like the Pharmaceutical companies have a little too much pull with the government.

Laurie, I thought I agreed with you about the chicken pox vaccine, when I first heard about it. But because my children had already had the disease before the vaccine came out, I didn't do much reading about it. However I have heard of quite a few people who have had shingles lately. It is incredibly painful and lasts for quite a while. It seems to be caused by a flare up of leftover chicken pox antibodies from having the disease as a child. I'm not too sure about the vaccine--does it eliminate shingles, or hasn't it been around long enough to know for sure? If it decreases shingles, I'd go for it.
Ask your doctor to inform you about the MMR shot, and its side effects. I haven't heard of any related to Autism. The scary one when my kids were little was the P in the DPT. I think it had to do with an outbreak of whooping cough but I can't remember?!

[kat]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Laurie
and all this 'it causes autism' stuff is quite scary.


I had an autistic child last year and in preparation I took several workshops and did alot of research. I have heard the rumors that the MMR vaccine might be linked to autism, but that stems more from the time in which autistic characteristics sometimes manifest themselves. In all that I read about autism, some children who were born with autism seemed perfectly normal until around the age of 2 - 3 years old (some aquiring some language skills only to later lose them). Because the child appeared normal up until that point, after certain immunizations were given, they began to look for a link to the shots. I don't think there is a proven link. There was no mention of autism in the literature given at the time of immunizations.
And you have to remember there are risks involved with anything you do for your kids. The benefits of immunizations far outweigh the risks.

[Leigh]

It is funny that you should bring this up. My husband and I were just watching a special on the MMR shot and its relation to autism. The program said that the MMR shot did cause autism. It said that you should request that your child have all three shots (measles, mumps, rubella) seperately and spread out over a certain length of time which of course I can't remember, but I think that it was 3 years. If your child is over a certain age though it is safe for them to get the shot mixed, but I can't remember that age either. I think that it was 18 months or 2 years. They said that it was the combination of the three being miixed that caused the autism. I don't know if this helps you out any. I still don't know what to believe either. There are so many conflicting stories out there, and I am sure that the program on TV was not showing both sides of the story. I guess keeping your children safe can be scary.

[Amy2]

Of course this is only my opinion and not based in any fact, but I think part of the problem is immunizing so early. Our pediatrician said we could wait a while before giving shots, especially if our children are not in day care.
I have heard the stuff about the shot/autism too, and have opted not to have my daughter immunized until now (she's one). I will give her the MMR separately because even though nothing is proven, I figure better safe than sorry.

[Laurie]

Thanks for your insights on this. I think the best thing for me to do at this time, is to wait just a little while on the MMR shot. My son will be a year old this Saturday, and I think if I wait another 6 months to a year he will be fine. I had to have the MMR shot before I got pregnant, so I'm also thinking that he has received a good amount of antibodies through my breastmilk.

It's just confusing because of the conflicting stories circulating out there. I know that vaccines play an important role in keeping our kids and our society safe; I just want to be sure I'm making as informed a decision as possible. Thanks again. :)

[Amy2]

Laurie, I found this site, thought it might be interesting to you. http:///www.909shot.com/
Amy

[MK]

I was just reading in Parents magazine at the dentist office while waiting for dh that 40 children die each year due to complications of chicken pox. I did get my kids vaccinated, our family doctor recommended it, and they haven't had any problems, nor did they break out when exposed to other kids with the virus. I also decided I didn't want them to suffer the misery I did when I had the chicken pox (summer time in Southern Utah- miserable!!), and if there was a way to spare them, I was all for it.

As for the MMR, neither of my kids got it until at least 15 months, according to general practice by the US Military (ds #1) and our county health dept. (ds #2) When the baby was just six months old, though, we had an outbreak of measles in our region, and since I had been vaccinated BEFORE 1973, I had to go and get a booster. Firstborn was only 3 at the time, and was waiting in the car with dh and baby, and they told me to bring him in too, that it was too risky to have him wait another year for his booster. I asked about the baby, and they said they didn't like to give them their first MMR before their first year, but could if they had to. They decided that since I was still nursing, and he was only 6 months old that he would be fine. So he didn't get his first MMR until after his birthday. He got all his boosters last summer, before the start of the school year. Both my kids handled all their shots just fine, and are rarely sick. They only see the doctor once a year for check-ups. (I realize that I am also extremely fortunate) :)