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Teenagers

Parenting teenagers has its ups and downs. Get advice from Mumsnetters here.

Original poster

HPV vaccine, don't know what to do!

203 replies

Busymummy50 · 23/03/2021 23:47

Before a few days ago, only knew hpv vaccine was for girls. 13 year old brought home a consent letter last Friday. Vaccination takes place 29th at school.

Initially I thought it was a good idea. I had a smear which came back with hpv found and then had a biopsy years ago. Luckily I was ok and my immune system fought it off. So I knew all about it.

Then I looked into possible side effects and asked other parents (as boys have only been offer this since 2018, so not long). Friends sons have already had it and my son's friends at school are going to have it. But the more I've researched, the more serious side effects I'm finding. I know these have not been proven but I cannot help to worry.

I have consented but having second thoughts. My partner on the other hand is happy for the vaccine to go ahead despite my findings but is also happy is our son doesn't have the vaccine as most of the time our bodies would fight it off.

I just don't know what to do! Has anyone's child had it and had side effects or chosen not to have it and why? Does anyone have more information on these serious side effects?

OP posts:
TJ17 · 25/03/2021 10:11

The reason your child is probably terrified of needles is because of the huge fuss you're making over this.

With all due respect it's not your place to "research" Google conspiracy theories that's the whole point of the scientists behind the vaccines who have studied, created and trialled these vaccines for years...

Again...you will NOT find more information online than what they have 🙄

Original poster
Busymummy50 · 25/03/2021 10:13

@FamilyOfAliens

If you think having a fear of needles is a valid reason for refusing a potentially life-saving vaccination, will he be telling his friends at school that’s the reason?

I’m guessing not.

No that would not be the reason to refuse the vaccine. Was just saying what my son said. If he has the vaccine and was scared to do it at school then I have already spoke to the immunisation team who said to let them know and they could sort something out.
OP posts:
Original poster
Busymummy50 · 25/03/2021 10:19

@TJ17

The reason your child is probably terrified of needles is because of the huge fuss you're making over this.

With all due respect it's not your place to "research" Google conspiracy theories that's the whole point of the scientists behind the vaccines who have studied, created and trialled these vaccines for years...

Again...you will NOT find more information online than what they have 🙄

Yes I agree. They are the experts, not me. When you hear other parents mention serious side effects, it's natural for a parent to worry. Then if we look into the past, and look at Mercks painkiller Vioxx, which was given to so many people but eventually taken off the market...
OP posts:
ExponentiallyDepleted · 25/03/2021 10:19

I read Danny Baker's account of his treatment and the long term affects of mouth and throat cancer. If I had any doubts at all about my DS having this vaccination it removed them.

whatswithtodaytoday · 25/03/2021 10:20

If you believed the MMR was a risk despite the absolute facts of evidence that show it isn't, it suggests your ability in interpret scientific data is not particularly good.

All medicines (vaccines, tablets, everything) carry a very tiny risk. This is because they contain active ingredients, which is how they work. If they didn't contain active ingredients they wouldn't work. Nothing is licensed unless the risk of harm is massively less than the risk of the disease itself.

Original poster
Busymummy50 · 25/03/2021 10:22

I have not made any fuss in front of my son. I had my first blood test at age 7,fainted straight after. At 9, I had another one, fainted again. My parents gave me every vaccination offered as a child without any fuss. I now have to pay down to have blood tests or I would faint. Even during a smear test, I feel a bit nauseous. I have never shown my children any of my weaknesses. My son has had a blood test when younger and vaccinations and have always been so brave, he'll sit there and watch it and be fine. As he's got older, at the last blood test, he said he felt a bit dizzy afterwards. Now he hates them! Nothing I did, made him trhis way.

OP posts:
zeroxoxo · 25/03/2021 10:27

Get it get it get it. I had it and had no side effects. This will protect her against cervical cancer, which can affect women as young as their 20s. It will also help protect her against genital warts.

To me, there is no arguing against those benefits.

Blimeyoreilly2020 · 25/03/2021 10:27

My son had this vaccine recently. No side affects at all. As someone who has had HPV & then a lletz incision to remove the dodgy cells I think it is so important to get done. Do it for your son and those he has future relationships with.

FamilyOfAliens · 25/03/2021 10:30

@Busymummy50

TJ17 I first looked on NHS website. It mentions a list if syndromes etc and that there is no link between the HPV vaccine and these. So that prompted me to look up those syndromes and HPV vaccine. Then I see that Japan has suspended this vaccine since 2014 and lots going on in Ireland too with parents of many girls saying they fell seriously ill after the vaccine. Then I see info about a boy called colton berret in America and similar other cases. I was also told of a group called AVHID in the uk and again, similar stories of kids having the vaccine and develiping chronic fatigue syndrome and more. Although none have which been proven to be caused by HPV, it just makes me scared and worried. I had the HPV virus years ago shown on a smear test and had a biopsy, luckily all was ok and I was clear of HPV the following smear. It was a scary time. So I understand that it is good to have the vaccine. There are some vaccines you hear not much of and some like this one and MMR that you do. Our children have been vaccinated all up to date so far so I am not against vaccines.
Going back to this post of yours - what did you mean by “syndromes”?

If you meant symptoms, it sounds like you’re not even sure of the correct language to use, never mind being able to interpret scientific studies with any degree of understanding.

Original poster
Busymummy50 · 25/03/2021 10:47

@ExponentiallyDepleted

I read Danny Baker's account of his treatment and the long term affects of mouth and throat cancer. If I had any doubts at all about my DS having this vaccination it removed them.
Thank you, I will read it.
OP posts:
Original poster
Busymummy50 · 25/03/2021 10:52

@whatswithtodaytoday

If you believed the MMR was a risk despite the absolute facts of evidence that show it isn't, it suggests your ability in interpret scientific data is not particularly good.

All medicines (vaccines, tablets, everything) carry a very tiny risk. This is because they contain active ingredients, which is how they work. If they didn't contain active ingredients they wouldn't work. Nothing is licensed unless the risk of harm is massively less than the risk of the disease itself.

I didn't 'believe' the MMR was a risk and nor am I 'believing' hpv is bad. As a parent, I will not just read the leaflet give it to my son straight away. There is nothing wrong with being cautious and seeking more advice and info before making an 'informed' decision. Hearing stories about the MMR and reading more about it does not mean believing it is a risk. There are risks with everything we do in life and I like to spend time to make decisions carefully. Being someone who used to make lots of decision quickly and then making mistakes, it has taught me to think about consequences more.
OP posts:
Original poster
Busymummy50 · 25/03/2021 10:53

@Blimeyoreilly2020

My son had this vaccine recently. No side affects at all. As someone who has had HPV & then a lletz incision to remove the dodgy cells I think it is so important to get done. Do it for your son and those he has future relationships with.
I had hpv too years ago. Thank you for sharing information with me.
OP posts:
Original poster
Busymummy50 · 25/03/2021 11:10

FamilyOfAliens, so going back to your comment of using the correct language, as a matter of fact, I DID mean syndromes and below is a list of them.

Chronic fatigue syndrome
Complex regional pain syndrome
Postural tachycardia syndrome
Guillain-Barre syndrome.

I am not a doctor or a nurse or a scientist. I don't know everything about the vaccine and what I have heard if it's true or not. Which as a cautious parent, that's why I am here to speak with other parents for advice and support. If I knew, i wouldn't be asking on here.

OP posts:
CausingChaos2 · 25/03/2021 11:15

I had the vaccine (female) and am so glad.

My Dad developed HPV throat cancer and the suffering he experienced during treatment was immense. HPV throat cancer does have good curative rates but that doesn’t take away the fear of living with a cancer diagnosis and the constant anxiety of it returning. My Dad has been left with a permanently dry mouth and very altered diet. Still, we are lucky that he survived.

Original poster
Busymummy50 · 25/03/2021 11:25

@CausingChaos2

I had the vaccine (female) and am so glad.

My Dad developed HPV throat cancer and the suffering he experienced during treatment was immense. HPV throat cancer does have good curative rates but that doesn’t take away the fear of living with a cancer diagnosis and the constant anxiety of it returning. My Dad has been left with a permanently dry mouth and very altered diet. Still, we are lucky that he survived.

Thank you for sharing your story. So sorry your dad went through this.
OP posts:
TJ17 · 25/03/2021 11:44

And how many mums have you heard side effects from compared to the many many horror stories of HPV in this post?

And how credible are your sources. As in has one mum said in the playground that the vaccine gave her child autism because they are autistic? Or were these so called side effects proven by real doctors?

Original poster
Busymummy50 · 25/03/2021 12:20

@TJ17

And how many mums have you heard side effects from compared to the many many horror stories of HPV in this post?

And how credible are your sources. As in has one mum said in the playground that the vaccine gave her child autism because they are autistic? Or were these so called side effects proven by real doctors?

I have only just learned that the vaccine is now given to boys too. Last Friday in fact. I have spoken to mum's that I know but that's not many. So I have enquired here. No I have not spoken to anyone who has told me the vaccine has given their children serious side effects. If you hear something bad about something you're about to do, it's quite understandable to a bit cautious. It doesn't mean not to do it at all.
OP posts:
Runway · 25/03/2021 12:46

You are not making an ‘informed decision’ though. That’s what health experts and scientists have done for you because you’re not qualified or able to.

You’re just blundering around reading dodgy internet sites and asking random people on Mumsnet for advice.....

Do you ever wonder why it’s ‘normal’ people that have all these ‘answers’ and ‘truths’ and create websites about the dangers of vaccines? Health experts, intellectuals, scientists aren’t raising these concerns. Why do you think you or Brenda from Utah know more? I find it baffling

GoWalkabout · 25/03/2021 12:53

All risks are not equal. The risks you are worrying about are less likely than or unproven compared to the disease. That's why the vaccine has been rolled out.

Bellyups · 25/03/2021 13:07

I would consent

Original poster
Busymummy50 · 25/03/2021 13:12

Wow, it's been an eye opener. A mother who is concerned and wanted support from here gets made to feel like she's stupid and over worrying. I have also asked other parents from other sites and have not been made to feel the way i do on here. Most people have been helpful so thank you to those who have been kind and informative. Just to let those who do not understand know, i have not denied consent for my son to have this vaccine. I have not stated that undesirable things I have seen on the internet is correct. I only came onto mumsnet to ask if any one has a child who did have side effects and to share my concerns of what I had read and that it made me feel worried. Some people have been kind enough to reassure me so thank you. There are many mums out there that may feel the way I do right now, just because decisions for some of us are made quicker and easier and that some of us may read into things a bit more does not makes us stupid. Not every bit of media we read or hear is correct. You can't always trust even the sources we feel we should trust. If you look into past drugs, there has been drugs taken off the market after years of public use which were deemed originally safe.

OP posts:
NannyR · 25/03/2021 13:25

There is a very good podcast called This Podcast Will Kill You and they had an episode all about HPV about two weeks ago - very interesting and easy to listen to. Might be worth having a listen.

Original poster
Busymummy50 · 25/03/2021 13:44

@NannyR

There is a very good podcast called This Podcast Will Kill You and they had an episode all about HPV about two weeks ago - very interesting and easy to listen to. Might be worth having a listen.
Thank you. I will find it and listen to it.
OP posts:
EarringsandLipstick · 25/03/2021 14:16

It's just I saw this www.regret.iee*
That site was last updated in 2018. Most of the information is really out of date (2015 in most cases)

No-one in my daughter's year had any issues. I don't know a single person who has had issues.