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CallaFirestormBW -> RE: Vaccination of Children. (11/7/2009 9:30:58 PM)
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Because of congenital health issues discovered when we had my oldest vaccinated on schedule (he had severe neurological reactions to the DPT vaccine, including seizures, high-pitched incessant screaming, and dysphasia), his siblings were not vaccinated until they were ready for grade school. While my oldest had life-long neurological issues (including dysphasia, dyslexia, and intermittent seizures until he was 12, which -did- eventually go away), the younger two had no ill effects from their immunization. All three children were 100% breastfed, but I also have problems with vaccines, and am allergic to many of them and nearly died from the test dose for smallpox (I was in the last year that the vaccination was given in the US).
My recommendation to people who ask... Unless one has philosophical, medical, or religious reasons for not vaccinating, I would consider holding off on vaccinating until the children are over 2 years old, and preferentially until they are nearing school age. While this will mean some 'catching up', the child's own immune system is active and typically healthy at this age, and most of the rapid growth of neurological tissue (both central and peripheral) has slowed down a good bit.
If I didn't -have- to vaccinate my kids, I wouldn't have, knowing our family's allergy and vaccination history, but it is difficult to deal with the complications of choosing not to vaccinate in the United States, and for most families without a clear medical or philosophical reason, isn't sustainable due to the complications with childcare, schooling, etc.
One thing that it is important to know is that, in choosing not to vaccinate, one heavily limits the number of day-care centers, childcare facilities, and schools that will accept one's child in attendance (which is a real issue when all the adults are working and childcare is needed for the kids!)-- almost every private school requires full immunization without dispensation, and the public schools accept dispensations, but make life miserable if one chooses to use it unless for a clear medical reason -- anything else subjects the family to the scrutiny of CPS, the school nurse, the school counselor and anyone else who wants to nose around in one's business, in the interests of compelling participation in "the process". For most families, it is a real issue, and has to be considered among the many battles that will be fought when other lifestyle alternatives are in the mix.
For us, I explained to the various authorities, doctors, case workers, etc., that I wasn't denying my kids vaccination, but after what their brother had gone through, we'd decided to wait until their immune and neurological systems were better developed. I gave them the plan we'd worked out with their pediatric specialist, and reassured them that I wasn't bucking the system -- just striving for an improved outcome. Because I had one child who had had a verified adverse reaction, they pretty much left us alone until the kids hit kindergarten age, and then started the pressure to immunize. By that time, my ex had custody (by mutual agreement), and he just wasn't a fighter... so he caved right away and took the kids and started getting them their shots, which they tolerated extremely well, with the exception of the MMR, which actually evoked rubella in my youngest -- but he recovered without incident.
DC
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