Vaccinations .. another question (MMR booster this time)

[Anonymousmarmiteflavouredsnack]

DS (3.7) had sepvax (he had DTwP primary vax though, as I knew nothing about thimerosal then)

Anyway from what I've read over the last year I've drawn the conclusion (erroneously perhaps?) that its more probably the old DTwP primary vaccinations that could be problematic wiht potentially the MMR acting as a trigger

Now my question would be ... if I wait till he's 5 to do boosters (if he needs them .. am planning on testing immunity before) ... might the MMR be safe? ie is the mercury either excreted or not? or could it be stored in the system for 5 years or more?

I am not so worried about autism risk, it is the potential for chrons risk (from the Wakefield study) that bothers me most of all (due to DH's condition .. same family or illnesses)

Just wondering if there's any thought or info out there about age of child / risk?

c'mon lovely jimjams et al .. solve my life for me

I thought mercury stayed in your system forever. That's partly why tuna is so dodgy. Am clueless about the rest of your Qs, though.

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Just to let you know about getting them tested Yorkie and marmite.
I took dd on Sunday for a blood test at Direct Health 2000. They were GREAT, put the magic cream on and although dd did have a cry , she didn't feel it as he said she didn't flinch. I had her head in my neck and she was not traumatised by it. (Mind you, we spoilt her rotten afterwards so she'd see it as a good day and couldn't get her in bed till 10pm she was high as a kite ).
The Doctor did ask me why we'd gone down that route and i got the distinct impression he dissaproved. (even though it's a private clinic that offers the test)!!!

Hope jimjams can help with the original post marmite but wanted to re-assure you about the actual test as i made myself sick with worry and it was NOT that bad! (Now i just have to worry about what to do when we get the results in !!! )

I too am choosing to go down this route. One or two questions I have are:-

If you are immune now, are you immune for ever? and what part does a booster play in this role?

Sorry to confuse the issue more

Here's the old thread with info.

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Thanks Angeliz (shortened long name whilst trying to think up a new one btw )

Not sure I'll do direct health .. only because he had his sepvax there and I was thinking I should go independently .. but just out of interest .. how much was it?

Furball ... I actually thought the only way to be truly immune was to catch the disease .. or at least be exposed to it post vaccination.. but could be wrong .. I also think some diseases you can have lifelong immunity to but others (tetanus for instance) immunity can wear off which is why you have 10 year boosters etc .. and also the disease's themselves can mutate so you could be immmune to one strain but catch another .. oh god .. its so dang complicated isn't it (Jimjams really is the best at all this stuff)

It is complicated, it makes my head ache and i daren't even THINK about it for the new baby yet!!

I was quoted i 'think' just under £200 for the MMR test. The girl wasn't sure on the phone and we ended up telling them to test for everything.
(Not mumps obviously as she hasn't been done at all yet, though they said the 2002 waiting list should be completed by the end of this year.

Are you testing for MMR only?

DS was down for mumps in Sept 2002 (all paid for) and we're still waiting .... £200 sounds like a lot .. but would probably like to test for all

e tested for
measles
rubella
Diptheria
Whooping cough
tetanus
Polio

and it cost twice that
It is ALOT!! I know how lucky we are to be able to do it , i wish it was an option before they gave all the routine boosters!!

DD was down for mumps in Nov 2002 so your ds should be getting it very soon.

Mercury : most children/adults can transport mercury out of the body (although maybe at different rates). Some are less able to (genetic differences) These are the children who would be at risk of developmental disorders due to mercury toxicity. Autistic children for example have much lower levels of mercury in their hair- (one way in which mercury is excreted). The suggestion being that its being stored elsewhere in the body (brain??)

MMR: No mercury in MMR. I'm not sure that the mechanism by which MMR does its damage has much to do with mercury. It seems to be related to an atypical measles infection- may have something to do with membrane permeability- but that may be simplifying the situation. You could try looking on the visceral homepage (the company that funds Andy Wakefield these days)- that may be the most up to date place to start.

Boosters: Boosters increase antibody levels. Even children who have caught say measles naturally could do with the odd booster (althoguh generally they have bettr and longer lasting immunity that children who have had the vaccine.) IN the past the "booster" would have been provided by repeated exposure to the same virus. Giving a booster does the same thing (unless the vaccination didn't work first time round- in which case the booster will be the same as an initial vax). Anthroposophical doctors (Steiner doctors - funny mix of orthodix and alternative medicine) say the best way to ensure that a vaccinated child has good immunity is to expose them to someone with the natural infection- for a good antibody boost The US has introduced an extra MMR booster as they found the protection was wearing off in the late teen years (which is not a good time to catch measles). Actually a friend of mine made that point on a radio phone in show to someone high up in vaccination- if you start vaccinating against childhood diseases then you get into the situation where lifetime repeat boosters are needed- and the high up public health guy agreed- and said that was indeed the case. The figure I've seen generally bandied around for the length of protection provded by the measles jab is approx 20 years- but not sure how accurate that is (suspect its a guess) and of course everyone will vary.

You could also search on google for "mercury induced autoimmunity" I've only looked into that a little bit- I'm not sure how quickly the effects are seen- but I don't think the MMR would affect that iyswim.

Am I right in thinking this could all get really nasty later in life, when your immunity for say, MMR whether singles or triple has 'worn off' and you end up catching the disease as an adult.

Furball, that's what worries me!
Wasn't there an outbreak of mumps recently where alot of teenage boys caught it, very dangerous of course at that age.
I have been trawling through many vaccination books and they really open your eyes!!!

My DS2 was supposed to go for his MMR etc.. today but I'm off colour and still in two minds. He's 4 now and is being assesed for learning difficulties so this makes me worry even more. Plus, he's come on so much I'm scared he'll go back iykwim?
The thought of it wearing of in later years and DS1 and 2 being worse off is scary

exactly furball- its a particular issue for MMR because of course childhood illnesses are generally worse in adulthood than childhood. The thing I find really scary is that if protction diminishes in childbearing years then you have infants born who are suscpetible. measles in a infant is serious-if the mother had a good dose of measles as a child then the baby should be protected for most of the first year. If the mother had MMR as a four year old- who knows? However I suspect routine boosters will be introduced (like the tetanus). They don't need ot do that yet as there are still many people in the current adult population who had measles as a child (me for example ) so at a population level the immunity in the adult population is still pretty good- this will probaby change as the vaccinated generation grows up iyswim. Then they will have to intorudce regular boosters.