Vaccines/medicines and alternative approaches such as herbal

[Winnie98]

Looking for advice/experiences from parents who haven’t vaccinated

Hi, I’m hoping to get some advice and hear from people who have chosen not to vaccinate their children, or have delayed some vaccinations.

I know vaccines are one of those subjects that can get very heated on here, and I’m really not looking for a vaccine vs anti-vaccine argument or for anyone to tell me I’m a terrible parent 😂. I completely respect that people make different choices for their children. Please just be kind.

My DC is 1 and has had their previous vaccinations, but I’m now starting to feel quite hesitant about going ahead with the next ones. I’m feeling a bit conflicted and I’m trying to get as much information as I can before making any decisions.

I think some of this probably comes from my own experiences with vaccines. Growing up, I had some vaccinations delayed because my parents weren’t sure about some of the newer ones that were being introduced at the time. As an adult I’ve also chosen not to have the Covid or flu vaccines. When I’m ill myself I’m quick to grab natural remedies like Ginger drink , tumeric ect ect to avoid taking medication where it can be avoided. Obviously those were my own decisions and I know everyone’s circumstances are different, but I think those experiences have probably contributed to how I’m feeling now that I’m having to make these decisions for my own child.

What I’m actually hoping for is to hear from people who have chosen not to vaccinate and how to make this decision with the right information in relation to life without vaccines.
As well as people who try and avoid the likes of calpol and lemsips and paracetamols ect and focus more on herbal remedies.

• Where have you got your information from?
• How have you gone about understanding the risks of the illnesses themselves?
• If your child has become ill with something they weren’t vaccinated against, what was your experience and what did you do?
• Are there particular symptoms/signs you’d look out for that would mean getting medical help?
• where can I learn about natural remedies for illnesses for children

I’d also be interested to hear if anyone has spoken to their GP/health visitor or another healthcare professional about not vaccinating and whether you found that useful or felt judged.

I’m genuinely just trying to educate myself and work out what I’m comfortable with, rather than looking for people to agree with me. I’d really appreciate hearing people’s experiences, particularly from those who have been through the same thought process.

Thanks 😊

My parents are in their 80s so they weren’t vaccinated against measles, mumps and whooping cough because those vaccinations didn’t exist.

They got measles, mumps and whooping cough. Fortunately with no complications (measles can make a child blind or even kill them) but my dad in particular remembers being very ill in bed with measles for a good couple of weeks.

It’s your choice of course, but it won’t be you that is ill, it will be your child.

There are not herbal remedies - you can read about how vaccines work. If herbal remedies had worked, child mortality wouldn’t have been sky-high pre-modern medicine. Most families lost a child back then, it was heartbreaking.

There are no natural antidotes to the plethora of horrendous diseases childhood vaccines protect against. You've fallen down some rabbit hole of antivaxer bullshit on the internet and need to wake up.

Protect your child. Vaccinate them. Vaccines boost your child's immune system against these diseases without giving them the disease itself. They also contribute to herd immunity, which protects the wider population too.

Your post reads like conspiracy theorist claptrap to be honest.

If you’re trying to “educate” yourself I suggest you read about what can happen to children who catch measles. And perhaps read actual scientific literature, rather than codswallop.

I know people who have gone private for childhood vaccinations so they can space out the vaccine schedule. They have concerns about the impact of ingredients in vaccines and fhe frequency of vaccinations for babies. But their children will still be fully vaccinated just on a different schedule.

On the other hand I also live in an area where vaccine uptake generally is low. It means that the nursery once had measles cases which was very concerning. I think it’s part of the reason why they’ve brought full MMR vaccination forwards to 18 months rather than preschool age. The low vaccine update here isn’t woo alternative medicine parents, it’s people who are from different cultures.

My DP’s didn’t vaccinate me against Measles because it wasn’t part of the national program then.

I did catch Measles and it has left me with lifelong eyesight problems.

I caught influenza in my 20’s as a fit adult, developed complications and almost died of pneumonia. Was in Hosputal on and off for 2 months and had 6 months off work. Now have scarring and breathing difficulties.

I’m interested to know which herbal treatments could have helped or prevented those conditions?

I taught a child who died from measels some years ago. I still think of them. I still feel so sorry for the parents. They didn't believe in the vaccine.

Believing that herbs can protect you from serious childhood diseases is frankly terrifying. Giving your child vaccinations gives them the best chance of surviving to adulthood. If plants provided the protection we needed we would already be doing this.

You are a terrible parent to not vaccinate your child. These illnesses are serious and vaccinations save lives.

My father’s brother died of polio at the age of 3.

A family member is deaf from catching measles before vaccination.

A cousin has severe learning disabilities, poor eyesight and hearing because his unvaccinated mother caught rubella while he was in utero.

If your ‘research’ tells you anything other than to be thankful that these are all vaccine-preventable and that you are incredibly lucky to live in a time and place where you can stop this happening to your children at no cost to you, then you are either an idiot or a conspiracy theorist.

If you're planning a life without vaccines I'd recommend growing your own organic herbs and whole foods on a deserted island that has a source of clean running water where you can set up a homestead.

By entirely avoiding all other people you'd significantly reduce your chances of catching one of the many potentially life-changing or fatal diseases that vaccines will help protect you against.

Personally I do everything in my power to protect my children from harm which includes basic stuff like making them wear seatbelts in the car, not dangling them over cliffs and ensuring they had vaccines for diseases which we had nearly eradicated decades ago but are now back due to people believing bollocks they read on the Internet rather than actual medical evidence.

IMO vaccinations for children should be compulsory.
OP, if your child does get ill are you prepared to fund its care yourself, including for any lifelong condition caused by the illness? Or would you be happy to revert back to the NHS to pick up the cost of the consequences of your decision?

You can quite easily look up the symptoms, side effects and complications of the diseases commonly vaccinated against on the NHS website, for example measles:
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/measles/

The NICE website always has good information:
https://cks.nice.org.uk/topics/measles/background-information/complications/

I would look at the statistics and chances of complications, then weigh up whether you're willing to put your child in this position of risk. There may be herbal remedies for some of the symptoms (e.g rashes) but if there are any complications you'd be looking at a hospital visit. How would you feel if your child ended up in hospital or had a life-long condition that you could have prevented?

Can you explain why you feel hesitant about vaccines?

Loving parents do anything in their power to protect their children from illness, lifelong disability caused by a complication of those illnesses, and death.

Therefore they vaccinate their children.

Talk to your doctor, they’re educated on this stuff. Unlike the people who write the stuff you land on when you Google “alternatives to vaccines”.

Why don’t you vaccinate and then give herbal remedies on the side?

If alternative therapies worked they’d be mainstream.

Vaccinate your child so they won’t die.

Autism is genetic.

OP, like you I didn't have any covid vaccines and I never have a flu jab. I don't have any strong feeling about other people having them, they just aren't for me.

However, my children received all their standard vaccinations and we also paid for them to have the BCG. We also vaccinate when going abroad for things like typhoid etc

There really is no herbal alternative against things like rubella, measles, TB, meningitis, HPV etc.

I was also fully vaccinated as a child (as much as children were in the 1970/80s)

My brother is deaf in 1 ear due to mumps.
Measles can reset your whole immune system making you no longer immune to things you were before.

These are two entirely separate things.

Vaccinations are for very serious illnesses from which children can die or suffer lifelong consequences. There is no natural option or solution to manage this.

Lots of people use natural remedies for minor, every day ailments and that's perfectly reasonable. There are great books on the properties of herbs and other options and we all have folklore passed down through generations - I swear by a hot pack on the chest for a bad cough for example or using tea tree oil and lavender in the bath to help prevent or manage minor skin infections. Or I use saline sprays and wash to clean my sinuses and help prevent sinus infections.

And in many cases, these natural remedies help to prevent things get worse. Great, that's a win. But sometimes, it doesn't work, and then there's an actual chest infection or sinus or throat infection to deal with or an infected cut, and then, of course, I'm down the doctor asking for actual medicine. And when I get a mammogram result that tells me there's a concern about a shadow on my breast, I'll be getting actual medicine not taking a tincture.

Vaccines are against life threatening contagious illnesses that cannot be cured with 'ginger drink ect ect'.

So if you don't want to catch and spread an illness of that nature then you should get vaccinated.

And children can't consent to being unvaccinated which as you say is a choice made by an adult. And isn't based on medical evidence.

Complete agree

In Nz if a child is not immunised and there is a outbreak of illness they are stood down
Besides negecting your childs rights can you take all the time off to be there for them.

@BridalFeastofBethChadruharazzeb
How strange that the OP hasn’t come back to the thread.
Think about the risks of polio, measles, rubella, diphtheria and meningitis (and others).
I think younger people weren’t around to see the devastation these childhood diseases cause. Damage to the brain, sight, lungs,hearing and heart, amputation of limbs, and even death.
I remember having measles around age 5 and never felt so ill in my life (now in my early 60s). I spent 3 weeks in a darkened room because light hurt my eyes. No measles injections then.

My best friend at school was vaccinated i think, but for other issues her parents opted for herbal remedies. Unfortunately this meant that a minor and easily treated eye problem ended up much worse than it slid have doune, and she needed surgery as a result. Ther is a place for herbal remedies, but you really need to understand the limitations of them. As others have said they will do nothing to protect your children from a whole range of serious but preventable diseases.