Immunisations

Sound like minor symptoms compared to disfigurement or death due to the illness itself.

i had whooping cough as a child and suffered from it - now having a "weak chest" and, as soon as i get a cold, get a chest infection.
somehow i am naturally immune to mumps - my mother took me to several mumps parties when i was little and i failed to catch it. however, although my daughter has inherited this immunity, my son didn't. he was rather poorly when he had it. this was before the injections that are given routinely now.
my brother somehow didn't get chicken pox until he was 20 and spent his 21st birthday in hospital extremely ill as it had gone down inside his throat which then swelled up so he couldn't breathe.
both my children have had all the injections which were available to them at the time - i even asked my gp if my daughter could have a smallpox one but was assured that it was unnecessary.
thankfully all my grandaughters [all 4 of them] have had or will have their injections ............ my oldest grandaughter will hopefully be having the meningitis one sometime soon.
meningitis is a terrible disease - when i was in my late twenties i had the viral form which, fortunately, wasn't as serious but i lost two weeks of my life in hospital when i was barrier nursed. and i then spent a month recuperating. if an injection stops someone else getting it then i'm all for it.
again, as an adult i had rubella which wasn't a pleasant experience so early immunisation is essential.
i'm sorry but i have no time for anyone who thinks that immunisation is not for their children - they probably think that they'll be ok but regret it if their children then go on to develop something which will affect them for ever.

Some parents are choosing not to have their children vaccinated as they feel that the diseases have been eradicated. That is because everyone used to have the vaccinations. Measles can be deadly as can tetanus, its so important to be vaccinated. Everything will be back on the increase, some already are. They may get a swollen arm for a couple of days and be a bit unwell but nothing like they would be if they contracted the disease itself.

I saw a programme recently with a young child who'd had meningitis and had all their limbs amputated. Sepsis is a side effect and a fast killer.
One of the issues with not vaccinating is that it leaves all the pre vaccine kids in a vunulrable position.
With my eldest daughter there was a great furore re whooping cough. I couldn't make up my mind whether to risk getting her vaccinated. She played with neighbours older kids. I didn't suspect they had not had any vaccines and my 2yr old got whooping cough. It was a nightmare time and I still feel guilt that my hesitancy has left her with lungs in a weaker state. When my second daughter was born I got her vaccinated at the first possible date.
Like others have said we are lucky to have these vaccines what's a sore arm and temp for a couple of days over losing all your limbs and possibly dying?
60+yrs ago my elder sister contracted tb meningitis with sepsis rash. Docs told my mum she would likely due. Fortunately they had a new anti biotic, streptomyacin, and said they would give her that as it was just being made available. That drug, and the fact that the disease was spotted so early saved her. She took a year learning to walk again. The drug damaged her hearing but she is still around today.

I am with all those saying have the injections, I lost weeks of schooling with the so called childhood illnesses at one time having Scarlet Fever followed by Chickenpox. I was amazed to read Scarlet Fever is on the increase again, pity there isn't a vaccination for it. Please have what is available.

Improving social circumstances including better nutrition will not prevent your GDs from getting whooping cough [there is a lot of it around at present, and it is nasty], rubella [can cause nasty congenital malformations and death]. measles [brain damage which is permanent] and mumps [not so bad but worth having the vaccine]. Polio needs no further comment, as it has not yet been eradicated globally. Meningitis is uncommon but not rare, and can kill, or cause permanent damage. All the vaccines mentioned above have an efficacy >90-95%, except for mumps which is a little lower, and W cough [about 75-80%]. Meningitis B vaccine does produce antibody and is effective, though what % is not yet known. It was and still is the commonest meningococcal serotype still causing disease. Nevertheless, all vaccines also have side-effects, but everything good also has side-effects, like driving a car, and even gardening!! etc.

Scarlet Fever is now easily treatable with antibiotics. It used to be a killer in the 1920s but no longer. This is one disease that has become mild following improvements in nutrition and social circumstances.

TB is on the increase in Birmingham and they have stopped immunisation there, a very dangerous move I think.

I lived in France when all 3 children were small and vaccination was not a choice at the time, but almost compulsory. No crèche, school or college would accept a pupil without a properly completed "carnet de sante". Mine would have been 'done' regardless, but I thought it a great idea. When we returned to London, the younger 2 had a top up for meningitis. Then the vaccine for cervical cancer became available, but the girls had gone to live with Daddy who let them off having 'a nasty needle' (which they were fine with). Even though we no longer communicate I still worry that they might catch something that could have been prevented
Apologies for inaccuracy of latter injection name but I know what I mean!

Thanks everyone for the debate (albeit very one sided) I am well and truly shouted down!! As I did say (which most people conveniently ignored) I am not against immunisations at all and agree about their benefits and herd immunity etc etc but it doesn't hurt to research and question the preparations which are being injected into your babies and children. And obviously spurious websites and quack doctors should not be consulted! For the record I am completely anti Homeopathy which bears no relevance whatsoever to vaccines!
A contentious issue indeed but interesting to hear everyone's views.

My son is a clinical microbiologist & his children have had all the vaccinations available. He is very passionate about it, however we are also moving into an era of having less and less antibiotics that might help seriously ill children and adults who might develop one of the diseases that vaccination would prevent. There is also a risk for people who are immunocompromised because of therapy they may be receiving and children who are too young to be vaccinated. Vaccination is essential.

For what it's worth Speldnan I am of the same mind as you. Vaccines have been a wonderful development and we are indeed very lucky to have them. But they do carry risks, not just of a sore arm and raised temperature. The government does not operate a compensation scheme for those irreparably damaged by vaccines for nothing. If your child happens to be one of the ones who is disabled or worse as a result of vaccination these fears cannot be so easily dismissed. It pays to be well informed on this subject.

Being 'poorly ' for 3 days as a result of menb vaccination is nothing compared to the terrible possible affects of meningitis! Imo vaccinate every time!

when there is an localised epidemic parents who have not had their children vaccinated are to blame

The temporary soreness and mild fevers that some children exhibit are WAY less horrific than these diseases. A little girl in my kindergarten year died of diphtheria. I had polio as a child, was not left with much paralysis, but now, 62 years later, I have Post Polio Syndrome. (Google it, it's not nice). I have to wear a brace on one leg, am scheduled for surgery on the same leg, and have all the other symptoms of Post Polio Syndrome. And Polio is still around......it only takes one infected person entering a country where there are a whole lot of anti-vaxxers to start an epidemic.

I too remember the horror of Polio, I was at school with a boy who had calipers on his legs following a bout of Polio.

I also worked with a lady who nearly lost her baby son to Meningitis - luckily he survived but is profoundly deaf.

I am in favour of vaccination & know my DD had by GS vaccines when required & he will continue to have any further ones.

I am sure many parents agonise of this decision, my daughter had to check whether my GS could have certain vaccines as she had Epilepsy as a child & there is a risk but she went ahead satisfied that he would be ok.

Quite right Nightowl those who have had children disabled (or worse) through vaccine damage are understandably nervous about repeating the experience with subsequence babies/children.

Yes, vaccination is an amazing development in reducing illness and deaths from disease, we all agree on that, but it does carry a risk however infitessimal.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgpfNScEd3M

I don't know how to say this without sounding rude - but if the OPs DD is having palpitations because her child has suffered a (relatively) mild reaction to a vaccine, heaven help her if said child actually caught one of these frightening diseases..

From personal experience, I can tell you that failure to take up the whooping cough vaccine, if the child subsequently catches the disease, will have a negative impact on their lung function for the rest of their lives.

I had whooping cough as a pre-teen in the early 1960s and was very ill for months - since which time every chest infection I get requires oral steroids and antibiotics because my lungs are so compromised as a result of the illness.

As young parents in the 1970's exH and I after much agonising decided not to allow our three youngsters to be immunised, given the conflicting advice about safety being toted at the time. Bad mistake. They contracted whooping cough one after another and it was six months before they recovered. Now as adults, they have lungs which can't cope with chest infections, either...all are also asthmatic and I bitterly regret not having the courage to have them immunised. My two youngest boys, born much later, had every vaccine going.

Yes of course one has to accept that there is a small risk with vaccines, for a very unlucky few...but believe me, the consequences of the diseases which these immunisations protect against, are life changing, in very many cases.

At the end of the day it's a personal decision of course, but trust me, you would not dither, if you had heard a young child with whooping cough struggling to breathe through the thick suffocating mucous on their lungs. It's horrifying, frightening, exhausting and very upsetting for both the child and his or her parents...and it can go on for weeks and weeks with no let up.

Thankfully, due to the immunisation programme, this can be avoided. Given my time over, I'd be first in the queue to get my children protected.

Oh gosh. A don't know how this thread has made me feel. Am I a panic stricken Gran because we decided to offer to pay for the Meningitis B for our four grandkids. We are not wealthy but saw it as a way we could help with what to us is a frightening prospect. Our offer was very grateful my accepted. The youngest was off colour for three days but I think the peace of mind outweighs that and they will be having round 2. A friends son got Meningitis aged 19 and was as ill you can be without dying. It robbed him of a sparkling career in musical theatre.

I totally agree with Luckygirl. It's not just about protecting your child, it's about protecting society at large. I had measles as a child and remember it to this day. It is not just a childhood illness it can be a killer! I find it hard to believe that in this day and age the need for immunisation is still being discussed! Rant over.

My but am pretty old now but vividly remember all the childhood illnesses and we are lucky to have some way to prevent them now. Measles, whooping cough and my sister died of meningitis at 15. My advice is to take all the preventative vaccinations available. Even flu can still be a killer. But it is still up to the parents.

A very interesting thread. I kind of have a foot in both camps. None of my own dc were vaccinated against Whooping Cough. We followed medical advice which was concerned about a history of fits on both sides of our family. When our own GP said he would not his own child against WC in our circumstances, we felt we'd made thrift decision. Subsequently, my ds1 had Whooping Cough and is now asthmatic but then so are his three siblings, who didn't have Whooping Cough. I'm not sure what to make of that!

I had Whooping Cough as a child, and I was ill for a number of weeks but I don't think it left me with any long term issues. My parents both smoked anyway so I'm not sure how you can disentangle one from the other.

I believe the current vaccine for WC is different and safer than the old one so I'd probably let my dc have it nowadays,. They've had all other vaccines and my youngest has been a pin cushion over the years due to living in tropical countries and now being a trainee medic, she's had the lot!

Sorry, that should be 'said he would not vaccinate....'

I think it's always been accepted that there are some children who, because of medical problems, should not be vaccinated. But the ideal is that there will be a very small chance of them catching the disease because of the universal vaccination rate of everyone else.