MMR or single jabs

[jockey]

We had decided that we would have single jabs for our DS. We took him to the clinic last Thusday for the measels injection and they asked if he was allergic to eggs. We suspected he was as he had taken a reaction to marshmallow but at the time was too young to be skin tested.

We had him skin tested this evening and he is allergic to egg. This rules out the single jabs (they are egg based) as they would have to be done at a hospital and there are no consultants who will do that as the drugs are not licensed in the UK.

The GP says the MMR is the way to go and the single jabs are just wasting time. After reading info on the internet over the last few days I am terrified about giving DS the MMR am I being silly? I know it's stupid but at this stage we are considering doing nothing which is probably worse.

What are your experiences with the MMR?

 

[natalielongstaff]

both my two had the MMR and both are fine i personally dont beleive the link between autism and the jabs but a lot of people do

i think its much better to be vaccinated than not, not just for your own child but to stop these diseases affecting those that are more vulnerable

good luck with your choice x x

 

[Laurafoster]

My experience is purely from a professional point of view - i used to work part time at the local docters surgery now i work with the Medical Research Council supporting their IT. All the people i work with have given their kids the MMR but i think they all had that before all the big publicity last year. Because of my age i only got the one MMR when i was younger as it was only first introduced in 1988 so i had to have my booster shot last year.

We get hundreds of parents feeling the same as you do. From what they have said to me they are concerned that the single jabs have not been out long enough to tell how effective they actually are.

As for the MMR there is no actual proof that it does cause any of these things it was 1 theory. There are more studies for that against the MMR. Take a look on the BBC website they give a timeline about all major events surrounding the MMR.

I think whats most important is that you have the jabs - whether its singles or MMR. My friends little girl had the measles last year because her parents didnt have any vaccination and she was in hospital for quite a while! Last year was the biggest outbreak of measles since 1988.

 

[wils]

It's certainly a difficult one and I worried too We went with the MMR and everything was fine - in fact DS gave the nurse the most beautiful smile afterwards. I, personally, would have been more worried by not given them anything. (We decided not to go down the single jabs route)

I remember when my old boss was making the same decision, his Mum was working with children with special needs (the types that often come up in the MMR debate) and all the Drs working in the facility had still chosen the MMR for their own kids.

I hope that you manage to make a decision you are happy with

 

[TinkTatoo]

Having two kids with autism I'd go for the single jab. I have no doubt that DS was Autistic before he ever got the jab but I'm not so sure with DD. Is there any autistic spectrum disorders on either side of your family (diagnosed or not) If there is I would think very seriously about it.

 

[Obi Wan Kenobi]

This is one of the most difficult descisions you have to make.
Only you can really decide. don't be bullied by your Doctor, he does have a financial interest in giving you the MMR jab.
The government should NOT have taken away the option of single jabs. the reason was totally spurious, it in fact is cheaper for the NHS to have the MMR injected than three separate visits.

We chose to go the single jab route, even though both the Doctoir and the health visitor tried to push us towards the MMR.

Our neighbour went the MMR route with his middle daughter, she is the only one who has autism, the older girl on single jabs was fine. the younger daughter after the trauma of the middle daughter was single injected and is also fine.
there may or may not be a link, but my reasoning was this is the most precious thing in my world ever and am I going to play Russian Roulette with his life and future because the Government wants to save money?

It has to be your own decision, I went through lots of web sites, papers and books and was not convinced totally that MMR was safe.
I looked at the following (as I man sure you have found these as well)
http://www.bupa.co.uk/health_information/html/health_news/141102mmr.html
and
http://www.jabs.org.uk/

we used this company in the end
http://www.element21.uklinux.net/desumo/

Our son is a fine healthy five year old, would the MMR caused problems? I really don't know, but I took what I thought was the safest option.

Other people will have different views, this is why only you can decide

 

[wayneg]

Big decision totally yours to make, posting on here will probably not help at all.
Our son was born 12 years ago 6 weeks prem, he had the MMR when due no problem. Never had a day off school sick, now 12 years old 5'.10" and size 10 shoe, healthiest kid in the world so would have no hessitation using MMR again.
Good luck with whatever you decide.

 

[CHEK]

My DD is 8, she has an Egg allergry and had her MMR in our GP's surgery with no problems whatsoever!! . But as everyone else has said the decision is yours to make. Good luck with what you decide.

 

[BRobson]

You just have to make the decision you are happiest with. My DD8 and DS5 both had the MMR and are both thriving.

 

[jockey]

Thanks guys for all the replies, I just wanted to get a general feel as to what everyone else was doing.

My DS fainted when he went for his first set of injections at just 8 weeks and we were rushed to hospital in an ambulance. They are not sure the reason for the faint but suggest it may just have been the shock of the pain. He has had 3 injections since and has been fine. He has had to go to hospital to have them done just incase he fainted again. The consultant who saw him at the hospital thinks we are mad not giving MMR!


One of the GP's at my surgery is quite sympathetic so I am hoping he may agree to give the single boosters if I buy the drugs from the clinic. The clinic are happy for me to purchase the drugs and they will be sent to the GP's surgery. My main concern is how my DS will react because of his egg allergy.

DH have decided that the MMR is not for us. Maybe we are being silly but I just think that if there is any doubt we should go without!! My Health visitor told me off the record that she saw a big change in a child after his MMR.

I hope I have not frightened anyone by this thread, I just want to get an idea of everyone elses views so please keep them coming!



Obi, thanks for the links I had been looking at the bupa info and found the JABS website

 

[wideeyes]

My DD had the MMR and is fine, I don't believe the link between autism.

However the most important thing is that your DS gets some sort of Jab, as by not doing so you are also putting other children at risk who can not have the jabs due to an inefficient immune system, organ transplants, HIV etc, and who are also most at risk from serious complications if they get Measles, Mumps etc.

 

[higgy66]

My eldest had her MMR at 14 months and for the next 6 months she was constantly ill. She had a chest infection following the jab and then caught chicken pox and was so bad she was rushed to hospital where the consultant said he's never seen a child with so many spots (there wasn't a gap on her body/face!) For the next few months she constantly had a temp of at least 39 but was fine in herself which worried the GPs as this wasn't mormal. Blood tests found she had a low white blood cell count but this has since built back to normal. (apparantly children develop temps while producing white blood cells to fight infections.)

When it came to getting my 2nd DS done I was really worried as I'm convinced that having all 3 in one go was too much for my eldest DD's immune system to cope with. Although my youngest DD was due in the winter I explained to the health visitor that I would not be getting her done until the summer when there are less colds etc around.

Needless to say she was fine and since then my eldest has had the MMR booster - again during the summer months

So regardless of what route you take - my advice would be to make sure your child is 100% well and try to go during the summer months when there are less colds and virus infections around.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

 

[cstokell]

My DD who is now 5 had the MMR and she was fine. It was a difficult decision to make as she had to have hers when the MMR Autism link was all over the news.

Several of my friends either choose the Single Jab option or to have no immunisation. I decided that having the MMR was less of a risk than her getting Measles and was a quicker than single jabs..

This is unfortunately is a hard decision that only you can take. I hope that you make you choice soon and that everything works out, I am sure that it will.

 

[jockey]

Thankyou for all the replies. Spoke to my GP this afternoon but he said there is nothing he can do. My next plan is to ring all the hospitals in N.ireland to see if I can get a consultant to do it.

I also have the option of clinics in Dundalk and London although I would prefer to have it done at a hospital after the reaction he took to his 8 week jabs

 

[pokemon_master]

both my two had the MMR and both are fine i personally dont beleive the link between autism and the jabs but a lot of people do

i think its much better to be vaccinated than not, not just for your own child but to stop these diseases affecting those that are more vulnerable

good luck with your choice x x

As do I Nat. There is no actual evidence between the two. I personally thought that this thread was going to be able that topic for five minutes....

I'd be a bit cautious too. I mean, we don't want him to get ill from taking the jab right???

Sorry if I am no help at all, but good luck!

 

[Netty]

My personal opinion is that there could be a link. I would give mine the single jab. But at the end of the day its your decision, go with what you think is the right choice for you.

 

[mumloveseeyore]

this is entirely a personal decision DS has autism amd had symptoms of problems more or less from the day he was born but did also have mmr, friends are convinced that their children regressed after having it, after much thought DD also had mmr and is absolutely fine, best of luck in finding a solution that works for you. Gill

 

[CHEK]

As I've already said about my DD with an Egg allergy, she was perfectly fine. I totally understand your worries and the choice at the end of the day is yours. I think perhaps you need to be able to speak to a local Paediatrician, if your son didn't have the Egg Allergy would you have the MMR or would you still opt for single vaccines?. My Daughter has lots more Allergies and has had all her immunisations without any problems. Good Luck

 

[jockey]

As I've already said about my DD with an Egg allergy, she was perfectly fine. I totally understand your worries and the choice at the end of the day is yours. I think perhaps you need to be able to speak to a local Paediatrician, if your son didn't have the Egg Allergy would you have the MMR or would you still opt for single vaccines?. My Daughter has lots more Allergies and has had all her immunisations without any problems. Good Luck

I am worried about the egg allergy and the fact that he fainted at the 8 week injections. Even if DS did not have the egg allergy I would still not let him have the MMR. I did not realise the single injections were egg based too. It was only when we went to the clinic last week to have his measels injection they asked if he had any allergies. I have contacted them to ask if they can get the non egg based.

There are a few places in th UK London and Manchester offereing non egg based so at least we can get him vaccinated. I hade to make LOTS of calls today to get this information.


Matt, I do agree it is important to get some sort of immunisation!

 

[Lizzybear]

i think its much better to be vaccinated than not, not just for your own child but to stop these diseases affecting those that are more vulnerable

good luck with your choice x x

I agree. It would be awful if there was an epidemic in this country again..