Suzanne's
Vaccinations
Website
I never thought much about vaccinations - until one of my children suffered a severe reaction as a result of a routine vaccination. I always assumed that vaccinations were necessary for good health...to help protect us against deadly diseases. The only side effect I knew about was the pain from the injection.
So, naturally, we brought our first baby in for her well-baby checks and routine vaccinations. That was in 1990 and a lot has changed with vaccinations since then. At that time, babies were given no shots until age 2 months. At 2 months of age, the received an injection of DPT
(diphtheria, petussis and tetanus) and an oral dose of polio. They had the same at 4 months of age and again at 6 months of age, though at 6 months they didn't receive the oral polio. At 12 to 15 months, they received another DPT shot and somewhere between 15 and 18 months of age, the received the MMR (mumps, measles and rubella). Our first child received all of these shots. Of course the injections hurt and she sometimes had a fever for a day or two following the vaccinations but we didn't notice any other side effects. I was aware that there were other side effects that could happen.
When our second child was born, he was scheduled to be routinely vaccinated, just as his sister. At age 2 months, he received the DPT shot and oral polio. The night following his vaccination, he developed a very high fever - 103 degrees. He developed and egg-sized lump on his thigh, at the injection site. He wasn't overly fussy, but kind of "spaced out". We tried what we knew to reduce his fever. He was restless as well. At 2:30 a.m., he lay on our bed and had a seizure. His head just kept going back and forth. My husband and I were scared. I called his doctor and spoke with the PA on call. He told us to just cool him off with a cool bath and give him more Tylenol. His fever eventually broke and he had no more seizures. He still remained "spaced out" for days after the vaccination. I can look back on our camcorder tapes now and see how sickly he looked...pale and tired looking. Though we knew the vaccination had caused this, we still did not think about not vaccinating him. After all, they were for his own good, right?
He received the remaining vaccinations on the schedule. Each time, he developed a fever, lump on his thigh and a sick look. When I told the doctor about the lump she said "Oh, we'll just give it to him in the other leg next time." When he was 2 1/2 years old, we were concerned that he was not talking as much as he should. His doctor referred us to a hearing specialist, just to rule out any hearing problems. The woman who administered the test asked about any illnesses, etc. Our son had never even had an ear infection, though he seemed to have chronic colds. She was surprised that he hadn't had at least one ear infection. I did tell her about his vaccine reaction and she noted it on his record. The hearing test was normal, as we suspected. We decided to just work with him more at home on his speech rather than pursue speech therapy. I suspected his vaccination reaction might have been responsible for his speech delay.
Because of our son's reaction to his vaccinations, we were more apprehensive about vaccinating our children but still hadn't heard of any reasons not to vaccinate. We were told that side effects were rare, so while our son may have been a rare case, it was unlikely that any of our other children would suffer similar reactions.
So, when our daughter was born a short while later, we thought it would be crazy not to vaccinate her. I did voice my concern to the doctor and requested the A-cellular version of the
petussis vaccine. I was told that not only was it a more expensive shot, but also they did not have any in stock. I told her I was apprehensive about vaccinating my daughter because of what happened with my son. She reassured me by saying "well, the diseases ARE out there." Our daughter received the DPT shot and oral polio, just as her brother and sister had. As we left the doctors office, something inside of me felt awful - - like I had just circumcised my child or something. I just didn't feel right about it.
She had a similar reaction that my first child had - fever and fussiness. A few weeks later, my husband and I were watching t.v. and saw The Susan Powter show on NBC. Coincidently, she was discussing vaccinations. She interviewed some parents whose children were injured by vaccines along with a doctor, Dr. Harry . The discussed the book "A Shot In The Dark" by Harry Coulter. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Vaccines contain ingredients such as mercury, formaldehyde, dog and monkey kidney tissue; there have been so many side effects that the government established a vaccine injury fund, which was depleted just about as soon as it was created. We knew we had to be more informed about this issue so we immediately went to our state library and borrowed some books on vaccinations.
One book we borrowed was entitled, "Childhood Vaccines: Are They Really Safe and Effective?" and "What Every Parent Should Know About Immunizations". After reading these books, I knew that our children would receive no more vaccinations. For one, since one of my children had a severe reaction to the DPT vaccine, it was contraindicated to vaccinate my other children with the same vaccine even by the vaccine manufacturer. Without going into too much detail, there are many reasons why I feel my children are now better off not being vaccinated. The ingredients inside vaccines bother me. With so many unexplained diseases showing up, especially in children, I feel like the risk of injecting them with a know carcinogen, regardless of how minute the amount, was not a safe thing to do. I also learned about the diseases themselves...something most people are not informed about. The risks of my children contracting one of these diseases - Diphtheria, Polio,
Petussis, etc. - was relatively small...in fact, they had more chance of having a severe reaction from the vaccine than contracting the disease. Also, some of the diseases are fairly mild and not life threatening. Whether vaccines are responsible for the decline in disease is not my concern because whether they are or they aren't, the fact is the diseases now are very rare in our country. Polio, for example, has afflicted people over the past 20 years yet it has been discovered that they did not contract the disease from a wild strain of Polio but from the vaccine itself! That's why today's children receive a Polio injection versus the live oral Polio vaccine. It also bothers me that vaccines are injected directly into a child's blood stream. A baby is born with an immature immune system - - one that will not become fully developed until age 5. I think there are consequences to assaulting a child's immune system while it is still trying to establish itself. In Japan, they stopped vaccinating children before the age of two and their infant mortality rate reduced drastically.
Here are some concerns about vaccinations as listed in the book
"How To Raise A Healthy Child... In Spite Of Your Doctor" by Robert S. Mendelsohn, MD:
1.
There is no convincing evidence that mass inoculations can be credited with eliminating any childhood disease.
While it is true that some once common childhood diseases have diminished or disappeared since inoculations were introduced. No one really knows why, although improved living conditions may be the reason. If immunizations were responsible for the disappearance of these diseases in the United States, one must ask why they disappeared simultaneously in Europe, where mass immunizations did not take place.
2.
It is commonly believed that the Salk vaccine was responsible for halting the polio epidemics that plagued American children in the 1940s and 1950s. If so, why did the epidemics also end in Europe, were polio vaccine was not so extensively used? Of greater current relevance, why is the Sabin live virus vaccine still being administered to children when Dr. Jonas Salk, who pioneered the first vaccine, points out that Sabin vaccine is now causing most of the polio cases that appear. Continuing to force this vaccine on children is irrational medical behavior that simply confirms my contention that doctors consistently repeat their mistakes. With the polio vaccine we are witnessing a rerun of the medical reluctance to abandon the smallpox vaccination, which remained as the only source of smallpox-related deaths for three decades after the disease had disappeared. Think of it! For 30 years kids died from smallpox vaccine even though no longer threatened by the disease.
3.
There are significant risks associated with every immunization and numerous contraindications that may make it dangerous for the shots to be give to your child. Yet doctors administer them routinely, usually without warning parents of the hazards and without determining whether the immunization is contraindicated for the child. No child should be immunized without making that determination, yet small armies of children are routinely lined up in clinics to receive a shot in the arm with no questions asked!
4.
While the myriad of short-term hazards of most immunizations known (but rarely explained), no one knows the long-term consequences of injecting foreign proteins into the body of your child. Even more shocking is the fact that no one is making any structured effort to find out.
5.
There is growing suspicion that immunization against relatively harmless childhood diseases may be responsible for the dramatic increase in autoimmune diseases since mass inoculations were introduced. These are fearful diseases such as cancer, leukemia, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, Lou Gehrig's disease, lupus erythematosus, and the Guillain-Barre Syndrome. An autoimmune disease can be explained simply as one in which the body's defense mechanisms cannot distinguish between foreign invaders and ordinary body tissues, with the consequence that the body begins to destroy itself. Have we traded mumps and measles for cancer and leukemia?
As far as today's recommended vaccinations, a child will receive an estimated 20 shots before they are 2 years of age! Vaccinations now begin at birth. Newborn babies are given Hepatitis B vaccinations. While there are controversies surrounding vaccinations in general, there are specific concerns with specific vaccines. With Hepatitis B, it has been stated that the routine vaccination of ALL babies ensures that those at risk will be "caught". Rather than treat babies whose mothers have Hepatitis B, they vaccinate every baby. It's easier that way, so they say. Hepatitis B is a disease that attacks and destroys the liver. It is contracted through sexual fluids and blood, much like AIDS. To me, it is senseless to vaccinate every baby for this, especially when there are side effects associated with the vaccine as well as unknown long-term effects and the risk of contracting the disease is very low. Also, many question vaccines safety and efficacy so that needs to be considered as well.
"
The greatest threat of childhood diseases lies in the dangerous and ineffectual efforts made to prevent them through mass immunization." ~ Dr. Robert S. Mendelsohn, "How To Raise A Health Child... In Spite Of Your Doctor"
Besides vaccinating at birth, children today are also given more vaccines than they were a few years ago. At age 2 months, they receive DPT, Polio, HIB, and Hepatitis B. Some children are also being vaccinated against Chickenpox.
I have similar concerns with all vaccines - - necessity, side effects (both short and long-term), safety, and efficacy. So far, I have found no vaccine that I feel meets or exceeds my concerns. I am not the only parent who has looked into this issue and chosen not to vaccinate their children. While certain agencies have become almost militant about ensuring that every child receives the recommended vaccinations, more and more children are being raised vaccine-free. In Maine, 95% of children are vaccinated...and the state is still pushing for more. Parents are still not given the full facts. I remember complaining to one agency that was telling parents that their children HAD to be vaccinated in order to enter school. While that is true to a certain point, it is also true that parents can take an religious, personal or philosophical exemption on behalf of their children and their children can still enroll in school if the parents want them to, yet this agency was not telling parents this fact.
I took this own exemption for myself when I enrolled in college. It appears that I never received the Mumps vaccination. My college sent me a letter telling me I HAD to receive the vaccination before I could return to school. Fortunately, I knew my rights and took an exemption. They said they keep my letter on file and in the event of a Mumps outbreak, I will be asked to abstain from the campus until the episode is over.
My children have the freedom to be vaccinated as adults. When my daughters become teenagers, we will discuss the Rubella vaccination and research it together. They can then decide whether the benefits exceed the risks. The reason I mention Rubella is because of the risk to the unborn child if the mother contracts Rubella while pregnant. My children have the right to make an informed decision regarding this on their own behalf. I don't want my children to fear shots, especially the pain from the injection since this can be alleviated. I want them to be informed about the necessity, safety, efficacy, etc. of the vaccines before deciding to become vaccinated. I would hope that parents look into these issues themselves before vaccinating their own children.
My third child receives no further vaccinations after the first dose and my fourth and fifth children are vaccine-free. My fourth and fifth children are also the only ones that are breastfed so I don't know whether to attribute their good health to breastfeeding or the lack of vaccinations. I suppose it is a combination of both. I can often tell a child has recently been vaccinated. Their cheeks are often rosy red and their face is flushed. It's the same look I saw in my second child. How many parents overlook this and do not realize what the vaccines are doing to their children? I know I did with my first child.
I believe the choice not to vaccinate also includes a commitment to raising your child in a healthy environment. Not because they are at risk because they haven't been vaccinated but to properly support their developing immune system and help it to grow strong. The same should be provided for a vaccinated child...maybe more so. After all, if vaccinated the child's immune system has already taken some toll.
When my children have come down with a cold or slight fever, I have given them Echinacea drops especially designed for children...no alcohol and a sweet taste. I mix the appropriate dosage in their juice. It helps boost their immune system. We also avoid a lot of sugary foods, since it is know that sugar depresses the immune system. Certain preventative action like these, I believe, is important for good health. They are more effective and safer than vaccines.
To vaccinate or not vaccinate your child may be a difficult decision. No body wants to put their child at risk of anything by choosing one way or the other. The best thing a parent can do is inform themselves. Research the issues well.
I don't have a problem with parents choosing to vaccinate, as long as it is an informed decision.
I know how easy it is to just go along with the flow. You owe it to your child to make an informed decision.
