RE: vaccine - long response

[Guest guest]

It is difficult to find good sources to read on vaccination, as there is bad

science on both sides. I have a background in medicine, so I was

particularly annoyed at the abundance of bad information.

I found 2 books helpful:

What your Doctor May not Tell you about Childhood Vaccinations, by Cave

The Vaccine Guide, by Neustaedter

 

Here is my opinion on the issue: there is very little really good research

proving that vaccines will harm your baby or not harm your baby. There is no

doubt that there is a risk that they will harm a certain percentage of

children. There is also no doubt that not getting certain vaccines will also

harm a certain percentage of children. For me, it all came down to what was

I most scared of: the disease or the vaccine. I had a different answer for

each vaccine, so I chose to use some but not others.

 

I would tell your friend first of all to read these books and decide if her

baby has any of the " risk factors " for being a vaccine reactive baby. I

don't remember what all of those are, but the above books go into it. They

include having a close relative who's had problems with vaccines, or family

history of auto-immune disorders, or the baby's having a personal history of

allergies, colic, excessive irritability etc. In the case of my baby, she

seemed very low-risk by all these measures.

 

Second, make sure that she asks the doctor if any of the vaccines have

thimerosal or any other mercury-containing ingredients. A bulk of the damage

done by vaccines is because of the mercury. They are phasing out mercury

vaccines, and they're not being made now, but doctors are allowed to use up

the remaining stores of them, so double check to make sure that any vaccine

you get is mercury-free.

 

Third, feel free to alter your doctor's recommended dosing schedule. Just

the fact that her baby is 4 mos old and has had no vaccines is a good start.

Follow the recommended intervals, but you don't need to start the sequence

exactly when they tell you to.

 

Vaccine requirements vary by state, but here's what I chose to do:

At one visit, I gave my daughter polio and HiB, but not Hep B. HiB and Hep B

come packaged together so I had to ask for a special HiB-only vaccine. I

didn't see the point in vaccinating my daughter against Hep B because it is

transmitted via sex or drug use. I myself am vaccinated against it since I

was a medical student and it was required, so there was no risk of her

getting it from me. I don't see the point in giving her this vaccine until

middle school, when I think it's mandatory here. Plus I don't think she's

doing any IV-drugs behind my back currently. (She's 15 mos old.)

 

A month later, I gave her DTaP, but did not give her Prevnar. I chose not

to do Prevnar because she is breastfed and not in daycare. She hasn't had a

single ear infection yet, and she is not high-risk for those types of

infections, because of the extended breastfeeding and in-home situation.

 

At her 15 month check I intend to give her MMR, but as separate vaccines,

over 3 months. The path I have chosen is more complicated. You're supposed

to give polio, HiB, Hep B and DTaP all at once, but from my research I

believe that it increases the risk to give so many vaccines at once. So I

followed the usual schedule but only gave a max of 2 at once. We did polio

and HiB at one visit, and then DTaP a month later. I skipped the chicken pox

vaccine as well because I'd rather see if she can get natural immunity

instead. It is uncertain how long the immunity given by the vaccine lasts,

and chicken pox is far more dangerous if you contract it as an adult.

 

These were my decisions, and won't be right for her necessarily. Because of

the lack of good science, I think vaccination is a highly personal issue,

and no one answer is right for everyone. I don't think you should just

blindly trust the medical establishment (which is way too influenced by the

pharmaceutical industry) and just do whatever they tell you, but I also do

not think you should just make a blanket statement about the evils of

vaccines and refuse to get any. Either way is not very critical thought, in

my opinion.

I hope that helps!

Leena

 

 

jeannie de rouen [bojean7]

Friday, May 31, 2002 11:09 AM

 

vaccinations

 

 

Can anyone please share your decisions/views on vaccinations with me. A

dear friend has a 4 month old daughter and is wondering what to do. Please

share your experiences and how you made your decisions! Thanks.

 

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