vaccination

[sejal]

I want to know if there are any parents in this group who have not vaccinated their children.

I have been going through the issues with vaccines and it's side effects. I am also concerned about the ingredients in vaccines (mercury, MSG, formaldehyde, Aluminum etc). Ideally I would like to avoid vaccines altogether after knowing these details, but I still have some questions:

what kind of precautions should be taken if the child is not vaccinated.; in the risk benefit analysis of vaccines, do risks outweigh the benefits? If that's true then are there any concrete data on the same? Do we need to take extreme hygiene measures for an unvaccinated child? What if she goes to school where in you are never sure of who she comes in contact with or how the toilets are cleaned in the school? What about going to rural areas with the child? All these questions I am unable to find answers to.

Would parents in this group help me with the answers?

[hwsahm]

I don't personally share in public our family's decision regarding vaxing, but I will give you a bit of information that was given to me as we weighed out how we were going to approach vaxing with our children. The best thing is to educate yourself and not go blindly into any decision one way or the other. I'd first advise you to do research based on where you live what exemptions are eligible in your state for not vaxing. A few states have no exemptions other than medical, many have religious exemptions and a few have philosophical exemptions. If you live oversees, I'm not familiar with the options. These are to be turned in instead of required vax documentation for school attendance in public schools in the US. Some private schools/preschools, I believe, have the authority to accept exemptions that may not otherwise be accepted by public schools receiving gov't monies. Also, what the AAP/Pediatricians are recommending in terms of a standard vax schedule is not always the same as what the school requires (or daycare) This can vary from state to state, so again, do your research and compare the CDC/AAP to the school's requirements. Something to consider if there are certain vaxes you feel may be important vs others if compliance in school is an issue. In terms of risk/benefit analysis, only you can determine what your comfort level is. Many believe that unvaccinated children are actually healthier and have less illness than vaccinated children in the generally healthy population - others would argue otherwise. I know parents who vax, parents who do a different schedule and I know parents who don't vax. Some who don't vax are extra cautious some don't change anything about their routine and their kids do everything the same as any vaxed child. An unvaxed child may or may not be at any more risk, it depends on how you are defining 'risk'. I'd suggest reading as much as you can on the topic and make the best decision you can for your family and circumstances. A middle of the ground book is Dr Sear's Vaccine Book - he is not anti-vax, rather doesn't seem to believe in the 1 size fits all approach to vaccination and spreads them out on a different timeline. A few others that have been recommended to me were Vaccine Safety Manual for concerned families and health practitioners (Neil Z. Miller) and Make an Informed vaccine Decision for the health of your child (Mayer Eisenstein) Also, check out PAVE and NVIC websites for lots of info. Some would say that the 'risk' is less if a child is breastfed (in particular extended BFing to at least 2 years) and is at home not in daycare or such where they are exposed to so much more. A healthy lifestyle goes a long way in disease prevention as does good hygiene practices with hand washing and such, being that you are on this site says that you already understand that aspect and are living it everyday likely. You and only you can make the decision that is right for your family, there are arguments on all sides of the vax issue and it can be overwhelming at times. Go with your gut, educate yourself as much as you can, and know you are doing what YOU believe is best for your child regardless of whether you choose to vax or not, delay, spread out timing, or pick and choose only certain vaxes, etc. There is no one answer to this question, unfortunately. Good luck! In terms of exposure to germs/dirt/rural etc, read up on the hygiene theory and immunity, you may find it interesting.

[Katydid]

Here is Dr. McDougall's take.

http://www.drmcdougall.com/video/mcdoug ... tions.html

Basically, vaccination yes. Flu shot no.

Kate

BTW, vaccines no longer contain mercury.

[Jordy Verrill]

I have 2 children, and they have both had all their vaccines. I think it comes down to this... the risk of your child contracting the measles, mumps, whooping cough, etc. because they weren't vaccinated far outweighs the risks of side effects from the vaccine.

[Debbie]

I have 3 kids.

My oldest was fully vaccinated. Got whooping cough.

My middle, partially vaccinated only missing 1 full set of vaccinations; had major reactions to DTaP vaccines....got whooping cough with my oldest.

My youngest, no vaccines....no major illnesses over the flu. Been exposed to whooping cough, didn't catch it.


When viruses come into our house, over the years I have found something very interesting. My oldest gets sick the most often and worst. My middle gets sick less and less severe. And my little, if she even gets it, gets over it in half the time compared to my other girls. My close friend has also noticed the same thing with her 3 girls similar in ages and she has a friend who has 4 boys who also notices the same thing.

To me, the side effects weren't worth it. They will never be exposed to every disease on the vaccine schedule at the same time, unlike being exposed to, what, 8-10 viruses/bacteria plus other chemicals at one time? No thanks. I am not complacent. I worry a lot when one gets sick. But I believe in the power of the human body to heal, when fed right and cleaned right.

I almost lost my middle girl mentally and had I kept vaccinating her, I would have. I couldn't take the risk she'd have worse reactions and may not survive.

[JennyC]

We do not vaccinate. I have not been, and my 3 1/2 year old has never been, and will never be.

[McDouga11Marie]

We vaccinate very selectively. We feel vaccinations are a deeply personal choice. How we research is to read books ("The Vaccine Book" by Dr. Sears is a good one), look at actual CDC data (I think this is important), and decide for ourselves which vaccines we're comfortable with. I think it's important to weigh the chance of our children getting the actual disease and how serious it would be against the possible side effects of the vax, etc. My state of Oregon allows philosophical exemption as part of the religious exemption, for any vaccines you don't wish to give your child when they enter public school.

As for measures we personally take, we do limit our children's public exposure some, especially when they're under 1 and it's cold season. We're big on washing hands, taking vitamins to boost the immune system, a healthy diet, limiting sugar, and making sure they get plenty of rest. Our kids are rarely sick and neither has so far had an ear infection.

[jld]

We vaccinated our oldest, and she was sick regularly, despite many years of breast feeding. Our four boys followed, and I used to marvel at how infrequently they caught anything, and how minor it would be.

Then we moved to India, and in the process had all the boys immunized against tetanus and polio. We saw people with polio in India, and there were tetanus dangers all around, so I felt it was justified.

There are pretty convincing arguments for and against vaccination. You certainly will not please everyone with whatever decision you make (just like everything else in parenting, lol).

Good luck!

[rutabagapie]

I waited to vax my son until he was 13, on the advice of our naturopath. She said at that age his immune system would be strong enough to handle it. We'd homeschooled him until he hit this age, so there were no issues there.

I made the decision to vaccinate him because he'd never had chickenpox and I thought it would be easier than fighting the school district over it, once he decided to go to public school. Turns out that they were just fine with the exemption form and would not have given me a bit of trouble had we decided not to vax.

As a result of the vaccines, (I believe), my son was very sick for the first 10 days of school. Within a day or two of having the shots, he had a flu-like virus that was horrible. Until then, he'd only had the flu once in his life and the virus was not going around our area in August of that year. So I felt it was directly related to whatever was in those vaccinations. No solid proof of that, just my opinion.

[peterz54]

Polio is endemic in Afghanistan right now. If your son or daughter were to be deployed there, say in the Army, wouldn't you want them to be vaccinated if they had not already been?

I certainly would. Along with all the other relevant vaccinations.

[Gianni]

I'd never vaccinate my kids. Risk of autism is too great.

[MeToo!]

I'd never vaccinate my kids. Risk of autism is too great.

Good for you. Vaccination is the crown jewel in fear-based medicine.

It's not even an issue of severe "side" effects. It's that there are more sensible ways to prevent serious illness in children. If the child does get an infectious disease, there are ways to treat them.

I am sorry to say that I had only one child (I'm past reproductive age now) and he did not get any vaccines. He never got anything serious other than the common colds and fevers. No measles, mumps or chickenpox.

There is nothing the criminals in the drug industry won't promote, now. The latest atrocity is Gardasil. http://truthaboutgardasil.org/

I'll sum it up for you, friends: No disease is caused by lack of vaccination. Not one.

[soneil80]

I'm a strong proponent of evidenced based decision making and the power of the scientific method. We looked at all of the available research and concluded that it was not only a personal, but a social responsibility to be fully vaccinated. The world is far too globalized to think we are safe from diseases that are still quite active in many parts of the world. If you have concerns about receiving them all at once, I'd discuss a delayed schedule with your doctor. If you decide not to vaccinate at all, I think you have a responsibility to tell those around you with young children that you may be putting them at greater risk.

[MeToo!]

... If you decide not to vaccinate at all, I think you have a responsibility to tell those around you with young children that you may be putting them at greater risk.

If vaccination does what you say, then the children who are vaccinated are protected whether or not anyone else is. So your kids are safe, then.

P.S. It's not a crime to get sick. You and I just have differing opinions as to what is the best way to minimize "getting" something.

In 1918 during the big flu, my dad, his parents and his many brothers and sisters all lived together in a small two-room house. Only one boy "got" the flu that killed so many and, yes, he died of it. None of the others became ill. So what does this mean? It means that that boy was exceptionally weak and nature takes care of the weak in its own way.

Let's bear and raise healthy children, instead of poisoning their blood with substances (vaccines) that merely delay the expression of seriously internal pathology.

[soneil80]

If vaccination does what you say, then the children who are vaccinated are protected whether or not anyone else is. So your kids are safe, then

This assumes that the children you are around are old enough to have received the vaccination. Our daughter contracted chicken pox from an older child that chose not to vaccinate two weeks before she was scheduled to receive hers (first birthday). Granted, chicken pox isn't deadly in most cases, but I would have preferred she not have to go through it or face an increased risk of shingles troubling her as an adult. Most vaccines also work on a model of herd protection, assuming a certain (high) percentage of the population will receive the vaccination. When the percentages dip well below that, even those who have received the vaccination become more susceptible to illness. There has also been a significant rise in certain illnesses in parts of the country where the anti-vaccination movement has been the strongest. This article provides some useful information on Pertussis rates when vaccines are interrupted.

http://www.fcs.uga.edu/cfd/cdl/docs/vac ... ptions.pdf