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Original poster

MMR, Please help

73 replies

griphook · 22/03/2011 21:28

Hi, was just reading another thead about how many jabs ds will be given very soon.

I've been dreading of giving Ds his MMR pretty much since he was born, and now the time is very near. Does anyone know if it is possible to get the mumps part of the MMR singualry anymore, I been searching for a long time and know one seems to have it. My understanding is only one company made it and they have since stoped production, is this correct?? or does anyone know of any where they may have all three.

OP posts:
bubbleymummy · 30/06/2011 19:37

According to the hpa:

"Despite common belief there is no firm evidence that orchitis causes sterility."

How did he know he wasn't sterile before mumps? Does he have any previous children?

In any case, it only poses a risk of orchitis post puberty so he really would have been better off catching it as a child when it is usually a mild illness with a very small risk of complications. Compications are more common in adolescents and adults and immunity from the vaccine is not lifelong so several adults could be wandering around unprotected right now.

Fifis25StottieCakes · 30/06/2011 19:47

I have just give my 3 dd's whatever vac have been offered. My middle dd is 7 and she had all her injections but still got mumps.

She was poorly but not ill. Her neck was swollen and she had a temperature for 2 days then was fine.

Tabitha8 · 30/06/2011 20:13

That is exactly the problem, isn't it Bubbley? I am one of those who had a single measles jab 30 or 40 years ago and may no longer be immune. So, presumably others would say I'm a danger to babies?
As I asked earlier, why is the gov't not calling me for a MMR and millions like me? Anyone want to answer that one because I don't understand their reasoning. How can there ever be herd immunity with people like me around?

bubbleymummy · 30/06/2011 20:36

There can't Tab. Hence the outbreaks even when over 95% of children have been vaxed. It also annoys me that the unvaxed child gets the blame for spreading disease when there are countless adults whose immunity has waned and are just as capable of catching and spreading diseases wandering around.

bubbleymummy · 30/06/2011 20:38

Or in fifi's dd's case where the vaccine obviously didn't work. Unless you have had your own immunity tested and your children's immunity tested you are in no position to accuse people who choose not to vaccinate of putting people at risk because you and your children could be doing the same.

Fifis25StottieCakes · 30/06/2011 20:42

Bubble - the vaccines confuse me. I never read up on them and just gave them after my MIL told me how DP and SIL nearly died from whooping cough after she refused the jab. My DD is 7 now and the mumps was included i think. She had mumps in 2008.

CatherinaJTV · 30/06/2011 20:58

Bubbley,

the risk of my children catching measles is 50x lower than of an unvaccinated child.

The risk of catching rubella is 99% reduced - AND what is even more important - they are not going to infect a pregnant woman (who might end up with a child like my mum's colleague, blind, deaf, with cerebral palsy, and a severe heart defect).

Mumps (in 70% of cases) is painful, in 10% it goes along with a general glandular inflammation (even more painful - a student of mine had pancreatitis for a couple of weeks, not nice).

I just like my children healthy (my first and foremost reason for getting them 2xMMR) and I don't want them to infect anyone else.

CatherinaJTV · 30/06/2011 21:00

Bubbley,

I wonder where all the adults are, who were vaccinated 2x with MMR, and are now catching measles... they must be hiding...

bubbleymummy · 30/06/2011 21:32

Catherina, if you know it has worked and their immunity hasn't waned. If you don't know that then you are in no position to say that they are not putting someone at risk. Not sure I can agree with the argument that it is a child's responsibility to protect a pregnant woman and her unborn baby. Surely that should be the responsibility of the pregnant woman and if she had rubella as a child (which is usually completely mild illness that many people don't even notice they've had) then she would have lifelong immunity to it anyway.

Over 30% of mumps cases are completely asymptomatic and then other people can have it quite mildly so I'm not sure where your 70% figure comes from.

If you want to vaccinate because you think it will protect your children then great but the 'greater good' argument doesn't really hold much water unless you and them have your immunity checked regularly.

bubbleymummy · 30/06/2011 21:34

Also, to address your last point, the current outbreak in Europe is apparently mainly affecting adolescents and adults. Yes, a percentage of them have not been or have been 'insufficiently' vaccinated but some have.

CatherinaJTV · 30/06/2011 21:39

very few have, Bubbley, and yes - un- and undervaccinated pose the highest risk to the vulnerable and not vaccinating against M and R (measles and rubella) is turning your child into a public health threat that is just a fact. Sorry you don't like it.

ajmama · 30/06/2011 21:41

Bubbley, it is ridiculous to imply that unvaccinated children do not infect other children. Dont you realise that there are millions of mothers in undeveloped countries who would sell their souls to have the access to vaccinations that we do. Do you realise that terrible diseases have all but been eliminated thanks to vaccines? That you get scientists and doctors dedicating their working lives to developing these vaccines to protect our children? More to the point have you or anyone close to you have suffered the devastating effects that measles or rubella can have on families? The trouble is that most have forgotten what a horrible illness measles can be.

Tabitha8 · 30/06/2011 21:55

I am (probably) a public health threat, then, as well as my MiL. I've been called many things in my life, but never that. I've called my MiL many things, but never that.

Tabitha8 · 30/06/2011 21:57

How about polio? If 5 jabs are now considered necessary, how many people have had that number? Very few. Certainly not me. I should not be allowed out.

bubbleymummy · 30/06/2011 21:59

Catherina, you don't get it do you. Unless you KNOW that your child is immune they are as good as unvaccinated and are just as much as a public health risk.

"Bubbley, it is ridiculous to imply that unvaccinated children do not infect other children."

eh? Where did I imply that? I said they weren't the only ones capable of infecting others given that immunity from vaccines can wane or not take at all.

"Do you realise that terrible diseases have all but been eliminated thanks to vaccines?"

Not solely due to vaccine actually...

CatherinaJTV · 30/06/2011 22:02

Tabitha - polio is a non issue in Western Europe.

Measles isn't - but you can easily have your immunity checked - consider it ;)

Tabitha8 · 30/06/2011 22:03

I don't think there has ever been a jab against Scarlett Fever, has there?

Tabitha8 · 30/06/2011 22:03

Excellent. I knew I did not need to worry about polio. Despite so few being immune to it. That's good.

SherlockHolmes · 30/06/2011 22:06

Why are you concerned? There is nothing to suggest that MMR is any more dangerous than single vaccines. Just get it done and protect your child, and therefore others, from these nasty diseases.

TheSecondComing · 30/06/2011 22:13

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

bubbleymummy · 30/06/2011 22:13

"these nasty diseases"

Mumps and rubella are usually mild in childhood and provide lifelong immunity.

Tab, no there hasn't. Funny how it wasn't vaccines that 'saved' us all from it.

winnybella · 30/06/2011 22:14

There's measles outbreak in France at the moment, 6 people have died this year and there were many cases with severe neurological complications.

I went to a reunion at the creche that DD will start in September and the head was pleading with us to vaccinate our children as not to do so would be to put at risk babies to young to have the vaccine and the immunocompromised kids.

If there are contra indications to vaccinating your child ie history of auto-immune diseases etc in your family or your child has such a disease, fair enough, it would be ridiculous to tell you to disregard the risks.

But if that is not the case, I think it is pretty fucking selfish not to vaccinate. Yes, measles is most of the time an illness that will pass without leaving a trace.

But my paediatrician, who worked in a children's hospital for a long time, told me she saw many cases of dreadful complications from measles. Not one case of complications from MMR Hmm. And she takes a reasonable approach towards vaccines, doesn't think all of them are necessary.

bubbleymummy · 30/06/2011 22:21

I wonder how many serious complications from mumps and rubella she saw. Everyone talks about how serious all those diseases are so you must have the MMR but actually it's usually measles that people are most concerned about and there used to be a single vaccine available on the NHS for that.....

Jeyre · 30/06/2011 22:21

OP - I'm not sure if you've said why you're dreading giving your DC the MMR jab but it's important you're aware that the 'evidence' against MMR has been discredited. See en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MMR_vaccine_controversy for an overview, or Ben Goldacre's discussion of how the MMR scare was fuelled by the media and not by scientific evidence at www.badscience.net/2008/08/the-medias-mmr-hoax/. There are a lot of references in the Wikipedia article if you want to read more.

EdwardorEricCantDecide · 30/06/2011 22:26

Haven't read the whole thread but my (private) GP said it's fine to give DS M&R now, and if mumps still not available by the time he's due his booster he can have 3in1 booster as he will be much older and less risk IMO
This is what I've done.

Doc also said that it is the same company that make single mumps as mumps part of MMR, so it's not that they don't make it any more but all of their stock goes into the 3in1 my doc suspects this is due to a clause in contract with NHS but obviously not sure

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