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Just so people don't think I started the thread yesterday to start a heated debate so I am apologizing for doing that and to address answers some people were asking me. I am posting because the thread of closed and I wanted to let everyone know that I did take the time read what everyone had to say and the links that were provided.

 

My son has an unknown allergy at this time that caused his first reaction after he had his 15month shots. We know the shots caused the reaction because the hives were the worse at spots where the immunization was injected and spread outwards all over his body, face and caused his throat to almost close shut and the hives made his eyes swell shut. I have to wait until he is 5 to do the full allergy test.

 

We know 100% that he is allergic to penacillian (hope I spelt that correctly)..it almost killed him after getting a prescription at 2years old so MY PEDIATRICIAN (not me) that holds off on all vaccinations if they contain any similar or exact pathegians or "ingrediants" that panacillian does until we can do the full allgery test in January 2015 find out exactly what he is allergic too, I have kept my son away from egg products since he was 15months just in case as well. I am not anti-vacc nor do I choose to not get my son certain vaccinations because I dont care if it can harm others if he is not... I do it to to make sure I am not pumping something into my son that could potential kill him as soon as it is injected into his body.

 

I just wanted others opinions as my boyfriend doesnt understand the whole "getting an exemption just in case if its mandatory" because he is very pro-vacc and I wanted to see if he was right and I was being too cautions and he didnt get why I got mad that they said it was mandatory, when I think I should have a right to choose what gets put into my sons body.

 

I did not mean to start a debate. Thank you to everything that responded and the links they provided (I did read a few articles). For now my son won't be getting either until my doctor confirms that they are both safe for my son.

 

Thank you again!

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Having a severe reaction like that of course I would double, triple and quadruple check for any ingredients that could trigger such a reaction. I understand your hesitancy and can totally understand considering considering an exemption, a medical one. You don't need a personal one after that incident.

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Good for you for trusting your doctor!

 

Your son's allergy sounds really terrible to work out with your doctor what vaxs he should get and which ones to avoid.

 

EDIT: I'm sure you have dones tons for research but thought I would post this anyway. At the very bottom is a general list of the vaxs that contain egg products: link removed

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No worries about the thread. I'm glad you're trusting your doctor and being careful. Your doctor can work with you and look at his history of reactions to previous vaccinations (and the lot #s are almost always recorded, so you can always look up later exactly what was in the vaccine) and make a solid, informed choice about what vaccines to give. There is no "one size fits all" answer in rare cases when severe allergic reactions occur.

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As long as you are following medical advice of a doctor who knows your son and his medical history, you are doing exactly the right thing for your son!

 

Actually, it's cases like yours that make vaccination for the rest of us so important. Your son legitimately shouldn't be vaccinated at this point for his own safety, so you need to rely on other parents' decision to vaccinate their children to make sure there is not an outbreak that will endanger your son.

 

Anyway, I don't think you need to apologize for the thread. It remained quite civil and discussed important issues.

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I'm really sorry your son had those reactions and I fully agree in your taking full caution before vaccinating your son given his particular situation. I would hope that even the most "pro-vaccine" individuals would understand your concerns. Certainly your doctor does!

 

I don't think the school meant it was mandatory in all cases - any time I have seen anything like this that is "mandatory" there always are exceptions. Sounds like your son falls into a medical exemption for now.

 

Best of luck and for what it's worth you are making a great decision and being a great mom to your son. Your boyfriend is not his father (if I read this right) nor is he a medical expert.

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As long as you are following medical advice of a doctor who knows your son and his medical history, you are doing exactly the right thing for your son!

 

Actually, it's cases like yours that make vaccination for the rest of us so important. Your son legitimately shouldn't be vaccinated at this point for his own safety, so you need to rely on other parents' decision to vaccinate their children to make sure there is not an outbreak that will endanger your son.

 

Anyway, I don't think you need to apologize for the thread. It remained quite civil and discussed important issues.

 

Completely agree! It's one thing when someone has a very strong allergy to a vaccine and another one entirely when parents don't vaccinate because they read something off a random website.

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OP, I'm glad you derived some benefit from the thread.

 

I think people forget that respectful debate, especially over hot topics, is a HEALTHY human activity. And actually, this subject IS a controversial one, not just among laypersons, but in the scientific and medical communities.

 

Just to underscore my own view, it's really about getting information from all sides so that you can make the best decision, rather than having one dictated to you. That's not an "anti-vax" position, that's a "pro-question/pro-more info" position. None of the resources I directed you to are pro/anti -- they are about balanced and full information (which they clearly state in their mission statement, as I posted).

 

I know that my experience and perspective as a poster are different from most. I come from a family of doctors and scientists, and I have also had a personal battle with a disabling medical disorder that is not well-understood. The only up side of it being the realization of how much more complex human physiology is than we even imagine. This being the case, I've seen the weaknesses and failings of the medical establishment to understand a lot of nuances and processes that have yet to be better understood (and in the process, doing damage and harm). I've seen from the inside how much ignorance and assumption abounds in the clinical practice of medicine, as well as the limitations of research. I'm not telling you not to trust your doctor, I'm saying, do your own research and work with your doctor so that you're both on the same page, and he can answer to any concerns that come up in your own self-education. This is an important bond of trust and mutual respect. I myself don't defer to doctors or worship them just for being doctors, I judge them based on how well educated they are and are willing to be, and how well they see patients as individuals. Sounds like your doctor is of that caliber. As a patient advocate, I think you're doing the right thing to ask the questions and do the research as you are. (And for the record, I did not express a blanket anti-vax position myself.)

 

I know the interviewer in the following video was discredited in the last thread, but I find this video very sound and relevant, fair and balanced. This is an interview with one of the pediatricians on the NVIC site (from their board of doctors). It's a bit longish (broken into sections), but jam-packed with excellent quality dialogue, and scientific scrutiny:

 

link removed

 

It's a worthy dialogue, and it's worth remembering that today's scientific wisdom is continually being re-examined, if it's true science. Sometimes that can be slow, due to other factors.

 

Good luck.

 

P.S. That video link is on the pediatrician's website, and you can check out his bio for yourself there, for his credentials.

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Once again, ToV I RESPECTFULLY (and I really do mean that) ask you you post some recent, per-reviewed, studies that support your prospective. From what I have seen every doctor that comes out against vaccines (outside of cases such as the OP's son who has an egg allergy) has been discredited (Dr. Wakefield being the prime example). I would be very interested in any recent, relevent, and reviewed studies that you have to offer against vaccines.

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Moontiger: The video's host, a board-certified pediatrician, can do that so that I don't have to spend time looking for journal articles I don't have time or access to link. The host also explains why studies like that are hard to come by.

 

It's a bit of a time commitment to listen to the whole thing, as it's in about 11 parts, each under 10 minutes long. But for those who are interested, and involved in public health (which I am), and especially for concerned parents, it touches on just about every aspect we've covered here, and recent, peer-reviewed studies are cited along the way. (And I'll add, without committing the time, I think one would be making response comments in a vacuum.)

 

And yes, all the materials and comments I've submitted so far are about greater transparency, research, caution, discussion, investigation, not "for/against". I don't know how many times I have to say that the goal is for parents to make informed decisions on this scientifically thorny/murky issue, but that can't be done with the one-sided conversation that dominates. I agree with the OP that parents should not be forced to medicate their child in certain ways, and the argument for that should be provided. That's what these sources are about, as mentioned before and as expressed in their literature. I hope people can fairly make that distinction and respond accordingly.

 

The video is 100% educational and scientific discussion, 0% spin.

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