Immunization, part 2
There is a very compelling “other side” to the vaccine story. I’ll have another book recommendation for you shortly (one that I am reading), and a multi-part blog series on the topic.
The most helpful book I read as a young mom, making tough decisions, was Randall Neustadter’s The Vaccine Guide. I like it because it goes through each vaccine and covers what is known about its ingredients and risks. It covers research you won’t get from JAMA or any APA-endorsed publication, including studies in other first-world countries where vaccine protocols are more fluid and very different from ours. Countries where medical practice is more sensitive to whether those protocols are actually working.
I am MOST concerned about the DPT shot. I’d throw myself on the railroad tracks over that one, to avoid my infant or small child getting it. (My children were not in day care, also minimizing risk.) DPT has legion complaints to the Vaccine Administration (and of course, the VA doesn’t even accept your complaint if it happened more than 48 hours after the shot was administered, even if it’s infant death). DPT’s risks are frightening, especially for a kid with an auto-immune problem (like asthma).
I am LEAST concerned about a tetanus shot (if you can get it alone, without thimerosol), since it actually works and doesn’t have lots of fatal or debilitating side effects documented. Of course, only 50 people die of tetanus annually, and virtually all of them are over 50 years of age. So I’m not racing to the pediatrician’s office to get it, either.
The way babies are immunized today is not the only true path to disease prevention. Children are being given more shots, earlier, than ever before. I am entirely unconvinced that this is in the best interests of our babies’ health.
Thanks Robyn. Love these posts. I read the Vaccine Guide per your suggestion and found it very helpful when deciding whether or not to vaccinate my son. I also listened to a really good interview of Dr. Robert Sears from the Renegade Health Show that I found useful (I don’t agree with lots that Dr. Sears says, but Kevin Gianni did a good asking questions). My husband and I did choose to give our son ONE vaccine and we waited until he was 8 months old (I would have preferred to wait longer, but I had to compromise with DH). I too have had pediatricians tell me that my son was not welcome at their practice because he wasn’t immunized. I eventually found two great pediatricians (one in Salt Lake, one in Draper, UT) who both fully support my decisions regarding vaccinations. If anyone is interested in their names, email me at steffanie_martz at yahoo dot com
Like many moms I learned as I went. After the first vaccine set of 4 with my son, and the subsequent 24 hours of his being miserable, I chose to only have one shot at a time and no less than 3 months apart. His only health concern was periodic breathing (not quite sleep apnea) so I didn’t have issues to combine with vaccination in my mind. My daughter had major dairy and other food allergies so I was on a strict elimination diet and she had no vaccines until she was about 9 months and it took both of my children 5 years to get “caught up” with dr visits just for vaccines. My pediatrician said she would support me in any decision. At the time I was making these decisions we were having a rash of unvaccinated children in the hospital and dying from pertussis.
I read all of the studies on side effects and, as an engineer who does some statistics, could see both sides of the story from the same set of data. My method was my compromise but I was in a group of moms who largely did not vaccinate. Today I might make that decision. After losing one child to an undetermined cause stillbirth, my choices were tainted by that loss.
I still like reading the information and having information to steer new parents toward sites/books that educate on attachment parenting, co-sleeping, extended breastfeeding, and non-standard feeding (my children didn’t eat solids until they reached for them 15 months for son, 9 months for daughter and even then ate the steamed veggies and avocado that was on my plate). Thank you for being an information source!
Great info. What are your thoughts on the DTaP?
Good point Isle. Robyn, the DTP hasn’t been used in the US since 2002, though I think it still might be used in other countries. The DTaP has been available since 1991 though.
Do your feelings on vaccination change if a family isn’t following a healthy diet ?
Very frankly, after studying out EACH vaccine prior to DTaP, I made my decision, and my studying AFTER then has been on vaccine theory and history in general. So, I am no expert on the differences.
Certainly people die of the diseases they vaccinate for. That’s why they vaccinate for them. That’s why it’s a tough decision. People also die of side effects of the shots.
If a family isn’t following a healthy diet and kids are in day care, I think your decision is harder than mine was.
No one has said this so far, but you can’t deny that vaccines do decrease the incidence of at least some diseases. I have read all the information about other non-vaccinated diseases dropping off at the same time that vaccinated-diseases did, implying that better sanitation, etc. was the reason, not the vaccination campaign. I agree that’s a huge part of the story.
However, look at chicken pox. You can’t deny that our nation’s experience with chicken pox is different now. When I was a kid, everyone got it. Now, almost no one does. You have to seek it out to get it. (I realize that now we have childhood shingles, etc., and I agree that getting chicken pox is far preferable. All I’m saying is that the vaccine definitely has decreased the incidence of regular chicken pox.)
Then, think about Gavin Norton, who died of pertussis in January. He was 8 weeks old when he came down with it.
http://www.natalienortonphoto.com/search/label/baby%20gavin (his pertussis story starts December 29th).
His mom, Natalie, begged people to vaccinate their children. She has backed off that and now says that whatever you do for your children, please do the adult pertussis boosters.
I read a story like that and seriously wonder if I am making the right choice. I haven’t changed my mind yet, but I do worry.
Katie, because the diseases themselves ARE actually frightening, and because one can’t deny that some vaccines do decrease the incidence of some diseases, that’s why I choose not to promote anti-vaccination. Instead I state that I don’t immunize my kids and I promote awareness and self-education on BOTH sides of the issue. (The medical side is easy to obtain–you must go out of your way to read the voluminous and very available data against the US vaccine schedule.)
If it were a clear-cut issue, I would say more clear-cut things. Many parents would rather not tread through muddy water to make complex decisions. Many just don’t want to know.
I can understand that. I think information is power, though. Even when the information is contradictory.
I would also like to know your thoughts on the DTaP.
Robyn, what do you think of the adult shingles injection? I’m very mixed about this one and I have to make my mind up by next year if I should or shouldn’t have this. I have several friends who didn’t get the shot and have suffered terrible & very painful bouts of shingles.
Well, Leslee, I don’t want to advise anyone personally about any specific vaccine or decision. Shingles is certainly nasty, and you’re predisposed if you have a lot of stress or have had cancer, and the vast majority of cases happen in older folks (over 60). I have not studied the other components in the shot (besides the killed bacteria), nor the side effects. I won’t get it but I’d advise you to really study it out.
For parents who don’t want to wade through all that or are skeptical of the anti-vaccination crowd, I would suggest they read the package inserts on the vaccines themselves, or look them up in the Physician’s Desk Reference. Just looking at the list of ingredients in a vaccine has helped many parents make their choice!
shingles
get a good natural lotion, put cayenne pepper in it, rub on body
I have had shingles a few times, and it’s true: the pain is worse than any childbirth I’ve been through! (Four.) It feels as though you have an iron, on the cotton setting, pressed onto your skin. Thankfully, I immediately ran to my “solve any problem” solution, pure Melaleuca Oil, and doused the rashy area. Within 30 minutes the pain was gone. Continued use kept the burn at bay while the rash receded.
Thank you, Robyn, for bringing vaccinations up. It is a good thing to get people thinking, instead of just assuming. One person comes to mind as an example of good healthy habits overcoming disease, specifically polio: John Robbins, author of Diet for a New America, as well as other books. Also interesting that he was the Baskin-Robbins ice cream heir…which seems to tie in to the comment from North Carolina about the sugar/ice cream/polio connection.
Hi, Robyn–
I am about to give birth anyday to my first healthy child. We’ve had a stillborn and a medically necessitated termination due to an autosomal recessive trait carried by both my husband and myself. As you can imagine, I am hypersensitive to any risks that I might be allowing by choosing to or not to vaccinate. The more I research, the more I don’t want to vaccinate. My OB is surprised that I have not yet assigned a Pediatrician to care for my coming infant. I have been trying, but I can’t seem to find any practice that is willing to see him if I choose not to get his immunizations. Is there a database out there of physicians who ARE willing to see children who have not been vaccinated? I live in Maryland.
Thank you for your time!!