OT: ease my mind about immunizations!

[Minniemouse07]

By vaccinating my children and accepting some of the risks associated with it, I am helping to keep YOUR children safe. I wish that you would do the same for my children.

I'd actually prefer my child to get some of the diseases (like chicken pox) so in actuality you vaccinating your children is preventing mine from acquiring natural immunity to diseases that will only become more serious as they become adults!

Again, we are doing what my husband and I feel is the best thing to keep our children safe. Our decisions were not made in haste and they are not set in stone!

 

[kandeebunny]

I was not going to post since I do not have children, and if I did I have no idea what I would do. I am 24, I have not had a vacciene since 5th grade. I have a compromised immune system and my doctors will NOT give them to me. I cannot get the Hep B, Chicken Pox, Tetanus (well I can get that one, but they don't give it because it doesn't take in my system anyways so they don't like giving it,) MMR, Flu. I cannot travel to a lot of countries because I cannot get the shots. I could NOT live on campus in college because I did not get the shots. Though for me getting them could be a death scentence, because I don't I am not allowed to do a lot of things. I don't know about younger schools since the public schools were OK with everything. I just know college for me because a HUGE issue.

If you are truely concerned about Autism in your child you should also look at the links between Gluten and Autism. No one REALLY know what causes Autism, but there are a whole lot of theories.

 

[chipscinderelly]

My son has been in a state licensed home daycare since 8 weeks. As long as I get the regular state form that must be signed by the Dr's office I'm all set. The Dr's office is ok with signing off because I'm not refusing vaccs, just delaying. And neither the daycare provider, nor the state daycare people, would have any clue what they were looking for even if they DID look at the form closely! LOL I sincerely doubt that they would have memorized the recommended vacc schedule for our state.

Thank you for responding with that - I just wanted to know what our options were as our baby is due in July.

 

[Minniemouse07]

Thank you for responding with that - I just wanted to know what our options were as our baby is due in July.

Both of my children have been attending a day care center since 3mo. Both have letters of exemption (written by dh and I) on file at the center and dd has one on file at her elementary school. Neither school even blinked when we handed them in!

 

[JacobsMommy11002]

Threads like this always stress me out. I vaccinated, I believe in vacination. That said, I know there is no way I can convince someone to vaccinate if they don't want to. We all have our beliefs, and we just have to respect them even if we don't like them.

 

[jodifla]

Both of my children have been attending a day care center since 3mo. Both have letters of exemption (written by dh and I) on file at the center and dd has one on file at her elementary school. Neither school even blinked when we handed them in!

Again, enjoy your exemptions while they last. Once kids start getting sick, the exemptions will go out the window.

 

[Minniemouse07]

Again, enjoy your exemptions while they last. Once kids start getting sick, the exemptions will go out the window.

One can only hope that the shortsightedness of a few will not curtail the freedoms of the rest of us!

While there is a push in some communities to "crack down" on those that do not vaccinate. They are generally looking at the parents that just haven't done so...not the ones that actively CHOOSE not to vaccinate.

The images from Baltimore of parents lining up to get their kids vaccinated because of a court order left out the important information that those children could have gotten the vaccination OR shown proof of exemption. The sensationalized news stories almost always omit that there is a choice of an exemption.

 

[jodifla]

One can only hope that the shortsightedness of a few will not curtail the freedoms of the rest of us!

While there is a push in some communities to "crack down" on those that do not vaccinate. They are generally looking at the parents that just haven't done so...not the ones that actively CHOOSE not to vaccinate.

The images from Baltimore of parents lining up to get their kids vaccinated because of a court order left out the important information that those children could have gotten the vaccination OR shown proof of exemption. The sensationalized news stories almost always omit that there is a choice of an exemption.

I think every state has a medical exemption. But lots of people (not saying you, don't know your situation) are lying to get religious exemptions.

Again, while there's not outbreak of disease, not much is going to happen. But when outbreaks occur, we can expect major freakouts.

I don't know if the comments were posted along with the NY Times story like they were on the first day, but about 80 percent or more of the folks were really against the idea of parents not vaccinating their kids. They'll be out for blood in the event of any outbreak.

And once public health gets into the mix, the equation on exemptions really changes.

 

[belle&sebastiansmom]

From MinnieMouse07[/B]
We selectively vaccinated my dd (now almost 7yo) until she came down w/ pertussis (whooping cough) at 4.5yo. She was fully vaccinated for it. Dd coughed for two months and that was it. She didn't give it to anyone (enrolled at daycare at the time...noone else there had it at all), she wasn't "sick" other than a persistant cough...she was actually just fine. Whooping cough is only "deadly" to those that are immune compromised where they then contract secondary infections (bronchitis, pneumonia, etc.)...whooping cough itself is NOT "deadly."

I refuse to expose my children to vaccines that "may" protect them from a disease that was NOT dangerous, but could cause serious reactions that could harm my children. With each dose of her DTaP vaccine she reacted more severely. I won't put my son through that and I won't play russian roulette w/ my children.

What about if your "selectively vaccinated" child with whooping cough exposed my newborn to the virus. Though he was "healthy and hygienic," as you stated kids must be to not get any illnesses , he still would have an underdeveloped immune system, and would most like get secondary infections with severe complications. Don't play Russian roulette with MY child. So when your child develops polio, measles, mumps, etc., please stay far away.

 

[Bren's Mom]

Thank you for responding with that - I just wanted to know what our options were as our baby is due in July.

You're welcome and CONGRATS!

My best advice is to find a ped you're comfortable talking to. Even if you don't see eye to eye, if you're comfortable talking about the difficult subjects and feel that the ped understands both his role and your role as a mom...and if you stand your ground anytime your mommy instincts kick in...you'll be fine!

 

[belle&sebastiansmom]

I'd actually prefer my child to get some of the diseases (like chicken pox) so in actuality you vaccinating your children is preventing mine from acquiring natural immunity to diseases that will only become more serious as they become adults!

And what other diseases would you like your child to be infected with?

 

[Minniemouse07]

[/i]


What about if your "selectively vaccinated" child with whooping cough exposed my newborn to the virus. Though he was "healthy and hygienic," as you stated kids must be to not get any illnesses , he still would have an underdeveloped immune system, and would most like get secondary infections with severe complications. Don't play Russian roulette with MY child. So when your child develops polio, measles, mumps, etc., please stay far away.

Did you read the part where she was FULLY vaxed for pertussis (whooping cough)?

My point was that in spite of being fully vaxed for it... she still got it...and could have still exposed others to it (although we learned pretty quick that by the time it is diagnosed it is generally weeks after the window of exposure). Dd got every DTaP shot she was supposed to and ON SCHEDULE... she STILL got pertussis. TWO different drs (her pediatrician and my GP) told me that the pertussis vaccine is no longer protecting like it used to and they believe that the prevalent strains are not ones that are in the vaccine. Further when you hear about pertussis "outbreaks" they are generally in vaxed populations.

Based upon that experience, we stopped vaxing in total. I was perfectly fine selectively vaxing until then...but dd getting whooping cough after reacting to the vaccine... progressively worse every time...put us over the edge about it.

As for the diseases you mentioned...

Polio - has not been in the US for MANY years. The "scare" last year was actually not polio per se, but a child that was carrying the virus (they didn't actually have it)... AND the strain they were carrying was that of the vaccine so it wasn't something they caught.

Measles & Mumps - Neither are life threatening and normally I would prefer my children contract them as children. We do however had a significant family history of autoimmune and gut diseases and due to some corollary studies, I would rather they not get either...or the vaccines as they could theoretically cause the same damage.

After all that I have learned in my research, I would rather my children get a childhood disease and be done with it, than have a vaccine injury for the remainder of their lives!

 

[belle&sebastiansmom]

Would it have simply been a two month cough if she hadn't been vaccinated?

 

[Minniemouse07]

And what other diseases would you like your child to be infected with?

The question isn't what I would like to have my children be infected with, but what my research has revealed regarding the severity of the disease, prevalence, chance of complications balanced w/ the efficacy and safety of the vaccine.

The only childhood illness I want them to get is chicken pox, because of how severe it can be as an adult, the rest we would prefer not to get...but will deal with them if they do. There is nothing on the CDC list of vaccines that I'm overly concerned with.

 

[Minniemouse07]

Would it have simply been a two month cough if she hadn't been vaccinated?

NO, I prefer to make sure that my children's medical needs are met based upon what the problem, issue or disease is.

Dd was diagnosed by TWO doctors that she had pertussis.... and she gave it to ME..and I was diagnosed as having it as well.

 

[mrsbornkuntry]

OP, I didn't read all of the responses, but I wanted to say that I feel this is a personal decision that only you can make based on doing your homework, that's the only thing that's going to set your mind at ease.

I have 5 children, I have chosen to get all of them vaccinated since they were born and none of them developed Autism or any other disease, except DD did get a very mild case of chicken pox despite being vaccinated.

My son had his immune system wiped out with chemo and radiation for leukemia which also wiped out his immunizations. After his body recovered he started a new immunization schedule and while I was really scared of him getting the disease from the immunizations, I trust his doctor (he literally saved his life) so I followed his schedule to the letter. He never had a bad reaction to any of them or developed the diseases.

Of course none of that means it won't happen to your child, I just thought I'd share MY personal experience. The best thing to do is read factual articles that tell why you should/shouldn't vaccinate and make your decision based on that rather than a bunch of parents differing opinions.

 

[LanaJae]

Measles & Mumps - Neither are life threatening and normally I would prefer my children contract them as children. We do however had a significant family history of autoimmune and gut diseases and due to some corollary studies, I would rather they not get either...or the vaccines as they could theoretically cause the same damage.

Many of us (me!) over 40 had mumps and measles as kids. Lots of females in my age group never made the antibodies to German Measles. At one time I was told it was because of the type of vaccine at the time. I've also been told more recently it's because of my autoimmune problems. I had to be re-vaccinated many times (always discovered during pregnancy). The last time I said forget it.

 

[Forevryoung]

A fellow coworker of mind caught whooping cough from an unvaccinated child (ironically with autism) who had it.

She ended up in the hospital, very very sick... missed a month of her life and didn't feel completely back to normal for 4+ months.

It is not a disease I would want going around!

ETA: it took 3 months for my doctors to diagnose me with Lyme disease which is extremely common. What would happen if it was contagous??

 

[iggbees]

I work in a pedicatricians office. Get your shots, is all I can say. There is no evidence about the link with autism, none. It is the same age that autism symptoms are often picked up, a coincidence.

i spoke to a professor who works in an autism related field. he said the exact same thing.

 

[emh1129]

Parents have reason to be concerned. Thimerosal (mercury based preservative) was removed from many vaccines because it was found to be dangerous.. I wonder what will be pulled in a few years that we are injecting into our children today? Perhaps the toxic levels of aluminum? Someone mentioned playing Russian Roulette? Well, here's a prime example.
This is serious stuff. It takes a lot of research to have conviction in your decision, either way. Please don't just take someone else's word for it. Do your own research. Read books. Read research studies. Even the CDC website with the actual manufacturer inserts. Weigh the risks of the vaccine against the risks of the disease that it was designed to prevent.
Personally, I think delaying and also spacing them out is the smarter way to go, as opposed to the traditional schedule.
To say that vaccinations are harmless is simply inaccurate. The National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program exists for a reason.