Vaccinations

its time for my daughters measel vac and im not sure weather i shoud give hers the mmr vac or just the plain measel vac. I am still worried abt the stories that went around that stated that the mmr vac could be realted to autisim.
Does anyone have any advise for me.
Thanks.

Usually they give the measles in 2 doses (one at 9 months and one booster at 15 months). If you want the MMR, it's given instead of the booster at 15 months. 9 Months is too early for the MMR! It's only a measles injection now... or how old is your daughter again?

The small bit that I have read about MMR and autism shows that there is no PROOF that it is related.
I did not hesitate to take both my boys for their vaccinations. I've never had any "extra" vaccines done, but I've kept up to date with all the recommended ones.
It's a personal choice for you to make though, but all I can say is "you can't believe EVERYTHING that you read", so be careful not to read TOO much off the internet - it can just confuse you more.
Go with your gut feel.

she is 10 months

here's a question: Aedan had German Measels in January and since then he's been sick on & off but never long enough tho (basically every 2 weeks its something different) ... Do i still give him the Measels Vaccine or should i just let him have the MMR at 15 months?

Don't want to upset anyone here, but my LB is due for the MMR as well and I have a friend who's LB got autism because of this vaccine. They also live in South Africa. So i got a big scare and did soem EXTENSIVE research on the subject. My final answer for myself is: i'm not doing it. We (my sis & I) had measles, mumps and sis had reubella as well when we were little, and we are both now just fine and dandy, my mom took good care of us and gave us a lot of love, as I'm sure any of you guys will do with your LIO's when they are sick.

I read the report from America about the new research after the big uproar about this whole MMR/autism thing. So the USA (and by the looks of it, the UK as well) decided to take out the preservative causing the autism from their vaccines. Why would they do that, makes you think?

But in SA, it is still in the vaccine, in HIGH quantities. I copy a bit from the report:


Report 1: Measles-Mumps-Rubella Vaccine and Autism
Thus, the committee concludes that the evidence favors rejection of a causal relationship at the population level between MMR vaccine and autistic spectrum disorders (ASD). The committee bases this conclusion on the following evidence:
A consistent body of epidemiological evidence shows no association at a population level between MMR vaccine and ASD.
The original case series of children with ASD and bowel symptoms and other available case reports are uninformative with respect to causality.
Biologic models linking MMR vaccine and ASD are fragmentary.
There is no relevant animal model linking MMR vaccine and ASD.

However, the committee notes that its conclusion does not exclude the possibility that MMR vaccine could contribute to ASD in a small number of children, because the epidemiological evidence lacks the precision to assess rare occurrences of a response to MMR vaccine leading to ASD and the proposed biological models linking MMR vaccine to ASD, although far from established, are nevertheless not disproved.




Take notE of the last paragraph. The question is: is your child able to excrete the mercury (yes, MERCURY) that's in the vaccine, or not? You will only find that out after he/she has been diagnosed with autism.

But in the end, it is of course your own decision. Loads & loads of people in SA have had the MMR, and all is fine. But it is a very small percentage of children who can't take the heavy metals.

Sorry for the long post, i can speak book-loads full on this subject!

thanks Ronette you just helped me make my decision. I wont take even the smallest % chance that my child could suffer from autisim. And as you said measels, mumps ad rubella can be looked after and you can recover from it, but you cant recover from autisim.
I twat i was being a bit paraniod cos it was proved that it had no link between the 2 but its not worth it.

Thanks again

Sue, in hindsight, I don't want to be the cause of a major measles outbreak in SA!

But these are just the srtaight facts. Of course, there are treatments and may even be cures for this type of autism, one is where the child is injected with something to which the heavy metals can bind, and then get excreted, but its still very new, not to mention the expenses.

I just once again want to say that it's everyone's own decision, and the cahnces are very little, but it's like a betting game.... on your child's life. I am going to leave the decision to Andries once he is old enough. One thing to note though, is that measles can have an adverse effect on boys' sperm production, however, this is only in very severe cases and if it goes untreated for a long time. And the older you are when you contract any of these diseases, the worse it is. But if Andries hasn't had any by the time he's say 15 or 16, i'll let him make his own decision.

i spoke to my paedi about it, and she said when she found out about this story, she did some extensive reaserch about the mmr and autism, and she said that there is no solid evidence, and that people think it is the vacine cos they get it at 15mths and a child usually only starts showing syptoms of autism at the age of 2, so they thought it was cos of this ( idunno, i am going to do it) do you know how dangerous it is for a boy to get mumps when they are older it can lead to infertility, and mumps is once of the vacines included in the MMR. at the end of the day it is a personal decision i think.

Please read this article before making any decisions that may risk the health of ur child:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/article5683671.ece


i also researched the vaccine and spoke to my paed and other professionals and they all agreed that the research linking autism to MMR has been proven false/manipulated.

Yeah, I don't know what to say. I do somehow think it's more coincidental about the age/time of the vaccine, etc. I'm not a scientist, but wouldn't there be something wrong with a child for them to get autism? Has an adult ever got autism from the injection. I'm going for my injection soon (every 10 years you should go). Has a 10 year old suddenly developed autism from the injection because they gave it to us at school?
I took both my kids and wasn't very worried and they are fine. Some people handle measles, mumps and rubella fine, but remember, some don't and there is a much higher chance of a child getting extremely and deadly ill from the virus than getting autism from it.

Sorry, don't want to step on toes, just giving my opinion...

please excuse my complete ignorance but is this the same vaccine that gets given at 12 months? or is that a nother one? im so confused?/

heath had a measles vaccine at 9months is there another one he should be having at 15mthS?

No, Measles at 9 months and MMR is given at 15 months.
12 months is Hepititis A.

ok being stupid again- BUT if he already had measles one at 9 months why does he get it again?

It's only a half dose of measles at 9 months so it's a booster in with the MMR.

ah ok i see thanks QT!

QT i do agree with you on one thing: the chance of contracting any of the MMR (measles mumps or rubella) deseases are much higher than getting autism. Autism(ASD) is mostly genetic, but there is a very very small percentage of children who are unable to excrete the mercury which is used in the MMR vaccine as a preservative, and that gets to the brain causing ASD. Adults can get affected too by mercury. Ever heard of the rumour "don't play with mercury or you'll get mad"? Long exposure and inhalation over long periods of the mercury also causes similar symptoms in adults.

Anyway, i'm certainly not posting this to stir up an argument. Please don't be offended anyone, i am greatful for all the kids whose had their MMR and are all OK, as most children would be, becuase (sorry for repeating this the whole time but it's important to know) 99.9% of children excrete the mercury 100% within a few days.

I don't always believe magazines, as they would of course tell only 80% of the facts in order to avoid mass hysteria. Can you imagine if someone would actually publish the opposite of what all the other mags & peads say?

Maybe if you can phone your GP/clinic and ask what the preservatives are for the MMR vaccine they give there. All vaccines (each & every one) come with its own info pamphlet like with normal meds. If it contains Thimerosal, i would try to get it somewhere else.

Yeah, but let's put it this way, there is a much higher risk for a child dying of one of those diseases then there is a chance of a child not being able to absorb the mercury and develop autism.

I just think that those diseases are dangerous and dangerous enough to spend a LOT of money to find vaccinations against it. Without it, and without people taking their kids for them, it could start something dangerous and even children whos parents took them for the injections and the kids still get it (from no immunity to it) from a child whos mom was too scared to take her child in fear of autism and her child is fine and the other child may become severely ill. It's just a terrible thought. They should out of contraversy change the preservative if possible, but the risk of the disease was outnumber the risk for autism. And then what if it starts mutating because it has so many hosts and kids start dying from it and they take years to come up with a new vaccination. I know it sounds far fetched, but it's very possible, I'm sure.

QT - u are absolutely right - that isnt far-fetched.

We're called modern society for a reason - we have surpassed many of the threats of olden/primitive times with the advancement of medicine and technology etc...

Ag the internet sensationalised this whole story!!! But do what you feel right.... I vaccinated my kids and will do Stephanie too!

My paed also said that we must do the vaccine and she did it with her little kids as well.

QT wrote:I'm going for my injection soon (every 10 years you should go)

I never knew that! I only had all my injections as a kid... apart from tetanus afterwards

Ronette...I'm loving you...:-) Sorry, I'm only back on this conversation just now. But your research sounds very much to what I also got. Also, after that report you mentioned was posted, it was found that 8 of the 12 doctors who said that, had shares in the major companies who makes and sells the vaccines...

Sue, just an important note that seems to have slipped through the cracks here. MMR is a combination vaccine. It's only combination vaccines that is linked to a possible cause of some cases of autism. Measles vaccine that is due from 9 months, is only ONE vaccine, not a combination. It is not in dispute of causing autism or not. So you can give that to your daughter, and another booster 6 months later, without ever giving the MMR shot. And you can also give Rubella seperately as well (german measles shot). The only problem is that you can't give the mumps shot seperately as far as I know. It's only available in the MMR combination.

Interestingly enough I went to Dischem's sister this morning to book Luan's measle injection for tomorrow (we wait until 12 months, and there's measles at Meonie's school, so I got scared!).

She told me there are 2 injections available in SA for measles!!! The one is the state one, the other a private one. It cost R100. The private one has less harmful things in, and thus your child will have less severe side effects! I just hope she's right, else I'm gonna waste a hundred bucks tomorrow...:-)

Oh, and just for interest sake on the autism issue. There are parents who's kids were 100% fine until age 15 months. They spoke in small sentences, they looked you in the eye, they didn't show anti-social behaviour, etc. Then they got the MMR shot, and within days to weeks they regressed to non-speech, anti-social, repetitive behaviours, don't look you in the eye, etc. Then autism is diagnosed. If a child has always been like this, it's also usually diagnosed in the 2nd year of life. Then the cause could be genetic. But if your child wasn't like that, and after the MMR shot turned into that, wouldn't you be VERY suspicious as well?

I would rather ask as many real human face to face doctors as possible.... I certainly DONT rely on the internet for real information anymore! It's just too easy to bullshit nowadays... I can put up a sight as some organisation and quote doctors etc. reports etc take what suits my cause out of reports etc..... speak to real people and get the WHOLE report.

Im just so tired of this and the other debates..... really think I must just stay out of it/them now.

Just going back to the cancer from baby powder one.... got info off some american cancer org site and I'm happy to be using baby powder still. But again... how real was that organisations site???

I agree Charrup. But my information wasn't just based on internet. I've watched a few documentaries and shows on autistic children. And those parents swore with tears in their eyes that their kids were 100% fine before they gave the MMR shot. Family members were also contacted to collaborate or not. It could be all misinformation, but I'm not so sure. And like Ronette says, if they truly believed their vaccines were safe, why did they take thermosil out of the USA's vaccines?

BUT, I'm still giving my kids the MMR! Just not at the time they say I must. The older they are the easier children seems to be able to handle the heavy metals in the vaccines.

thanks for all the info Essie. I always planned on giving my daughter the measel vac I was just wondering if i should give her the MMR as well. But i dont think i will, It just a bit too scary for me and as a parent im not willing to take that chance. And The MMR is not given on the government list of vaccines and there doesnt seem to be a wide spread of rubella or mumps thats going around so i will take my chance witha disease that can be controlled.