JinJer 47: Sparking J-O-Y

[Timetostoplurking]

I have a 23 year old severely autistic son.  When he was diagnosed (at age 2) I drove myself crazy trying to figure out what I did to cause this.  I read everything I could find on autism causes and theories.  Of course, vaccinations being a popular scapegoat.  We even participated in a few university studies.  All of my research pointed to nothing.  It wasn’t my fault.  He is who he is, and we love him for it.  In the middle of this info quest, I got pregnant with my daughter.  My pediatrician and I decided to put her on a slightly longer vaccine schedule, just to be safe.   It involved a few more visits and a few more pokes but since she was in a family of fully vaccinated people and with a stay at home mom, I felt that she was safe.  So...thank you to all who vaccinate your kids, it allowed me to rest easy with a different schedule for my daughter.

note: If I had a baby now, I would go ahead with the regular schedule for vaccines.  This was 20+ years ago after all and autism was a bit more unknown.  

[karen77]

On 2/3/2019 at 5:58 PM, Carm_88 said:

Have you seen the damage that polio does? I have. My uncle had polio in the 50s before the vaccine was available. He's disabled and he always will be. You know what? He's lucky because he can breathe, he is not dead. The upside of polio is that he is disabled. People wanted to protect their children may kill them. My mother is deaf because her mother had measles while she was pregnant with my Mom. There were so many deaf and hard of hearing kids at that time period that there was a special school set up for them, all because of measles. Not vaccinating your children can kill them or kill someone who would love to be vaccinated but can't. 

https://www.iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/woman-who-developed-condition-after-having-a-vaccine-urges-others-to-get-vaccinated/

Life changed due to vaccines, still wants people to get vaccinated! 

Late to the party, but my uncle died from Polio in the 40's.. in fact I'm pretty sure that is why my mom is here (she was born 3 years later). ANd you can bet that she got  her polio vaccine as soon as it came out!

[zygote373]

10 hours ago, HurricaneBells said:

• We got vaccinated at school once we were of age (Australia). Do they do this in other countries?

We keep medical stuff out of schools for the most part in the US. They do sometimes do hearing/vision/scoliosis tests to make sure kids aren't falling through the cracks, but no treatments or procedures. They just tell the parents to follow up with a doctor.

Most states do require kids to get certain vaccines from the doctor before they can enroll in school. But a lot of anti-vaxxers have lobbied for personal exemptions. So if you say you don't want to vaccinate for personal reasons, they'll waive the requirement. There also seems to be an uptick in homeschooling. It used to mostly be really conservatives families, but it seems anecdotally that people are opting for it for more hippie reasons. Down with the system, etc. So those kids wouldn't have to be vaccinated either.

[Eponine]

1 hour ago, karen77 said:

Late to the party, but my uncle died from Polio in the 40's.. in fact I'm pretty sure that is why my mom is here (she was born 3 years later). ANd you can bet that she got  her polio vaccine as soon as it came out!

My family has the same story - my great-grandparents had three and were done, but their oldest died from polio. This apparently sent them into a bit of a crisis and changed their outlook...after his death they ended up having another 5 one after each other!

[Cat Damon]

1 hour ago, zygote373 said:

We keep medical stuff out of schools for the most part in the US. They do sometimes do hearing/vision/scoliosis tests to make sure kids aren't falling through the cracks, but no treatments or procedures. They just tell the parents to follow up with a doctor.

I went to school in the Midwest in the 90s and the only medical tests/ procedures we ever had at school were those three tests. I'm not sure how it is now but we never would have had vaccinations- my grade school or high school didn't even have a nurse, we just had a room with a cot in it behind the receptionist's office in case someone got sick and had to wait to get picked up.

[Sullie06]

I was born in 1983, so I'm almost 36, and I never had Chicken Pox. I was exposed when my sister got it in the late 80s and again when my brother had it in the mid 90's so my mom and pediatrician, at the time, assumed I had been exposed and must be carrying the antibodies so I was fine. When I told my OBGYN  that I never had chicken pox when pregnant with my first, she was not happy to hear that. She did a blood test of some sort and I do not carry the antibodies, which means as a grown ass woman I can now get it and she said it would be very serious for me to get it at this point in my life. Both of my children were vaccinated (yay herd immunity) as soon as possible and I really hope they don't get it because I will literally leave them to my husband and go hide. 

[Kailash]

1 hour ago, Sullie06 said:

I was born in 1983, so I'm almost 36, and I never had Chicken Pox. I was exposed when my sister got it in the late 80s and again when my brother had it in the mid 90's so my mom and pediatrician, at the time, assumed I had been exposed and must be carrying the antibodies so I was fine. When I told my OBGYN  that I never had chicken pox when pregnant with my first, she was not happy to hear that. She did a blood test of some sort and I do not carry the antibodies, which means as a grown ass woman I can now get it and she said it would be very serious for me to get it at this point in my life. Both of my children were vaccinated (yay herd immunity) as soon as possible and I really hope they don't get it because I will literally leave them to my husband and go hide. 

Can’t you get the vaccine now? It would be worth it to prevent the possibility of shingles, imo.

[Don'tlikekoolaid]

I don’t understand not getting a polio vaccination!  Ever seen an iron lung?

Spoiler

 

[Carm_88]

14 hours ago, HurricaneBells said:

• We got vaccinated at school once we were of age (Australia). Do they do this in other countries?

Yes, they do in Canada. I was vaccinated pretty much every year I was in school. The forms would be sent home to our parents and then we would have a period off as the teacher/the public health nurse watched us for adverse effects. 

That may be a universal health care thing. 

[welshdoll]

Longtime lurker, member for awhile, this is my first post. I get very upset when parents don't vaccinate their children. I think (and this is SO going to get me down voted) I think that children who are not vaccinated should not be allowed to attend public schools. They can find private schools or homeschooling. *That is, of course, just my opinion, after one of my friends lost her child from diphtheria, so this topic is always a hot button for me, and I don't consider myself unbiased or neutral about it.*

One of my nephews has autism, and his parents chose to vaccinate their younger son anyway because they didn't want him to get severely ill (or die) or to carry germs to other kids. And a lot of people had been listening to Jenny McCarthy- including some in their support group, who were not vaccinating their younger kids, and these people threw a lot of shade at my sister-in-law and her husband. They left the support group and *shocker* their younger son didn't turn up autistic! IIRC, Jenny McCrazy has claimed that her son's autism was "cured", so...

Thanks to you all for educating  me about fundies, posting questions that have made me think (and continue to do so), while keeping a good sense of humor. 

 

[Palimpsest]

16 minutes ago, welshdoll said:

Thanks to you all for educating  me about fundies, posting questions that have made me think (and continue to do so), while keeping a good sense of humor. 

to Free Jinger.  And an excellent first post and location.    

 

[welshdoll]

Thank you, @Palimpsest! The title of the thread being so perfectly punny that I couldn't resist

[Palimpsest]

@welshdoll, I think you are going to fit right in here!

[AliceInFundyland]

The measles outbreak has crossed the bridge. 

https://www.oregonlive.com/health/2019/01/washington-measles-outbreak-spreads-to-oregon-officials-say.html

[BachelorToTheRapture]

You guys have motivated me to check that all my vaccines are done. My mom is anti-vax so I got them piecemeal as an adult when I could afford them (and 1-2 days off work after, I get a low fever and am absolutely exhausted afterwards) and I'm not 100% sure they're all there, but i can now work from home if needed and have great insurance (and a financial cushion), so it's time to be sure. 

Thanks!

[Georgiana]

46 minutes ago, welshdoll said:

Longtime lurker, member for awhile, this is my first post. I get very upset when parents don't vaccinate their children. I think (and this is SO going to get me down voted) I think that children who are not vaccinated should not be allowed to attend public schools. They can find private schools or homeschooling. *That is, of course, just my opinion, after one of my friends lost her child from diphtheria, so this topic is always a hot button for me, and I don't consider myself unbiased or neutral about it.*

One of my nephews has autism, and his parents chose to vaccinate their younger son anyway because they didn't want him to get severely ill (or die) or to carry germs to other kids. And a lot of people had been listening to Jenny McCarthy- including some in their support group, who were not vaccinating their younger kids, and these people threw a lot of shade at my sister-in-law and her husband. They left the support group and *shocker* their younger son didn't turn up autistic! IIRC, Jenny McCrazy has claimed that her son's autism was "cured", so...

Thanks to you all for educating  me about fundies, posting questions that have made me think (and continue to do so), while keeping a good sense of humor. 

 

My state has legislation up to take away most vaccine exemptions, and I am in full support.  I think that if you want to live in a society, you must follow the rules of that society ESPECIALLY when those rules are there to directly improve the health and safety of ALL members of that society.  We trade individual liberties all the time for our access to public resources and the benefits of living in a community.

I see no reason why agreeing to vaccinate your children should not be one of those trades.  

[Satan'sFortress]

17 hours ago, HurricaneBells said:

• We got vaccinated at school once we were of age (Australia). Do they do this in other countries?

The only time I remember this in my state (USA) was about a decade ago when there was a swine flu outbreak here.  Vaccines were offered at our elementary school & I went to go help the kids in line & hand out stickers or something like that.  There were tons of kids getting the vaccine that day. 

[spatulahandeddancer]

3 hours ago, welshdoll said:

Longtime lurker, member for awhile, this is my first post. I get very upset when parents don't vaccinate their children. I think (and this is SO going to get me down voted) I think that children who are not vaccinated should not be allowed to attend public schools. They can find private schools or homeschooling.

Welcome! Not even remotely going to downvote you, I 100% agree. Frankly, I wouldn’t complain if children who aren’t vaccinated (though I will add the caveat that children who physically cannot be vaccinated/are immunocomprimised should be allowed) shouldn’t be allowed at private schools either. I’ve seen a few pictures of pediatrician offices that turn away patients if the parents refuse to vaccinate, which I think makes a ton of sense. 

[JDuggs]

4 hours ago, Kailash said:

Can’t you get the vaccine now? It would be worth it to prevent the possibility of shingles, imo.

My son had the chicken pox vaccine and never had chicken pox. He still got shingles as a teenager. The doctor didn’t seem surprised by this, but I didn’t get much of an explanation either.

[TeaELSee]

9 hours ago, Timetostoplurking said:

I have a 23 year old severely autistic son.  When he was diagnosed (at age 2) I drove myself crazy trying to figure out what I did to cause this.  I read everything I could find on autism causes and theories.  Of course, vaccinations being a popular scapegoat

My heart goes out to you, I experienced something very similar. My son developed a severe seizure disorder right after his second dpt and I was convinced it caused it. It didn’t, he had Dravet syndrome which he was born with but we didn’t know that until years later after he passed away. I didn’t get my youngest vaccinated until he was a freshman in high school because of my misguided belief. 

The onset of many childhood disorders show up the first few years and it is easy to make the false correlation.  We all do the best we can when we have a child with problems, it’s tough.

[BernRul]

My mom's a nurse and was very pro-vac. We were still fairly young when Gardasil came out. My mom sat us down as soon as it was available and said, "hey there's this new vaccaine that can prevent cervical cancer. Some people in church don't like it because one way you can get cervical cancer is through having sex. It's your decision whether you want to get it or not."

I don't remember saying this, but according to my mom, I said, "there's a vaccaine that prevents cancer? That's a no-brainer." So we got it asap. 

I also got the chicken pox vaccaine as soon as it was out. My mom told me that I got it. As a kid, I always wondered why other kids still got the chicken pox when they could get the vac. Chicken pox isn't bad for kids, but it's hell for adults, so why risk it? 

People are too privlaged nowadays. They don't realize that it's a modern miracle that the vast majority of children survive childhood. TBH, children are not built to withstand so many diseases--their immune systems are too weak. Children dying was the norm for most of human history.

Like others said, nothing is 100%. There's a 1% chance of dying from a tonsilectomy, but my parents didn't say, "oh no, let's keep her sick because there's a miniscule chance that something could go wrong." Life is dangerous. Every time you get in a car you're taking a risk. Every time you fry up bacon, or drink soda you've increased your risk of premature death. You can't live without risks.

Anti-vac parents are selfish because they put other people's kids at risk. My big fear is that one day I'll have a baby who dies from measles because he catches it from some kid at the playground when he's too young for the vac. I've seen that in the news more and more lately. 

[JillyO]

7 hours ago, Sullie06 said:

I was born in 1983, so I'm almost 36, and I never had Chicken Pox. I was exposed when my sister got it in the late 80s and again when my brother had it in the mid 90's so my mom and pediatrician, at the time, assumed I had been exposed and must be carrying the antibodies so I was fine. When I told my OBGYN  that I never had chicken pox when pregnant with my first, she was not happy to hear that. She did a blood test of some sort and I do not carry the antibodies, which means as a grown ass woman I can now get it and she said it would be very serious for me to get it at this point in my life. Both of my children were vaccinated (yay herd immunity) as soon as possible and I really hope they don't get it because I will literally leave them to my husband and go hide. 

Seriously, like @Kailash said, get vaccinated now (unless you are currently pregnant)! Getting chicken pox as an adult is absolutely no joke, so why risk it?

[ViolaSebastian]

Even if you've had vaccines, sometimes they wear off. Two years ago I got my titers done to test for immunity because I needed to prove I was vaccinated for work and didn't have my childhood records. Even though I got the series of shots for hepatitis B in the seventh grade, my titers came back that I wasn't immune to it and I needed the vaccinations again. Finding that out made me realize how much we really do depend on herd immunity to help keep us safe.

[neurogirl]

@TeaELSee I am so sorry to hear about your son, and I'm so thankful that you have absolved yourself. I am actually studying Dravet syndrome and another epilepsy, GEFS+ for my PhD.

For everyone's info, individuals with epilepsy (and other disorders such as autism!!! which is very commonly associated with epilepsy) often have heat-induced seizures, the first of which can "turn on" the seizure disorder they already have in their genes. So a low-grade fever in response to a vaccine can trigger that first seizure, but the seizure was "lying in wait" and would've emerged after a hot bath, the flu, etc, or just after enough time went by. It is understandable for people to confuse the cause and effect if their child appeared perfectly normal until after a vaccine, but it is absolutely no one's fault, and it certainly wasn't a vaccine that gave anyone epilepsy, autism, etc.

[HurricaneBells]

14 hours ago, zygote373 said:

We keep medical stuff out of schools for the most part in the US. They do sometimes do hearing/vision/scoliosis tests to make sure kids aren't falling through the cracks, but no treatments or procedures. They just tell the parents to follow up with a doctor.

Most states do require kids to get certain vaccines from the doctor before they can enroll in school. But a lot of anti-vaxxers have lobbied for personal exemptions. So if you say you don't want to vaccinate for personal reasons, they'll waive the requirement. There also seems to be an uptick in homeschooling. It used to mostly be really conservatives families, but it seems anecdotally that people are opting for it for more hippie reasons. Down with the system, etc. So those kids wouldn't have to be vaccinated either.

Thanks for answering! Our government have cracked down hard. No daycare enrollment and they take money from your parenting payment if you don't. You also now need an actual medical exemption if you want to get around it, can't just say I disagree anymore (not sure on religion). I actually think that kind of pressure is a WHO initative so interesting to see how that goes in each country.