Vaccines - Miami Beach,FL

I fear the diseases more than the vaccines.
Some of those diseases are making major comebacks because people are not vaccinating like they use to.
http://www.wired.com/magazine/2009/10/ff_waronscience_arg...

I don't get the whole waiting on vaccines thing. It has been proven (and the doctor admitted) the research linking autisim to vaccines was all a LIE.

I was born in December 1954, just before the last major polio outbreak in the 1950's, and before the Salk vaccine. My Mother was so scared, she had suffered through infertility issues and finally had children. Polio like many other diseases starts with a sore throat, fever, and cough, like the flu, a cold. Until the paralysis started people often didn't know they had polio. What so many think of as minor childhood diseases are really quite serious. Helen Keller was born normal but got either measles or scarlet fever (I have heard both versions) at around the age of 12 months and lost both her hearing and vision due to the high fever. Mary Ingalls from The Little House Books and TV show became blind due to the high fever from measles. And we lost more soldiers due to the flu in WWI than battle injuries. Okay enough history:
The only disease we have been able to totally get rid of, world wide, is Small Pox. In 3rd world countries all other childhood diseases are a constant threat to children and adults. Even Black Plague is making a comeback, luckily doctors have discovered that is curable with antibiotics. The states bordering Mexico have had epidemic cases of all childhood diseases, partly due to undocumented aliens and partly due to day workers who legally cross the border daily for work and then return home. Because I am older I have seen the effects of these illnesses I consider vaccines a Godsend and would NEVER withhold them from a child.

I would not take my unvaccinated (for pertussis especially) child on a flight until he had had the required shots to protect him.

There is a graveyard behind my house and one area is filled with babies at the turn of the century who probably died of things our kids are protected against today. I am totally not afraid of vaccines. I am afraid of not protecting my child as these diseases make a comeback.

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Read and educate yourself. Don't just take your doctor's advice. Doctors typically have their own agenda's mainly in the form of money. Read the Vaccine Book by Dr. Sears. Your baby is not even eligible for the MMR until he is a year old. Many of the whooping cough cases occured in children that were already vaccinated. Also, the pertussis vaccine does cause brain swelling, look into that as that may be something you don't want.
Also, pertussis rarely causes fatalities in infants older than 2 months. I have a BS degree in Respiratory Therapy and I am now a midwife. My oldest child got almost all the vaccines, I then became more educated about them and my second child has a few. None until she was 2. I then read more and more and my 3rd child has no vaccines. Don't get your child any vaccines today. You really need to read some books on the subject and then decide.

Lisa

Yes vaccinate. I was concerned too but my son is up to date except for MMR and he's 20 months and completely fine. Here in CA, several babies died for whooping cough and when I read that, I was so thankful I had decided to protect my son by vaccinating him. That really confirmed for me that I had made the right decision. Your son is too young to fight off infections that can occur if he is exposed to someone who is sick. Get him vaccinated! He'll be fine.

I'm with the moms who fear the diseases more than the vaccines.

There are risks to anything in life. Just being on this earth is a risk. As your son gets older, he will want to do things that are risky. My kids have done snowboarding, horseback riding, driving and hang gliding to name a few. Those things are risky, but I allow them to do them.

With vaccines, I believe the benefits GREATLY outweigh the risks. I know people do it (don't vaccinate) but I wouldn't feel comfortable taking that risk with my kids.

I would still wait until he is 2 except for the pertussis. Measles is not much of a worry & the vaccine really does not always work. I was vaccinated for it as a child & still got the measles. It is uncomforatble but vary rarley is it a serious ilness unless the child arleady has other health issues. I did not vaccinate my son for MMR & he ironically contracted measles from a doctor's visit. All it was as a week of low fever, slight rash & a cranky baby. Go with your instincts!!

I'm more concerned with mmr than measles, my favorite book is called the sanctity of human blood. The doctor's website is www.thedoctorwithin.com. I'm assuming you nurse your child, and my breastfes, unvaccinated, chiropractic patient kids are the healthiest I know, as well as the others I know that do the same. My kids were directly (kisses from grandma and baby cousin!) exposed to pertussis and got a high fever for a few hours, nothing more. Out of concern, I called our pediatrician who told me that our kids are the healthiest they know, didn't need anything and probably had strong enough immune systems to fight it. And they did! Please know that your decision is best for your family asnlong as you've researched, and don't let people who do what "everyone else does" make you feel bad.

i think that starting with the vaccines for which you have a real concern are a great way to start. i also applaud your wisdom in holding off on the bulk of them until he's 2.
khaiete
S.

This is a really difficult question for me to answer b/c I am a strong believer in vaccination. While I do not support "unnecessary" vaccines, the whole purpose of them is to contain the spread of potentially deadly illnesses. If you do any real reading on the topic (beyond websites and parenting magazines), there is a significant body of research that supports the idea that for HEALTHY children, vaccines are safe and that you will be protecting your child and others by doing so. For children who are not typically developing or have a noted medical condition, many of the vaccines are not safe and should not be administered. This is coming from someone who lost my young nephew following an inappropriate vaccine (he had a seizure disorder which the doctor knew about, but didn't know the "warnings" for the vaccine).

Having said that, if you are worried about your child contracting an illness, then have the vaccinations done. Talk with your pediatrician and find out which are "required" and which are "optional". I don't think a flight is the strongest reason to change your whole stance on this topic- either you are okay with it or you're not.

We had a long talk with our pediatrician before our son was born to get his take on the vaccine topic. This is his area of expertise and he is incredibly knowledgeable and participates in active research for vaccines. He helped us lay-out a vaccination schedule that would allow my son to attend daycare, but didn't load him up in one visit. It meant more quick trips to the doctor, but it worked for us. When the "H1N1" vaccine was introduced, he refused to administer it to any child under 2 b/c he wasn't comfortable with the results and research that had been conducted. This year, he was fine with it b/c the drug companies had provided more detailed information and actual pre-post research documentation.

Talk to the doctor and see what that person says. If you don't trust your doctor to guide you through the process, then find a doctor that you trust b/c making decisions about vaccines is just the start of an on-going relationship with your child's medical care-taker.

Find a doctor you trust and follow their advice. I don't blindly trust any one doctor to the point that I don't read and ask questions, but once I've found one I trust, I also trust that their job is to keep up with all the current scientific studies that are being conducted on all these vaccines to make sure they are safe and effective. I would not make a decision based on reading stuff on the internet. I only listen to scientifically verified studies.

Most vaccine's have a series of doses, not sure about Pertussis, and are not effective in protecting your child until they complete the series. Maybe you should not take your unvaccinated child on the flight. Ask your Dr. today.

I go with my pediatrician's normal schedule. I trust his judgement. The only exception for me is the H1N1 vaccine which isn't mandatory (that God) and my instinct screams not to get it so my daughter doesn't (my son is 19 and also chooses not to get it).

You seriously need to get the Pertussis vaccines -and all the other ones too. Talk to your doctor. I was just listening to a piece on NPR yesterday about how herd immunity has basically now disappeared because of the folks who don't vaccinate, so your baby could catch a number of diseases -especially on a flight. With our global society, you have no idea where people have been in the past 24 hours or what they're carrying.

i am in the same boat. mine is 1 1/2 and just had her first vaccine. Polio. as we plan to travel internationally next year, so we wanted to get a few of the really nasty ones before then.
but i am really on the fence about some, like chicken pox! really? chicken pox?

I haven't been able to read all of the responses yet and it seems you have received several informative ones. The only thing I would point out is that if your son is 6 months and you are traveling in 2 months (when he is 8 months) he still wouldn't have the MMR (which addresses measles) on a normal vaccination schedule. That is usually given at 1 year. I would go ahead and try to get the DTaP set started. You could probably get 2 of the 3 onboard before you travel to LA, where pertussis is a concern.

Just try not to stress too much and take the proper precautions to keep your baby safe. You can't catch up totally in 2 months, but perhaps your doc would recommend getting started.

(Personally, we chose to spread our vaccines out, only getting 1 or 2 per visit and being pretty much caught by age 2. We haven't done varicella yet, though, and I'm still on the fence about it. So I totally feel you on this one!)

Is his mom more stable? If yes ask her.

Hi K..

Why worry about whether your child is going to catch these awful viruses if you don't have to? Whooping cough is a VERY serious virus that can cause death in children. Why take that risk?

Have you talked with your pediatrician about your concerns about vaccines? What bothers you specifically about the vaccines? The additives? The vaccines themselves?

I would suggest doing some research on whooping cough and other viruses that are protected by vaccines. Perhaps that will help you with your decision making.

My suggestion, without a doubt, is to get your child vaccinated.

Why do you wish to delay or avoid vaccination?