Vaccines - El Paso, TX

Hi,

My BS degree is in Respiratory Therapy and I worked in the NICU and adult ICU for several years. I am now a midwife. My kids only receive certain vaccines. I have not gotten them the Hep. B vaccine, chicken pox vaccine and I never get them a flu vaccine. The only ones they have received are the pertussis vaccine and MMR. You should read the vaccine book by Dr. Sears. It is a great resource. And if you do decide to vaccinate it is much better if you wait until your baby is at least a year old and do not allow them to give your child several vaccines in one day.

L.

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All I will say is that when you do research on this subject, be sure to use "facts", not just any website because they all have their own agendas and in most cases, you are getting opinions or theories (just like on this board). A lot of these sites use scare tactics to make you form an opinion either way and of course it is an emotional decision since it involves your kids! I was doing some research on circumcision before my son was born and I ran into some of this. I was in hysterics over it and my husband had to help me rationalize that there was an obvious agenda to the site I was looking at.

I had my daughter vaccinated without question on time. Then, when I had my son, I worried about it a little more because the "research" shows that boys tend to be impacted by autism more than girls do. Again, I was starting to let my fears and emotions take over. My doctor spaces some of them out so that they aren't getting 5 shots at once, so that made me feel a little better, but I would NEVER choose not to have my kids vaccinated at all.

Again, if you're going to do some research, then please make sure it is legitimate and not just a bunch of people with no medical or scientific knowledge at all pushing you in one direction or another. You can choose not to vaccinate your kids and you can get a waiver for them to attend school, but you should determine what the impacts of that decision are in addition to any risks or fears of autism. Good luck.....this is certainly a highly charged subject and a very emotional one. I hope you find what's right for your family.

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Hi I wrote a paper regarding this subject for school. Below I've included some information from my paper that i found to be very informative. Through my research I found out about Mitochondrial disorders and their possible interconnection with vaccines. New studies show a possible relation between mitochondrial diseases and how it may be possible that vaccines trigger stressors that may cause autism. In an interview conducted by the CDC, Mike Stobbe with the Associated Press asked this question, “Do we have any studies or evidence on whether a vaccine can count as a stressor?” Dr. Ed Trevathan replied, “…I would have to say that has been raised as a hypothesis as to whether vaccines can cause stress that can lead to deterioration. I think we know that high fevers from multiple causes can cause children mitochondrial disorders to regress….Whether or not vaccines independent of another event such as high fevers, especially with a viral infection, for example, are causes of precipitating regression in children with mitochondrial disorders. I don’t think we really know that yet.” (Gellin, Gerberding and Insel) Two cases have brought awareness to this issue. “The first case involved 19 month old Hannah Poling. Poling received five shots that triggered neurological damage with features of autism spectrum disorder. The government agreed to pay her family for care. The second case involved a 6 year old who became severely ill after receiving FluMist, and died a month later. The children had mitochondrial disorders in both cases. (Hewitt)
One of the largest counter arguments is that these are theories and nothing has been scientifically proven. Thimerosal was once said to be linked to autism because of its mercury content. It has since been removed from almost all vaccines, yet autism is still on the rise.

From what I researched mitochondrial disorders are not easily diagnosed but stressors such as high fevers(which usually happen after taking vaccines) or infections can cause regression such as autism. The disorder also isn't something that is apparent or has symptoms therefore someone wouldn't know if they had it, hence wouldn't expect any reaction from vaccines. Well in conclusion I have decided not to continue vaccines for my children. I have included a link to thinktwice website which can help you with your decision and I have also included a link to an article to a men's magazine (my husband's) which started me on the search for answers.
www.thinktwice.com
http://www.bestlifeonline.com/cms/publish/fatherhood/Dile...

Good luck!!

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I spread out the shots for my son so they are not so overwhelming on his little immune system. I didn't do the newer shots like chicken pots and I skipped the hep B. There seems to be a link between the kids who become autistic and family members who have auto-immune disorders. (ex:lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, chrones disease) (the genetic disposition triggered with vaccine overload may have something to do with Autism) since I have auto-immune disorders in my family, I haven't given my son the MMR yet. I will wait until he starts school.
Check out this site below. VERY informative:)
Good luck ....

http://www.jabberjaw.name/jabberjaw/2007/10/on-vaccinatio...

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I have had all of my vaccinations. My 3 kids have had all of theirs. My husband has had all of his. No side effects at all. No autism either.

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its not the vaccines that cause autism. its the preservatives they put in the vaccines that is causing the autism. here is a site that is full of doctors that have "green" or clean vaccineshttp://www.autismwebsite.com/practitioners/us_lc.htm . it is very important to get vaccines. Jenny Mc Carthy still thinks that vaccines are good but they need to be fewer in the time frame and of course they need to take out the harmful preservatives. If you have a child already that is effectd by the vaccines then most likely any siblings will have the same reaction. Look up Jenny Mc carthy and what she has to say on the topic. Also you can find lots of interviews with her on youtube.com We give our son vaccines, the thought of him having polio or worse is not something we want to chance.

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Before you make your decision, please do your research and realize that while many people believe there are risks associated with vaccines, there are known and very real risks associated with choosing not to vaccinate.

Many parents who choose not to vaccinate choose to rely on "herd immunity" -- the idea that their children will be protected because so many other people vaccinate that germs do not circulate. Science shows that is not a reliable way to protect your child, even in the US.

A recent study in the well-respected medical journal Pediatrics shows that to be an unreliable method in the case of at least one disease: whooping cough. ((PEDIATRICS medical journal article: "Parental Refusal of Pertussis Vaccination Is Associated With an Increased Risk of Pertussis Infection in Children"
http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/abstrac...)

According to a newspaper report about the article, "unvaccinated children were about 23 times as likely as vaccinated children to get whooping cough. In other words, about 1 in 20 unvaccinated children were infected, compared with 1 in 500 who were vaccinated. ... more than half of infants who get the disease have to be hospitalized, about 1 in 10 get pneumonia, and about 1 in 50 have convulsions." In other words, if you choose not to vaccinate for pertussis, your child likely runs a 1 in 20 risk of getting this always serious and potentially fatal disease. Those aren't chances I'd wish to take with my own child -- especially to avoid the very small and widely discredited risk of autism. And it's quite possible that herd immunity is similarly unreliable with many of the other vaccines parents choose to avoid.

What's more, children who develop the disease risk exposing others -- other infants, elderly relatives, and other people in the community.

Yes, vaccines carry some risks, although there is wide disagreement over the nature of those risks. Failing to vaccinate carries risks, as well -- risks that should be understood and weighed when you make your decision.

Vaccines have done such an effective job of eliminating many diseases that were previously childhood killers that it's easy to forget the devastation that can be caused by those illnesses. Visit a developing country, walk through an old cemetery or talk to your grandparents to get a taste of what childhood was like before vaccines were developed. They were developed for a reason -- not simply to generate profit for drug companies, but also to save lives. Vaccines have probably saved more lives than any health measure other than clean drinking water and flush toilets. Choosing to expose a child to those diseases is a serious decision that should be made with solid and complete information.

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We have three children. We have stopped all vaccines. Read the book, Vaccine Safety Manuel. We do have a friend whose child was diagnosed with Autism after she had the MMR vaccine. Our first child we did all the vaccines one at a time. If she had a reaction, then we could at least tell which vaccine was the problem. We haven't had any problems. When I was younger, I had the measles, the chicken pox and the mumps. I am no worse for the wear and am 45 years young. When your children are of school age, you can request a form from Austin that lets you opt out of vaccines for Reasons of Conscience. We have had no questions as to our decisions from any school administrator.

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Hi -

I have a son with Aspergers who was vaccinated on schedule and a 19 month old who has been on an alternative schedule since birth and so far shows no signs of autism.

I don't have advice for you but did want to point out that one of your previous posters said your child cannot attend public school without being vaccinated. That is completely FALSE! You just have to request a simple waiver from the state and complete it. No child is required to have immunizations to attend public school.

Good luck,
K.

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Get your child vaccinated on time, every time. Here are two links that use real science not anecdotes.

http://antiantivax.jottit.com/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uVvq7dbf4s&eurl=http%...

Also see http://combatingautismfromwithin.blogspot.com/2008/01/gue...

Amish do vaccinate and do have autism.

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check out mercola.com lots if info in the subject . We opted out if all vacunations and our daughter us extremely healthy ( she's now 2). Do the research and go with your gut. Good luck

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I have 4 kids, ranging from 22 to 11. All have followed the vaccine schedule. With that said....

My almost 17yo son is High functioning autistic. None of the other 3 even -ever- showed signs of it. I think it's a prone to issue, more than a vaccine issue, but I do keep him away from preservatives in shots, so he didn't get the flu shot last year.... He tends to regress with preservatives in his system....

So, do I think it was the vaccine? No, I think the preservative -in- the vaccine triggered something in my son.

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We followed the vaccine schedule and our daughter was totally fine. No reliable scientific evidence links autism to shots. The scientists who brought this idea into light dropped the study and refuted their original ideas, and a very recent study further showed brain differences in autistic and non-autistic children. On the other hand, I personally know of two children who were not vaccinated and had to be treated with severe and agressive antibiotics for whooping cough, a potentially deadly illness that is vaccinated against. Whooping cough in particular is not uncommon in Austin because many people don't vaccinate here. For me, the risk of allowing chldren to be exposed to potentially deadly diseases outweighed a theory that has not been given credibility by the scientific community.

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My daughter followed the recommended vaccine schedule with no side effects (except for soreness at the shot location).
I don't believe that vaccines cause autism, it just happens that autism shows up around the same age as the vaccine is given - so of course the easiest thing to blame is blamed.
My husband and I felt our daughter was at a much bigger risk if we didn't vaccinate, so we never considered not protecting her.
Good luck in your decision.
R.

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This was a very hard one for me. I have a nephew who has autism and didn't show any signs until he got his MMR. We do know that our family carries the gene. There are at least three boys in our extended family that are autistic. My brother has three other boys and all are healthy. Of course they had to get vaccines for school. I vaccinated on schedule. I made sure my kids did not have a fever or any kind of illness before the shots. The only one I questioned was a flu shot because it still had theimerisol (mercury perservative) in it. I ended up not getting that for my daughter and my pediatrician was very suuportive. Since then they have come out with a theimerisol free flu vaccine for kids. We have to get flu shots because my daughter has asthma.
I know this is very hard. I remember sitting in the dr.'s office just crying, becuase I didn't want to do anything that would harm my baby.
Oprah did a show on autism and it really was interesting. It basically came down to anyone can carry the gene and it can be triggered by different things. For example on the show there was a boy that was 3 and was "normal" He got sick and had a high fever and after that was autistic. The family had no answers.
I wish you the best of luck. I also have a son and of course I worried a little more, becuase it tends to be more male oriented. I did vaccinate on time with him.

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I have two sons. We followed the recommended vaccine schedule. After vaccination, my sons (twins) experienced a fever and some discomfort for about 48 hours. After that, they have shown no other reaction to the vaccinations. They are healthy and happy 6 year old boys now. Hope that helps!

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It is such a scary issue and I believe many people make the decision based on emotion and anecdotal information. I very much like to read the science behind something before I make up my mind - so I base my opinion on fact as much as possible. Mu understanding is that no studies, many of them well designed, have shown a causal connection between vaccines and autism. Most likely, the mechanism is that the immune system is involved in the onset of autism spectrum disorders in those that are prone genetically - thus when their immune system is exposed to the vaccines, something happens that may trigger the symptoms. My conclusion is that, for most children, the risk from not being vaccinated, in most cases, is more than the risk of being vaccinated. If there is some reason to believe a child would be prone to ASD's and/or has immune system problems, then it would be wise to talk with their pediatrician about options regarding vaccines. There are ways to space them out, some that are okay to delay or omit, etc.

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I am following Dr. Robert Sears recommendation for a limited vaccatination schedule. Basically I am giving our baby the infant shots, Pc, HIB, DTAPP, rotavirus. But I am not giving her the childhood vaccinations like Polio, MMR, chicken pox, etc until she is at least 10 years of age. She gets no more than 2 shots at a time and we started her at 3 months of age.

Everyone has their own opionion and you have to do what is right for your family but I recommend you read Dr. Sears book on Vaccinations if you have questions or concerns about vaccinating your child.

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As a parent I want to make sure that my child is protected for diseases that can be very harmfull. My hope is that other parents will feel this need to and not put any other children at risk of getting sick. There has not been any proof that vaccines cause autism. There has been a link however between families with a history of dementia and alzheimers and autism. This information came from not only our pedi- who has hospitalized one of her patients with whooping cough who were not vaccinated, but also a friend how is a medical doctor and has all his kids vaccinated. Also there has been an increase in illnesses once thought to be erraticated due to vaccinations, but as more people choose to not vaccinate these illness are again becoming a problem. As a person with a degree in child development and who has worked with autistic children I understand the hesitation but on the other hand this risk is small compared to contracting the dieases that the vaccinations help prevent.
My son is 5 months old and has had all the required vaccinations as well as a few optional ones with out adverse reactions.
As other posters have stated please do your research before deciding if the almost unlikly risk of autism is worth the possiblilty of your precious little one contracting a potentialy life threating illness that could have been prevented. For me knowing that I could have prevented a fatal illness would be very difficult to live with should my child be affected.

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my girls are 5 and 3. they have not gotten all of their vaccinations "on time", but if you space them out more, they will actually need 1 less dose for 2 different vaccinations. since I don't think it's good to overload their systems with too much at one time, I think spacing the shots out is better. but my girls have never been in daycare, so I didn't have to worry about them catching something from another kid. my older one just got her last polio and varicella (chicken pox), and those are the last she will need until she's about 12. so even though she didn't get them all "on time", at 5 she is all caught up.
the only reaction either of my girls has ever had was my older one got a rash after one of her MMR shots (measles, mumps, ruebella). it was probably just a very mild case of measles, b/c the MMR vaccine is a live-virus one. but she was fine in a few days.
also, about the autism concern, the ingredient that is thought to possibly cause autism is thermisil (sp?), which is a preservative commonly used in the MMR vaccine. I believe they stopped making vaccinations with thermisil in 2004, but if you are really concerned about it, you can do some research to find out which brands have NO thermisil in them, and then request that brand at the pediatrician's office.

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You are right that it is a touchy subject. My best advice is to follow your heart. For every study on the subject there are 3 studies that contradict it. There are studies that point to preservatives, there are also studies that point to combos of vaccines.
My oldest is autistic, but showed signs before some of the more questionable vaccines. Even with that we decided to take a different route with our other son. We decided to do a slower schedule with the vaccines, and to split up the MMR. We decided that for us, and our peace of mind it was the best choice.
If you do decide to split it, you will need to do your homework. If took months to find a DR who would split it, and our insurance would not cover it. We ended up having to purchase the batches of 10(they are not sold any other way) for each of the shots.
Good luck!

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We chose not to have the whooping cough vaccine administered to our daughter when she was a baby - we knew at the time she had some issues and after research knew that portion of the vaccine could escalate the problems.

We've followed the remaining vaccine recommendations to this point - including the new / improved chicken pox vaccine.

She's 9 and healthy and strong.

Hope this helps.

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My daughter had all but two shots "johnny on the spot" on time...1 was late due to a move that required changing doctors and I had to wait for an opening in the scedule...and the other was late due to the newness of the shot. It was the HEP A and it had just come out after my daughter turned two and was only required in states where HEP A was prevalent at the time. My daughter only even got it at all at that time because we were visiting family in a state that had had recent and ongoing problems with HEP A and I did not want to be responsible for giving it to her because I was stubborn, or for moving it from one state to another by "carrying" it.

My twins were on a delayed schedule with their shots to begin with due to being premature by 7 weeks. They also had to further delay a couple of shots due to illness. They will not give a child a vaccination if they are already ill...1, their immune system is compromised and 2, it is too hard to tell the difference between what they have and possible side effects of the vaccinations.

Having said all that, my kids have had ALL of their vaccinations (I disagree that the flu shot or nasal spray for same are vaccinations) and only two have had any reaction other than low fevers for a day or so, and that was a rash at the injection site which went away swiftly, did not seem to be uncomfortable to either child. The doctor seemed to think it may have been a sensitivity to the preservative versus the actual vaccine.

Two more points. More on the "can't go to school issue" it is true that public schools "require" that children have had all of their vaccinations prior to the start of pre-k or kindergarten. However, another poster was correct in that there is a waiver that covers personal beliefs/biases and religious ones that have kept your child from being vaccinated. It is fairly easy to get, though not immediately offered as they prefer the kids to immunized. If you are planning to get the shots you need to make sure you are VERY careful about time between the shots. I say this due to the fact that my twins were born 2 days after Christmas. This made scheduling one of their shots a nightmare. We were going out of town for Christmas and They were closed for a week when we got back. This particular shot was done one day early...which is WELL within the STATE's requirements of three days either direction...and the school district nearly would not let my children attend without a waiver when my kids HAD their shots...I took them to the STATE and they were forced to back off. Please keep this in mind if you choose to follow the recommended schedule.

The other point I want to make is...about flu "vaccinations" for 1 EVERY time I have gotten the shot or spray I have gotten a bad case of the flu. When I am around people who have been vaccinated within the previous 24 hours I get the flu. I realize that they use a "non viable" version, but the fact is I get sick every time. I will not compromise my children in the same way. schools automatically "vaccinate" children with the flu spray every year (the reason for using the spray is that it helps vaccinate everyone you come into contact with for the next 24 hours) They send home a flyer now informing the parent and asking for a signature. I typically tell them no. It has not stopped them in the past. My child has come home telling me that she received the vaccination regardless. Plan to have a "discussion" on your hands if your beliefs do not conform to that of the school district.

Good Luck!!! ;-)

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I have 3 kids. My oldest daughter (now 7) received her 2 month shots. That was before I did my research, and I did a LOT. My sons, age 4 and 2 have not been vaccinated at all. My kids are very healthy.

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There is absolutely NO scientific evidence that vaccines cause autism. The one study that seemed to find a link has since not only been disproved, but has in fact been throughly denounced and discredited by all but one of the original co-authors.

There is only anecdoctal "evidence" to support a link. But anecdotes are not scientific because they are not subjected to the same rigors of testing, retesting, and verification that scientific documentation is.

In short, you will ALWAYS find someone to tell you a horror story about "My cousin's friend's next-door neighbors' kid." But bear in mind that these people do not have the scientific training to understand the many factors that are at play when it comes to autism. Something that may on the surface appear to be an obvious link, may in fact have no link at all. That is the case with autism and vaccines.

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I worked in pediatrics for years and I know of children who became autistic without being vaccinated.

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We follow all vaccinations. I wait on getting them until the last minute, though. Mine did not get the chicken pox vac until the day before they went to kindergarten. I think it is required in most daycares and pre-k's now.

DO what you feel is right for your family. Vaccines are not the enemy. If you are concerned, ask your Dr. to space them out a little. One of my boys got 5 shots one day!

Give tylenol BEFORE the appt so it has time to kick in.

Good Luck!

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We follow all vaccine guidelines for our 3 yr old daughter, including the flu shot. Never had any side effects.

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Wow, you certainly have tons of advice so I'll keep mine short. I have two children, one is autistic and the other is not. I continue to make sure that they receive vaccines on time every time. Autism is extremely hard to deal with, and I wouldn't suggest making your decision lightly. However, I will say that I do not believe that it was the vaccinations that caused my son's autism. I am a firm believer that some people are predisposed to have autism. There are many more children every year get vaccinated that do not have autism.

I hope you find peace in your decision -- as one previous post said, it's just one of many tough decisions you'll face as a mommy. Good luck!

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A M,

My son had a reaction to the Pertusis part of the DPT shot and went into convulsions. However, that was 15 years ago and they used a live virus. Now, they use a dead virus and he had the booster without any reaction.

I have friends who don't believe in the required immunizations (she homeschools her children) and none of her children have been vaccinated. There was a show on TV recently where a child who had not been vaccinated for measles was playing at a public playground and exposed a baby to measles who died. The plot was that the mother who didn't vaccinate her child caused the death of another and the parents sued her for negligent homicide. I'm sure it was just a ploy to scare all parents to get their children vaccinated.

I also know of a couple who have a son who is autistic and claim that he was born normal and the symptons didn't happen until after his shots at 18 months. Good luck with whatever you decide, but if you don't get your child vaccinatd, he/she will not be able to attend public school.

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Our daughter was always vaccinated and no side effects.

I still have never met a family that has a child with Autism who received all of the vaccinations, that was not already showing signs of autism prior..

My sister in law would not believe her first son was showing signs of Autism very early. But once she learned more about it she realized he fell into the diagnosis of Asbergers.. He has had great therapy and is doing great. He is going into high school in the fall.

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My little boy will be two next month and has had all his vaccines. He has done perfectly well with no side effects,no fever, nothing. I always pray for him before he gets them and I just don't worry over it. I know that a lot of moms do follow an alternative schedule and seem to really like that. I had a heart to heart with my doctor about the vaccines he was using, where they come from and how many were live viruses before I ever chose him for my pediatrician. He was very open to giving me information and open to whatever decision I would make. I would say have a talk with your pediatrician and make the decision you think best. I don't know anyone diagnosed with autism that did not have any vaccines but I will say most people in my generation did receive vaccines and autism did not seem as wide spread as it is today. I think vaccines are a benefit in a crowded society and decided that I would not want my little one exposed to things that had once been eradicated from society and are now reappearing. I have a really good friend who does her vaccines on an alternate schedule and likes that much better. Just don't do anything out of fear. Gather your information and whether you vaccinate, don't vaccinate or go with the alternate schedule do what you feel is right for your child based on the information you have. I wish you all the best, I know you will get lots of advice!

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I don't know of anyone with Autism that didn't have vaccines. I know several people with Autisic children and all of them believe the vaccinations contributed to them becoming sick. I also know several people whose children have not been vaccinated at all because of the risk. These are not things your pediatrician will tell you, and they are VERY careful to avoid talking about this issue. Or they just say there is absolutely NO link in autism and vaccines. YOU NEED TO DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH!! There is an epidemic of this disease out there in young children, and there is something contributing to that. Also, autism symptoms appear at the same age in all children, and that is at the end of the long list of vaccines they shove into them.
Good luck with your decision!! I know it's a tough one.

Due to the possible link between vaccinations and autism, my doctor recommended we hold off on the MMR vaccination until my daughter turns 2 just to be on the safe side. She has had every other scheduled vaccine, but never more than 2 in one visit. My advice is to talk to your son's pediatrician about your concerns and possibly get a second opinion.

As for side effects, my daughter would be very tired when she was an infant and sometimes run a very low fever after certain vaccines, though I don't remember which ones. It was nothing alarming though. Maybe give him a dose of Infant Tylenol before he gets his vaccine to prevent any achiness from the needle or fever.

i recommend reading the vaccine book by dr. sears. you can also look at mothering.com forums. you need to base your decision on your own situation i.e, are you breastfeeding? is your baby at home or daycare? etc. Dr. Sears does a great job with the facts, I think it's definitely a very worthwhile investment.