Vacciniations and Autism

raymond3 · 09-25-2007, 04:07 PM

So my son just turned a month and had his 2nd Hepatitus B shot yesterday. Here at work, someone was tellling me about vaccinations and how they cause or trigger autism in children. I was directed to mercola.com, but am somewhat speculative on what I believe. Im thinking now I may at least try and space them out somewhat. Any thoughts/advice?

drs · 09-25-2007, 04:37 PM

If you look on information from the Centers for Disease Control and the American Acadamy of Pediatrics you'll get the answer that I believe in, which is that there is no proven association with vaccinations and autism.

raymond3 · 09-26-2007, 10:12 AM

Yeah, Im more leaning towards that feeling too..also, without the vaccinations I would hate for my child to end up with something I could have prevented with a vaccination.

With that said, I think I will at least try to spread them out somewhat, and not hit him with them all at once.

tasinquefield · 09-26-2007, 03:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by drs

If you look on information from the Centers for Disease Control and the American Acadamy of Pediatrics you'll get the answer that I believe in, which is that there is no proven association with vaccinations and autism.

That is pretty much true. A study from California showed that there was some type of link, but another much larger study from Sweden showed no link at all. Personally, I think a lot of the studies from these european countries with nationalized health care are better since they have so much more data to use versus ones in the U.S.

deschain · 09-26-2007, 05:57 PM

As a mom, I've heard lots of people bring this up. It seems to almost be an urban myth based on very little actual fact.

Personally, I'm glad that my state requires vaccinations before entering public schools.

UConnJulie · 09-27-2007, 11:46 AM

I have two daughters, ages 4 and 2 1/2 ... and when my older daughter was up for her MMR (which is the one that most people associate with autism and I believe the one in the study that linked autism and vaccinations) I questioned my children's pediatrician about it. He told me that the onset of autism occurs most of the time around 18 months, which is coincidentally when most children in the US receive their MMR. He also told me that the incidence of autism in the population that is vaccinated is the same as in the population that is NOT vaccinated (and cited some European study). I went into that appointment prepared to NOT vaccinate my daughter and ended up vaccinating her. Both of my daughters have been vaccinated on schedule with absolutely no issues.

I also questioned the varicella vaccine (chicken pox) as reports are that you can still get chicken pox even after having the vaccine. My doc said that the vaccine is not to prevent them from getting chicken pox, rather to prevent the severe complications that can occur with chicken pox (encephalitis and pneumonia). About 10 percent of unvaccinated children end up with a severe complication, where ZERO percent of vaccinated children end up with severe complications.

As for Mercola, I think he provides some good information, and certainly gets you thinking about things, but some of his info is inaccurate. For example, my mother sent me something from him about the dangers of giving children fluoride treatments. When I asked the dentist about it, he said that the doses they get are so low that it is not going to cause any of the things that Mercola listed. But the amount of dental damage that he sees in children who have not received flouride treatments is extensive.

You will find that one of the hardest things we do as parents is make the "right" decision. But ultimately, you have to do what you feel is right for YOUR family. If that means delaying or selectively vaccinating or not giving fluoride treatments, then that is what you do. It can be hard when some people get very ... umm ... militant about what YOU should do for YOUR family!!!

Best of luck! And congrats ...

jvernacchio · 09-27-2007, 01:28 PM

There is just not enough evidence to support the link between vacinations and autism. There are too many studies to refute it right now.

Get your kids their shots.

raymond3 · 09-28-2007, 10:24 AM

Cool, thanks everyone for the advice. It is tough when you hear all of these different things. I just want whats best for my son. I do plan on getting him his shots, I just may spread them out. Ironically, my mother just told me she did the same thing when I was younger (spreading out the shots).