Vaccines??

Question

First of all, let me say, I'm not one of those people who believe that vaccines cause autism. However, I am one of those people who is very skeptical when it comes to what the government thinks is best for me or my child.

I plan on vaccinating my kids, but how much and when is where I struggle. It makes me sick to read about the preservatives and mercury in those things! Obviously still not worse than let's say, polio! My holistic doctor has had 4 kids of her own that she has on a more conservative vaccinating schedule that starts later that I'm tempted to follow but at the same time terrified of my kid getting something.

I guess my question is where can I find legitimate resources to research this?? Do we vaccinate too much?? I can only find articles supporting or not supporting vaccines. I know other countries follow different vaccines schedules, do they have as low of rate of diseases as we do?

I just feel lost and would like to feel
Confident in my choices for my child especially over something as detrimental as this. Thanks!

Answer

I would take a harder look at what those ingredients really are, which is what tends to scare most parents when it's comes to vaccines. 
 
Here are 3 examples:

The Mercury used in vaccines is ethylmercury which is found naturally in your food and water  does not bioaccumulate and is excreted from the body unlike methylmercury which is the kind your cautioned about in fish, this type of mercury does bioaccumulate and can build to toxic levels in your body.

Formaldehyde in vaccines is an extreamly small and diluted amount, the average newborn has at least 50% more naturally occurring formaldehyde already in their bodies.

Aluminum is another one that is commonly pointed out. Aluminum is one of the most naturally occurring elements on the planet. It's in your food, water, soil, and it's found in breastmilk. The amount in a vaccine is so small it doesn't even cause a noticeable rise in a newborns body which contains about 5 nanograms naturally.

Answer

I would suggest reading the Dr. Sears vaccine book. It is unbiased, straight up facts about vaccines, ingredients, and side effects while also listing the side effects and how common each disease the vaccines are supposed to prevent are.

Answer

Definitely do your research if you're worried. A well informed parent is a good parent. I believe in vaccines 100% and will be vaccinating according to the schedule my doctor suggests, because that's the conclusion my research led me to.

One thing I would caution against while you do your research is the fear surrounding all of the "chemicals" in vaccines. Yes, some of them sound scary and yes, some of them are actually chemicals, BUT they are often the same chemicals that naturally occur in the human body in larger quantities than contained in the vaccine and are easily processed by our systems. (Formaldehyde, for example!)

I can't speak to the advisability of delayed or spread out schedules - if it were me though, I'd look for peer reviewed articles in reputable medical or science journals that point to any evidence showing the current schedules are harmful before deviating from what your doctor is suggesting.

Anyway, do your research, come to your own conclusions. Good luck and congratulations :)

Answer

I love vaccines. I've had lots, myself. They are the best working, safest medicine we've ever invented. They do contain some things that sound pretty scary, but like other people have said, a lot of those are less than the amount we get from normal life. But if there is much of a chance of a kid being exposed to a virus, and that virus has any bad effects, the vaccine is probably worth it. Vaccines are a simple way of teaching your immune system how to kill viruses without having to be in a war with the virus. Is rather learn about the enemy beforehand than meet for the first time on the field of battle. :) also, measles apparently can make your immune system forget how to fight things it used to know how To fight.

Answer

I am with you.   I have one child and he is on a stricter vaccination regimine.  My brother was born a perfect healthy baby boy and had a severe allergic reaction to his TDAP vaccination and it left him BRAIN DAMAGED!!! He lived for 9 years only and it was 100% the fault and caused by the vaccine he had received.  Doctors admitted this to my mother and advised her o NOT vaccinate myself or my sister.  Since I have this history they allowed me to opt out of a few without judgement.  
Look into Europe's vaccinations

Answer

I am 100 percent for vaccines. But I completely get where you are coming from with wanting to wait... So maybe do lots of research about which ones are needed when. And if your child is in a daycare or around other kids it might be best to do certain ones when they are recommended... But do what makes your family the most comfortable (:

Answer

Got to the American Academy for Pediatrics and see what they say. Stay away from the fringe websites. There's a ton of fear mongering and misinformation out there.

On a personal note, my husband is a pediatrician and he does not recommend a delayed vaccine schedule. He has never, in over 20 years of practice, had a child have a negative reaction to a vaccine.

Answer

One thing i suggest is spreading them out. Not letting them do three shots in a day. That can spread the cluster shots by weeks. I know many peds that are now suggesting this. Good luck!

Answer

You could also try looking at the recommendations from other countries... I don't know what they say but I like to do that for other things I'm not sure if I believe the U.S. government about. Like co sleeping, for example. And Canada doesn't have a daily recommended amount of cholesterol to eat because eating cholesterol doesn't appear to raise your cholesterol but the U.S. has one so the U.S. doesn't recommend eating shrimp.

Answer

We fully vaccinate but I think the number of shots they give at once is too much. So we space some out, like my kid will get half at his well baby check and the other half a week later. When I was a kid, they didn't shoot me up with nearly the amount we're supposed to now and I don't feel comfortable doing it to my kid. He's fully vaccinated on schedule though. Another thing to consider is a lot of pediatricians won't work with you if you do alternative schedules so you have to find one who will.

Vaccines??

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