to consider single vaccinations over the MMR when mumps is not available?

[MsKalo]

I had my ds vacinated with single jabs - at the time he had the jabs, all three, measles, mumps and rubella were available. Now it is the time to vaccinate my dd and mumps vaccine is not available and I am unsure how to proceed as I really do not like the thought of the MMR and that big hit of all 3 in one...

Anyone had bad experiences with MMR? Any doctors in the house willing to give an unbiased (ie: not all pro MMR!)opinion?

We may go ahead with the measles and rubella and the chicken pox as there is not mumps vac available or should I just think about the MMR

DECISIONS! AGHHH!

oh gosh, my grammer has gone to pot now! ;)

again extractor is talking shite so not gonna bother answering her or whoever it is

i am not anti-MMR i just really want to find the best thing to do for my dd. the single vacs cost a fortune and i am by no means at all rich, but if i do go ahead with the mmr i will still pay for the chicken pox vaccine too - it is interesting how many people have their kids vac with the mmr but won't do chicken pox because it is something you need to do yourself and pay for

i am still in a dilemma as i think some ladies have said some really postitive things here about mmr but i still believe that single vacs are better and that the only reason the government do the triple is because it is cheaper, of course it is

as for mumps vac - as far as i know with the single vacs i gave my son, only the measles needs a booster not the mumps and rubella ones

Thanks TheGhostlyPirate for your mature posting -

The MMR came out when my children were little. The GP had told me not to give DD1 the measles vax because she was allergic to egg. I checked when DS1 had his MMR and the GP still said no. DS1, 2 and DS3 all had MMR and all 4 kids had the Meningitis jab and whatever the other newer one is. I was always first in the queue for all the vax, believing I was doing my best for my children.

DD1 never caught anything, except chicken pox when she was 14. She had her rubella jab at school at 12, just as I did. Having had the MMR, DS2 caught mumps and DS3 had rubella, and all had CP at the same time.

DS2 has ADHD and also has bowel problems. DS1 has ASD and with hindsight I believe he was damaged by the third of the Triple DTP, but I can't prove it. He was ill for weeks after that jab, lost loads of weight, and nobody could tell me what was wrong with him.

They are all adults now.

So when I had DD2 I was worried about the whole thing. I read everything I could find and we went to see Dr Halvorsen. He agreed that with our history it was probably best not to have the MMR, so DD2 had the single measles. She will have the rubella jab at 12. She has had the normal DTP plus Hib and Meng, so I don't believe I am creating a problem for the herd, but on balance she is my primary concern.

"Extractorfan, I think your post was somewhat patronising and assumes that you are right, and everyone who disagrees is wrong..."

Because Extractorfan /is/ right.

Extractorfan - you are being patronising and rude. Not everyone chooses not to use the MMR vaccine based on the Andrew Wakefield study. There are other reasons why people choose singles. The number of jabs is not relevant at all, because based on their family history they want to go for the option that they feel is safer for them. Many doctors have suggested certain children have singles, including my friend's son's paediatrician because of his asthma.

MsKalo, my decision not to vaccinate my children with the CP vaccine has absolutely nothing to do with finances and I think you are also being a bit patronising when you criticise those you haven't had it. CP is usually a very mild childhood illness and many people would much rather that their children acquire natural immunity to the disease rather than fussing around with vaccines and boosters that are not 100% effective and could potentially leave their children vulnerable when they are adults and (potentially) pregnant when it is a lot more serious.

www.cbsnews.com/8301-31727_162-20015982-10391695.html they obviously had issues enough with the MMR in this case to award a million dollar settlement.

No vaccination is 100% safe.

The day after his 3 month vaccination my son went blind. Then later he developed autism.

The question is not whether they are safe or not (they have never ever been safe). The question is only whether the risks of being damaged by a vaccination do or don't out way the risks of getting those diseases.

BTW the 3 month jab my boy got that permanently damaged him has now been changed to a 'safer' one. And at the time (10 years ago) he was given it in the UK it had already been withdrawn from the US.

BUBBLEYMUMMY - I did not at all mean to be patronising about the CP Vaccine! What I meant was, if the MMR is so important to people, why not the CP vaccine as CP can be fatal and can be a very awful thing to get, far worse than mumps in many cases! That's all I meant and I [do] find the attitude of 'oh let them get CP' rather weird as why would people rather their kids get this but not mumps? I disagree that it is always a mild childhood illness (mumps is far more of a 'mild' childhood illness but we vac against it) and it can be life threatening so I do not get why people would rather their kids get it!

I delayed the MMR and prevnar for DS2 simply because DS1 has ASD. But I knew that DS1 had ASD (well, I knew something was different) from his earliest days, so I knew it wasn't that.

I was vaccinated against measles as a child, and have no immunity at all now (had to have a blood test while pg as exposed, but luckily didn't get it.) I had mumps twice and rubella aged 8 weeks, so am nice and immune to them.

I think, if you could guarantee that the "wild" version would be complication free, and that the child would be fine in a week, then it is best to have that. But you can't, so vaccination (IMO, for my children) is a better choice.

I have worked with kids who had ASD caused by encephalitis, caused by measles, and one child who had Congenital Rubella Syndrome, which is very disabling indeed. Definitely influenced my decisions.

Oh, and the chicken pox thing - I am worried about the shingles effect that is being experienced in the US, but I am aware that CP is not always a mild illness - both DD and DS1 ended up on antibiotics, DD due to infected scalp spots and DS1 due to infected spots in his ear canals, which was horrible. One of DD's friends had septicaemia from CP and spent 2 weeks in hospital. So I think, if there is more research about the shingles connection, and it is offered here, we will consider it for DS2.

givemesleep, ^"Hannah was described as normal, happy and precocious in her first 18 months.
Then, in July 2000, she was vaccinated against nine diseases in one doctor's visit: measles, mumps, rubella, polio, varicella, diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, and Haemophilus influenzae. "^

MMR, and some!
I wouldn't be happy vaccinating that much in one day.

"the government said vaccines aggravated an unknown mitochondrial disorder Hannah had which didn't "cause" her autism, but "resulted" in it" and that people still spout the bullshit that it's been 'proven' that there are no vaccine issues.

MUMPS CAUSED ME TO MISCARRY

Sorry for the shouting but it pisses me off that people think it's not serious for girls. It can be as dangerous as chicken pox/rubella to a pregnant woman. Please vaccinate your children, we need herd immunity to protect the whole population.

MsKalo, can I assume that from your last post you cannot find any peer-reviewed papers which back your cause (full research?), and as a result have bent to playground name calling?
Unfortunately you opened the debate by asking a biased question and asking for reassurance. This was picked up by others. Also, your answers also give away the fact that you will not be persuaded otherwise, but object to the fact that you are not getting 100% approval.

Bubblymummy, many thanks for your comments, but I will stand by the assertion that this debate would not be happening but for Wakefield becoming a cause celebre in the media

Eric. I'm so sorry for your loss. It is actually for that reason that I think it is better to catch the disease in childhood and be immune for life rather than risk catching it when you are older, posibbly pregnant, and it is more dangerous. The vaccines are not 100% effective and they can wear off.

That's ideal but what happens if you don't catch it, as i didn't? Or my brother, who passed it to his girlfriend and round his circle of friends...and so on and so on. I think one of the main probs with the chicken pox vac is that is is very likely to wear off, meaning that people are only immune during childhood/adolescence. I think the mumps vac is more likely to provide long term immunity.

I wouldn't leave my DCs at risk of contracting any of them. The tiny risk of being vaccine damaged is far smaller than the real risk of complications due to contracting any of these diseases.

Eric - The tiny risk of being vaccine damaged is far smaller than the real risk of complications due to contracting any of these diseases.

Yes, for the majority of the population. But while the govt and others refuse to acknowledge there are probs with the vaccine, they also refuse to research what parts of the population shouldn't be getting vaccinated.

(For example children with ASD siblings?...)

And equally, refuse to pay compensation for vaccine damaged kids...

Both of these things are really wrong.

Eric, actually the mumps part of the mmr is only around 60% effective and wears off. This is why there have been so many outbreaks in university. In childhood, it is usually a mild disease with very few complications. Knowing what you and your brother have been through why would you want to increase the chances of your child catching it in adulthood?

Eric, your loss is very horrible. But if it's a reason for vaccination, then urge women who are considering pregnancy to check their immunity and get vaccinated.

Do not blame children.

It's not a reason for a child to take the risk of vaccination, when a woman considering pregnancy will not take that risk herself.

IndigoBell: your experience is dreadful, I'm sorry you and your children went through it and are still going through it. Has the adverse event (sorry to describe it in such unemotive terms) been acknowledged as vaccine damage?

I don't get the thing about vaccines 'wearing off' as an argument against vaccination. Lots do, and you just get re-vaccinated. I have a good friend who lives in a country where yellow fever is a risk, so every 10 years she gets the jab again. I've had a tetanus jab a couple times as an adult.

Surely you could do the same with Cpox/measles/mumps/etc. It won't hurt you at 40 any more than it did at 4, assuming it did not hurt you then.

By the way, there is now an effective shingles vaccine targeted at adults in the US. So I guess that goes some way to addressing the shingles concerns.

And by the way, whoever said that the onus of being vaccinated should be on women considering pregnancy: Lots of us didn't 'consider' pregnancy before it happened!!

Precious, the problem is that you won't know when exactly it will wear off or if it even worked in the first place. What an awful way to find out that you are not actually immune by catching it when you are pregnant and putting your baby at risk.

Soooo... you shouldn't get vaccinated against rubella because it MIGHT wear off? That doesn't make any sense to me. When should you get the jab? (Honest question - a booster at 12 for example? I'm afraid my children aren't old enough for me to know if that's already routine.)

Because I had only had one jab against rubella as an infant (the standard where & when I was born), when I was pregnant the NHS offered an immediate bloodtest to ensure I was still immune. I was. So there was no element of surprise.

And for many vaccinations (ie tetanus/meningitis), they DO tell you to get it done every 10 years or whatever the expected 'expiration' is.

MsKalo I was thinking the same as you, DS2 is 3.5 and is in the middle of chicken pox, DS1 now 8 had single MMR as all the Wakefield stuff was around new when he was due the jabs. Incidentatly he was poorly after each one, so I am glad he did not have three at once!

DS1 has had scarlet fever, a 2 night hospital stay with breathing issues and now chicken pox. All in the last three months. So I am not sure if there is something going on with him or it's just a bad run if illness.

I have a consultants appt in three weeks, but am taking him to the GP this week as I am worried.

He is due his MMR and dip/tiv etc, but with a weakened immune system at present I am very reluctant, confused and worried. I trust my GP and she always talks everything through with me.