To Vaccinate or Not?

[Mummy1995]

I'm slowly deciding what to do.. Decided I won't be vaccinating MMR, and I will probably vaccinate against all the meningitis-related illnesses, and maybe the 5-in-1, or I shall request to just have the polio,dip,tet instead of the 5-in-1 Not fully decided though, but got a litle while yet! x

 

[summer rain]

You can't request the seperate elements of the 5-in-1 on the NHS any more, they are no longer licensed for that age group, same with the old dtaP. They were phased out in 2004 xx

 

[Mummy1995]

Urgh how annoying! 5 in 1 plus the other one is too many at once imo :/ xx

 

[Larkspur]

So There is a website called national vaccine information center, where they go through some of the most common adverse reactions from vaccines and they are listed as follows

Pronounced swelling, redness, heat or hardness at the site of the injection;
Body rash or hives;
Shock/collapse;
High pitched screaming or persistent crying for hours;
Extreme sleepiness or long periods of unresponsiveness;
High fever (over 103 F)
Twitching or jerking of the body, arm, leg or head;
Crossing of eyes;
Weakness or paralysis of any part of the body;
Loss of eye contact or awareness or social withdrawal;
Loss of ability to roll over, sit up or stand up;
Vision or hearing loss;
Restlessness, hyperactivity or inability to concentrate;
Sleep disturbances that change wake/sleep pattern;
Head banging or onset of repetitive movements (flapping, rubbing, rocking, spinning);
Joint pain;
Muscle weakness;
Disabling fatigue;
Loss of memory;
Onset of chronic ear or respiratory infections;
Violent or persistent diarrhea or chronic constipation;
Breathing problems (asthma);
Excessive bleeding (thrombocytopenia) or anemia.

But of course i still think that every parent should do their own research and decide on their own. I just do not want to comply blindly to vaccinating my child just from what the pediatricians tell me.

Acute Liver Failure
Hepatitis
Inflammation of Skin caused by an Allergy
Giant Hives
Decreased Blood Platelets
Deficiency of Granulocytes a Type of White Blood Cell
Decreased White Blood Cells
Decreased Neutrophils a Type of White Blood Cell
Discolored Spots and Small Elevations of the Skin
Hypotension (low blood pressure)
Liver and kidney damage
Death

Just a few of the possible side effects associated with paracetamol...

 

[summer rain]

Urgh how annoying! 5 in 1 plus the other one is too many at once imo :/ xx

I delayed the 5-in-1 plus the other injections given at that age until my son was 22 months, aside from a lump where he had the injection he's had no other problems. I only delayed because my middle two did have a bad longer term reaction to the 5-in-1, though this is unusual. The nurse at my GP surgery was quite happy to figure out a new vaccination schedule for him taking into account his age as one of the injections they have at 2,3 and 4 months normally is only for under-ones

 

[NaturalMomma]

We do not vaccinate anymore. We started with ds1, but then he had serious vaccine related complications. We decided to look into it more and realised it was not right for our family. We are not anti-vaccine however, we just believe it is not for us.

When parents argue that their kids are unvaccinated and have never caught any diseases...that's because the vast majority of people are vaccinated and therefore immune, so these diseases are rarer. But if people continue to avoid vaccination, these deadly diseases will return, and are returning right now. In the UK we are in the middle of the biggest outbreak of whooping cough in 20 years, with 400 cases and 3 babies dying of it in October, babies who were too young to have been vaccinated against it. If people were getting vaccinated, this disease would not be spreading, and these babies wouldn't be exposed to it. The affects of avoiding vaccination are not seen immediately. It can take years to be apparent, but before you know it, there is an outbreak, and we have a situation like we are seeing now.

Well if you go by research it will show that many of the disease were already on a decline when the vaccines were introduced. There is no doubt that vaccines have played a role in keeping them declined, but so many people over look the fact that at the same time we were really starting to understand the human body, nutrition, and good hygeine for the first time. Those things also contributed to a lower disease rate as well as the decline. When Doctors started wearing gloves and washing hands is when it started. Even today, the diseases that are the highest are usually in poor countries where they don't have good hygeine, clean drinking water and limited food source.

Whooping cough is also something that always gets thrown around in these discussions. But many people don't realise that the pertussis vaccine doesn't prevent people from getting it, it prevents them from getting it worse. They can still pass it while being vaccinated, and in fact, that is how most of the cases are spread. Whooping cough is also something that has always been a illness that comes in cycles. In some places it comes yearly and others it comes here and there, but it's always been around and always will.

Also when you look at history of illness and disease, when we wipe out one, another comes a long. Sometimes worse then the previous illness. It will always happen that way, you will never be rid of illness and disease. Many things will even become vaccine/medication resistent like we see with MRSA and a few others. Also many of the things we vaccinate for are not dangerous for the majority of people. Chicken pox is rarely a dangerous illness, yet we vaccinate for it. Same with the real influenza. Next there will be vaccines for the common cold (which are actually being worked on right now)

 

[lozzy21]

In the UK unless your child is in an at risk group they dont give vaccines for chickenpox or the 'flu for the reasons you said.

 

[tiasmummy]

hi, my LO is 14 weeks and hasnt had one vaccination yet, cant bring myself to do it, something inside me is saying this isnt right for us. everyones different though. i cant bring myself to inject some of the horrific ingredients in vaccinations into my baby. She is fine so far hasnt had any illnesses. x

 

[patch2006uk]

I don't think that any parent relishes the thought of injecting viruses and crap into their babies. I don't think anyone wants to see their LO in pain. Personally, I decided to vaccinate against the killer diseases, but not against the flu. i wouldn't against chicken pox if it was offered. And the upcoming rotavirus (or is it norovirus?) seems a total waste of time too. I also am not having my flu or whooping cough vaccines while pregnant.

The whooping cough outbreak at the moment isn't really that surprising, if you look at the cycles of the disease and the duration of immunity given by the vaccine. And yes, 13 babies have dies this year. But how many die of group b strep, car accidents, injuries. Life has risks. I don't think the govt and media scaring everyone over whooping cough serves any purpose except increasing uptake of an untested vaccine in the pregnant population.

Sorry, slightly OT, but sort of relevant.

And yes, the side effects listed for vaccines are scary. But so are the ones for basically anything. The paracetemol list is a good example. Would you not give calpol in case your LO reacted badly to it? How about if it had to be injected? Or if you could only get it administered by the GP? Just because something is commonplace, doesn't mean it's perfectly safe. I wonder if a fair few who don't vax are just afraid of needles and causing their LOs pain? (Not saying that all are, but I would be surprised if it doesn't influence a few)

 

[mommyof3co]

Definitely has nothing to do with the causing the pain...of course I don't want them in pain but that isn't a factor in my decision at all I'm also VERY careful about giving any kind of meds including Tylenol and Ibuprofen. We only use it if absolutely necessary, we don't use meds for fever until it's 103 or above, sometimes we'll do it at about 102 if they are feeling really awful. We use amber for teething rather than medications. We don't use any cold medications or anything like that. But I agree, there is a risk to everything, you just have to weigh it up and decide what's right for your family.

 

[tiasmummy]

mummy of 3 thats exactly what i was going to say....even those who are immunised sometimes still contract the disease so for me the cons outweighed the pros.

 

[monkee12]

I would always vaccinate, my brother had Rubella and I would never want to see anyone suffer with that again

 

[pinklightbulb]

My mother had rubella when pg with my brother and he came out profoundly deaf and with mental developmental delays. So I was all for vaccinating when the time came that I had my own kids.

Well, I didn't count on the father of my boys being dead-set against vaccines. So against, in fact, that he begged and cried and was on his knees pleading with me not to vaccinate Eamon when his 6-week check rolled around. Why? Because his first boy suffered a horribly adverse reaction to the MMR (the one vaccine I was always going to give) and has never been the same since.

What do you do? My mother screaming in one corner that I had to do it and look how my brother turned out, and did I want that for Eamon, and OH in the other basically hysterical about *not* doing it.

I decided to respect OH's feelings, researched the crap out of it myself, and to this day neither boy has been done. It was the right choice for this family unit. I can safely say my OH would never trust me again if I went and got them done behind his back as my mother (and doctors, and nurses, etc) suggested.

You win some, you lose some. But Eamon and Liam are perfectly healthy little boys and that's what counts at the end of it all.

 

[Sam Pearson]

My kids are unvaccinated. Most of our friends don't vaccinate their children. Amongst my circle we They've all had Chicken pox and German measles, my son has had mumps and whooping cough - I can 't be sure what else they have had as we don't go to doctors for diagnosis as to date they haven't been sick enough that I needed outside help treating them. None of them were terribly sick with any of these diseases. They are all very healthy individuals.

What gets me is that almost every adult who has had a go at us for not vaccinating have not been up to date with the vaccination schedule themselves. Vaccinations offer immunity for between 7 and 12 years (depending on the individual). It is recommended that vaccinated adults get boosters for all of the vaccines every 10 years. If people are so concerned about herd immunity then they should ensure their own vaccinations are up to date before having a go at unvaccinated children.

 

[Sam Pearson]

My mother had rubella when pg with my brother and he came out profoundly deaf and with mental developmental delays. .

When I was 12yo along with all the other girls in my year at school I was vaccinated for Rubella. In my ignorance I believed that shot gave me immunity. Believing this I believed I was protected and that when pregnant my unborn babies were also protected. However, when I was pregnant and had my blood work done it was found that I had very little immunity. I was unhappy and felt that I had been misled.

When my third child was 2yo she caught Rubella and gave it to me and her sister. Now I and my daughters actually have proper immunity. My daughters cannot catch rubella when pregnant. Unlike a vaccintaed person my daughters can offer their babies temporary immunity through their breastmilk. I am much happier that they have had Rubella and have acquired lifelong immunity than if they were relying on the insufficient and temporary immunity that vaccinations offer.

 

[patch2006uk]

Definitely has nothing to do with the causing the pain...of course I don't want them in pain but that isn't a factor in my decision at all I'm also VERY careful about giving any kind of meds including Tylenol and Ibuprofen. We only use it if absolutely necessary, we don't use meds for fever until it's 103 or above, sometimes we'll do it at about 102 if they are feeling really awful. We use amber for teething rather than medications. We don't use any cold medications or anything like that. But I agree, there is a risk to everything, you just have to weigh it up and decide what's right for your family.

We don't medicate heavily, either. DS has had calpol I think twice, neither time a full dose. I.don't take medication unless I 100% need it. Fevers get treated with a bath generally.

I know not all people who dont vax are just frightened of the pain/needle itself, but I do wonder if those who are slightly worried are more likely to find the anti-vax info and confirm their 'gut feeling' that vaccines just aren't right or safe. I genuinely can't hand on heart say that vaccines are perfectly safe, completely effective. But I do believe they're the lesser evil, and on a population level, it's important. Would I rather leave LO unvaxed? Maybe. But it's not just me it affects.

 

[pinklightbulb]

Mum was vaccinated, 3x, but interestingly it never took and she still contracted it Forgot to add that.

 

[octosquishy]

Isiah, my son, 8 months, have never had any vaccination, and won't. I wasn't vaccinated (or so I thought, my parents lied to me, long story short, I had my Hep B vacc in the hospital when I was born, doctors did it while my mum was asleep, but no vaxxes since then) and I even had Whooping Cough when I was 4, and got over it just fine with some antibiotics.

As for ME, I personally don't believe in vaccines. At all. More hurt than what they are POSSIBLY protecting, the side effects of them are outrageous, for things you may never come into contact with for your entire life.
The immune system is a great and powerful thing that you should never underestimate

 

[octosquishy]

When parents argue that their kids are unvaccinated and have never caught any diseases...that's because the vast majority of people are vaccinated and therefore immune, so these diseases are rarer. But if people continue to avoid vaccination, these deadly diseases will return, and are returning right now. In the UK we are in the middle of the biggest outbreak of whooping cough in 20 years, with 400 cases and 3 babies dying of it in October, babies who were too young to have been vaccinated against it. If people were getting vaccinated, this disease would not be spreading, and these babies wouldn't be exposed to it. The affects of avoiding vaccination are not seen immediately. It can take years to be apparent, but before you know it, there is an outbreak, and we have a situation like we are seeing now.

If your child is vaccinated, and mine isn't, doesn't herd immunity cover that? Or even your lovely vaccinations? If you trust your vaccines so much, why should my child make yours any less healthy? Just a thought...

 

[MommyJogger]

When parents argue that their kids are unvaccinated and have never caught any diseases...that's because the vast majority of people are vaccinated and therefore immune, so these diseases are rarer. But if people continue to avoid vaccination, these deadly diseases will return, and are returning right now. In the UK we are in the middle of the biggest outbreak of whooping cough in 20 years, with 400 cases and 3 babies dying of it in October, babies who were too young to have been vaccinated against it. If people were getting vaccinated, this disease would not be spreading, and these babies wouldn't be exposed to it. The affects of avoiding vaccination are not seen immediately. It can take years to be apparent, but before you know it, there is an outbreak, and we have a situation like we are seeing now.

If your child is vaccinated, and mine isn't, doesn't herd immunity cover that? Or even your lovely vaccinations? If you trust your vaccines so much, why should my child make yours any less healthy? Just a thought...

First of all, your tone is coming across as unnecessarily bitchy and instigative. Second of all, if the diseases return, they're mostly a threat to very young babies who aren't vaccinated yet. I trust my vaccines, but if large groups of people elect not to vaccinate, or even one unvaccinated person carries the illness, it could cause serious illness, injury, or death to my very young baby who's too young yet for some of the vaccines.