Very confused and worried about single measles jab or MMR

[LittleMuffinBabyboy]

Dear Mums,

Apologies if I am starting a new topic but am feeling very much in need of hearing other people's experiences of how they handle their children's vaccinations. I am feeling pretty disheartened today perhaps I am being negative or am just going through a lot of stress and am not able to see things under a different light.

I have been reading many of the threads on MMR/single jabs as I have been very worried and anxious because I am facing the choice between a single measles vaccination that I have a booking for at a clinic this coming Wednesday and the MMR that can be done tomorrow at my gp surgery. My DS is now 16 months and given the experiences that some mums have described in reaction to the MMR, not just autistic symptoms and extreme changes in their children's behaviour but also the irritation/upset of their children lasting several weeks I have just felt I was not ready to go for it at the time hence postponed the choice.
I know that this is a hot topic and the vaccine is most likely safe in most occasions so am not trying to rekindle any old debate. I just feel so down and in pain as feel under pressure to make a choice also because we are travelling to see our families next Saturday and felt we do not want to leave our child unprotected.
Is there any of you who has felt in a similar way and how have you decided between the two, the single injection and the MMR if that was amongst your options?
Many thanks xxx

Why not read about people's experiences of their children getting mumps to counter the stories of 'irritation' caused by the MMR?

You can't get a single mumps vaccine, so you might as well go for the MMR, unless you want to risk your child getting mumps.

Just get the MMR and be done with it. A 16 month old could be upset and irritated for any number of reasons, including a recent vaccination or a cold or tummy upset. It really isn't worth worrying about unless you have some specific reason to think your child is at risk e.g. an allergy to one of the vaccine components. They are far more likely to come to harm from not having the MMR.

My brother is deaf in one ear due to having mumps (he had not had the mmr immunisation). Both mine have had their 2 jabs each.

Get the MMR, or your child will be unprotected. There is a good reason every child is offered it.

And I'd hide this thread now if you're already feeling bad, because you'll get hordes of people talking total marbles at you.

Unless there is some medical reason your child can't have vaccines, really you should just get on with it and get the MMR done. We are very lucky to live in a country where we have such easy access to vaccines, there are people all over the world that would give anything to have access.

Get the MMR. Mumps is awful.

Also, the MMR does not cause autism.

Thank you ladies for your prompt response particularly around mumps. I am already feeling much better, cant talk much to my husband as he is becoming more and more annoyed witht he whole thing xx

As others have said, the single mumps vaccine is not currently available. You can read up about mumps if it will help you make your decision between singles and the MMR. Mumps isn't usually serious in children and complications are rare (NHS). Around 1/3 of cases are asymptomatic. There is a higher risk of complications in adults though so people who have chosen not to vaccinate against it in childhood will often test immunity when their children are older and consider vaccinating against it then.

It is a difficult decision to make and many people do struggle with it. Take your time and don't feel pressured or rushed into it.

Will it make you feel any better if I as a parent of a child with autism say that if I were to have another child I would give them the MMR without question.

MMR does not cause autism...but even if it did, I would rather have a child with autism than lose a child to measles.

She's planning to give the singles measles vaccine instead - not avoid vaccination altogether.

Dia my oldest has autism. All my children have had the MMR. If the child is 'unsettled' after the MMR, who is to say they won't be unsettled after each individual job?

I can't say anything to make you feel better except I have 4DC and not one has reacted to the MMR except for being pissed off someone stuck a sharp thing in them.

People are more likely to post when something goes wrong.

Thousands of posts saying my kid had the MMR today and was fine wouldn't interest anyone.

I had mumps when I was four, and 40 years later it's still the worst I've ever felt - I remember it vividly. There's an outbreak of it in my DD1's school at the moment (secondary, so peak age for not having had MMR because of the scare). My MIL taught a girl who died a horrible, drawn-out death from encephalitis caused by measles she'd had years earlier. My aunt's friend had a baby that was stillborn because of rubella. But you can protect your child.

Also, even if you could give single jabs, that's six injections to be unsettled after instead of two.

I share your concerns. We have a strong family history of autism. I didn't have the mmr and have had mumps and rubella. Very concerned about giving my son the mmr

Fuelled can you not see the illogicality of that argument? If you can trace a history of autism in your family the the MMR vaccine must be irrelevant. It came in 20 years ago. Children had autism before that. Is the oldest autistic person younger than 20? There is no evidence that MMR causes autism. Autism is a developmental condition, not a catastrophic event.

I understand why you're concerned, and don't think it's irrational at all. I think we should all think through all medical interventions carefully, after all everything has risks and benefits.

I also considered single vaccines, but as already mentioned you can't get Mumps or Rubella singly now. However these diseases are USUALLY pretty mild in childhood and often asymptomatic. Anecdotally I had Mumps and Rubella as a child and they were no worse than a cold, for me (and actually most people if you look at the numbers). Mumps especially can be nastier in adulthood and there are clusters of outbreaks in fully vaccinated young adults as the Mumps component of the MMR isn't great, so still worth getting immunity checked later if you get the MMR. Remember you can get the MMR later if you choose to.

In the end we did decide to get the MMR - there has been a lot of research done and it's generally accepted there's no link to autism. The side effects didn't seem much worse than for Measles alone. I did wonder if it was the right decision though as my lo had a bad reaction to it, basically had all the signs of Measles, and I wondered if we should have given him the other two live attenuated viruses at the same time and whether singly would have been easier for his body to cope with. He did however make a full recovery and is fine.

Good luck in your decision.

Hi, I'm not sure if you have already gone ahead with your decision, but I just wanted to let you know that I was in exactly the same position as you a few months ago. I agonised over either the MMR or single measles for months, and finally decided on the single measles vaccine when my LO was 16 months. I do feel like was the right decision for us (even though my LO had a terrible reaction to it - I cannot imagine what kind of reaction she would have had if it had been the 3in1). Good Luck with your decision and happy to answer any questions if you have any.

Hi all thank you so much for all your support, feel way better now that I have been able to talk to other mums. Like some of you have said I cant even bear the thought of something horrible happening because of measles or mumps and have never thought of skipping the vaccination.
So we finally took DS to the gp surgery yesterday as we were ready to go for the MMR only to be told he has a fever and we had to reschedule it for Thursday if he gets better by then! DH was poorly, had his temperature going up and down from yesterday afternoon til this morning. It was hard to see him in like that abd fekt really stupid for delays his MMR immunization in case he came down with something.
What I found reassuring from yesterday's appointment was that the nurse said the MMR side effects can last up to 6 weeks after the injection something that some mums have reported in other threads and that had worried me too. Honeybee93 sorry to hear your LO had a bad reaction to the single jab, if you don't mind me asking wh how long that went on for? Did he have any temperature?

Sorry for all the typos, posting from my phone

Hi LittleMuffin .. very sorry for my late reply. What did you decide to do in the end? Hope your DS was ok? My LO got an immediate reaction to the measles vaccine (we were told any reaction would happen 10 days later and would also be fairly rare to have one.) She vomited immediately, then got a temp of 39.9 for 3 days. She got a rash very quickly. Went off her food and wasn't herself for about 10 days. It was really horrible and unexpected. I'm not sure if anyone else's LO's has had this kind of reaction to the MMR / Measles vaccine?