Very Very anxious about mmr

[ariane5]

My 3 dcs (10,5 and 2) have had all their jabs except mmr. When dd1 was little I made the decision not to have it done as read so much about it that scared me and I couldn't bear to give her something that could potentially make her ill.

I know that the mmr is now supposedly safe and the doctor who caused the initial worry struck off but I cannot get out of my head what I read.My new gp has been on and on at me for a good 18months to get dcs vaccinated with mmr and I have cancelled numerous appts-now EVERYTIME I go to gp they spend at least 15 minutes asking me to have mmr-they even said last week that any one of measles/mumps/rubella could be fatal to my children and were quite aggressive in getting this point across-not the best idea as Iam 7 months pg, terribly hormonal and worried about the jab anyway without feeling like my children could be struck down at any time and be seriously ill-it doesn't help me make a decision when they are being so pushy.

ds and dd2 have severe egg allergy too but they have said they would be fine to have it done at gp surgery and would not have a reaction.

I feel torn-if i do it I will be terrified and not sleep for a good 3 weeks untill all3 components of the jab have worked in case of a severe reaction and if i don't I will be panicking that they will catch measles/mumps/rubella.

All 3 have other health issues-a genetic disorder affecting connective tissue(eds) dd1 has a chest prob(pectus excavatum) causing reduced lung capacity and ds and dd2 severe allergies and a resulting poor diet.All 3 catch EVERYTHING going and are unwell a great deal and the gp has mentioned that their immune systems are not great and measles etc could be very bad for them.

I have tried everything to come to a decision but the more I read the more confused and upset Iam not knowing what to do and I feel so pushed by the gp and every dr i see at the surgery.

I really do not know what to do.

don't be concerned about me Bumbley....my children have been vaccinated, their mother is some conspiracy theory nut.

So if they are vaccinated then why are you accusing other people who haven't vaccinated of putting your children at risk.

not some conspiracy theory nut.

[mutters under breath about the likelihood of making a stupid mistake when trying to be sharp]

You still haven't answered my question - do you not think your children are protected by the vaccine? Why do you think they are at risk from an unvaccinated child if they have been vaccinated?

Because vaccines rely upon a high uptake.... you do know this? Herd immunity vaccines are not contact immunity and whilst they do reduce the risk of catching whatever they vaccine against, they are not a guarantee.

No, posie, that's not how they work. It seems you don't actually know what you are talking about. I think you should go off and have a read over the basics of how vaccines work before you come on to a thread accusing people of not knowing what they are talking about.

The vaccine itself is supposed to protect the individual. you are right in that they are not 100% effective so a percentage of those vaccinated will not be immune. Herd immunity is the idea that if enough people are immune (from the vaccine or from contracting the disease naturally) then there will not be outbreaks of the disease which will protect those who can't be vaccinated/aren't immune. It's a good theory but, as mentioned early, it doesn't always work in practice. It seems as if you think that your children are not protected by the vaccine unless there is herd immunity which really doesn't make any sense at all because they would NEED to be protected in order to contribute to the herd immunity.

Well I had the whooping cough vaccine when it was linked to brain damage and I was fine .

Tbh, I never ever believed the whole MMR scaremongering, even when it was at its height...

In your shoes, I would be going ahead OP.

Ok, I appreciate this will be ignored, but I have a fairly strong academic scientific background, and I read a huge amount about mmr with no previous agenda. I am completely and utterly convinced by the evidence that it is safe.

Second point - I live in an area that has now got low mmr vaccination levels, which led to a massive measles outbreak when my DD was 9 months old - ie. too young for me to vaccinate her. So yes, other parents decisions did put my child at risk.

Vaccinations are a social responsibily IMO, and I think the mmr scare was the worst thing to happen to our nations health in a long time.

Just to clarify for posie - if vaccines didn't protect the individual then there would be no way for it to create herd immunity.

social responsibility works both ways. if the governent expect all parents ot offer up their children for vaccines, then they shoudl step up and take responsibility for those are injured by being vaccinated.

Posie: if herd immunity/vaccines worked the way you think they do, then the Uk has never had satisfactory measles immunity, as the rate has never (even before the 1998 paper) reached the magic 95%. therefore no one in the uk, according to you, is immune to measles via vaccination

EnsignRo: I think you shoudl get onto the Cochrane lot, you seem to know something they don't.

Erm one of my children has not had his MMR booster as he's too young.

Thanks sieglinde

My dad had polio as a child and as a result has had life long problems with his hips resulting in numerous replacements. It's shit really if there aren't vaccines isn't it notwithstanding the tiny proportion of the population who cannot have them for medical reasons.

My personal feeling is that if autoimmune diseases run in families then it would be prudent to think carefully about it, for everyone else I think the benefits outweigh the risks.

Tbh, I don't get the posters whose children can't be vaccinated trying to persuade other parents not to vaccinate their children. Surely this puts your children at more risk if there are more opportunities for diseases to be caught and passed round?

They do protect the individual but not a guaranteed 100%.

handbag, I think you'll find that most people who don't vaccinate wouldn't tell someone else not to. We realise that it is a very difficult, personal decision and most will just advise that the parents read as much as possible about it and decide what they feel most comfortable with. In comparison there are plenty of 'pro-vaxers' happy to tell a concerned parent to 'just do it' etc.

Posie, yes, we are all aware of that. You do realise that if your child is not immune from the vaccine (which you accept there is a chance of) then they could also pose a risk to an unvaccinated/immunocompromised person?

It's statistics though, that what the vaccines rely on. Drop % here and there for immunocomprimised/failure of vaccine.

Posie, I really don't understand what way you are thinking about this at all. Do you think a vaccine's effectiveness on an individual is dependent on the the percentage of vaccinated people in the community? The vaccine doesn't study the statistics when it gets injected into someone...

Mumps can be dangerous to children too. I had it as a kid in the 70's. Got encephalitis, nearly died, temporary paralyisis and permanantly fucked hearing.

Leonie: children who have autoimmune disorders are in a minority. Fair enough to you for worrying about it in your specific case, but this is not what the OP has said she is concerned about.

Stupid question though, why is it better for your children to encounter the live virus without vaccination than to recieve the vaccination? I would have thought any response would be worse if it was at the same time as being ill than if it was just the vaccination alone. This is just from curiosity, but meaning to attack you.

But if you get the real disease, you have wild virus multiplying in your body - wild measles is immunosuppressive for weeks - hence the many opportunistic infections (think a mini-AIDS - pneumonia and all).

As I understand it, if you're vaccinated, you have a much less chance of coming down with the disease, should you encounter a carrier, and if you do get it, you should have a milder case. But your chances of catching the disease are still related to the number of carriers you meet. So for any child, vaccinated or not, they're better off spending time with others who are vaccinated, and less likely to be carriers.

I'm in Sweden, and MMR was on the news tonight. The expert from the government's centre for prevention of communicable diseases said that they generally consider that the risk from the disease must be 100 times the risk from the vaccine before they will recommend a vaccine. MMR is on the list of standard (recommended) vaccines for all children. I believe the Swedish health system is based on the best available medical research, and I will be seeing that DS gets MMR, despite the possible risks.

OP -I hope you find someone who can discuss your concerns with you, especially relating to the specific health situation of each of your DCs.