The Third Prayer

Reading “What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Children’s Vaccinations,” by Stephanie Cave, M.D., F.A.A.F.P not only helped me realize that I want to delay vaccinations but it also helped me understand more fully why vaccinations are necessary. 

Frank’s first question to me was, “see what the other side has to say.”  The book explained the history of vaccinations and why a vaccine was created for each different illness.  In the early 19th century there were outbreaks of diseases that caused hundreds of thousands of deaths.  A lot of these deaths were children, because naturally, they are weaker than adults.  The government wanted this problem fixed immediately and doctors started working on vaccines.  Slowly vaccines were created to help with different illnesses.  But over time, some of these vaccines provided to be harmful so they were pulled off the shelves.  The team of doctors would start over again until they could find a better combination of ingredients to (a) make a vaccine and (b) make it healthy.  The combinations of ingredients have been changed over and over again to make the vaccines healthy and more effective.  For the most part, the vaccines have worked because there haven’t been anymore outbreaks of these illnesses.

However, did the vaccines really help stop the outbreaks or would it have solved itself?  For instance, when you get chickenpox you become immune to it and you usually don’t develop the illness again.  Could this have been the case with these illnesses as well?  They really don’t know since vaccines were created, which actually saved many lives.  But now, many studies are showing that our bodies are becoming immune to the vaccines and they are not as effective as they used to be.  Eventually if we keep vaccinating for these illnesses, the effectiveness can wear down and we can have another outbreak in our country.  This is all theory though and can’t be proven.  But it is a thought.  One point to back this up is that as time goes by, doctors are noticing that one dose is not enough of a certain vaccine.  In most cases, you need to have two to four different doses administered for the vaccinations to take effect.  And after that, the effectiveness is still not 100%. 

To answer Frank’s second question, “there must be a reason they do it.”  He was referring to giving infants shots.  Even as I got Mary Rene vaccinated I had trouble wrapping my head around this.  Here was my helpless little baby girl, and I had to help the doctor hold down her legs so they could give her shots.  She had no way to communicate but cry so as soon as they were done I would quickly scoop her in my arms and nurse her.  I always left the office puzzled but thought it was supposed to be done.  But after reading the book it makes sense why they do it as infants.  The first year of development is very crucial and parents are supposed to take their children for wellness visits approximately five to six times in the first year.  At these visits, the doctors check to make sure your baby is gaining weight and height.  If your baby is not gaining weight, this is a clue to the doctor to talk to you about breastfeeding or formula issues.  The doctor also checks your baby’s eyes, ears, mouth, hips, and genitals to make sure your baby is developing healthy.  These visits are very important and it really helps to have a professional examine your baby to make sure your baby is on track.  For me, it was always a relief to know she was growing in weight and her hips were in proper order.  I always felt like a better parent when I left the visit and heard the doctor say, “keep up the good work.”

As long as you have a healthy child, these wellness visits in the first year will be the most you will see your child’s doctor.  After a year, you might go in for a 15th month, 18 month, then 2 year check-up.  After that, you might only need to go in once a year for a wellness visit.  With a healthy child, this can continue until your child graduates high school and is ready for an adult doctor!

So doesn’t it make sense to get the required vaccinations during the time frame when the doctors have the best opportunity?  It has been mentioned that the Center for Disease Control and Prevention first established the shot recommendation list because of low income families.  Since families of low income were less likely to continue taking their children to the doctor for wellness visits, it was thought to get the children vaccinated while they had the chance.  That way when these children reached school-age, they would be vaccinated by state law and be able to attend school.  In addition, by giving multiple vaccines at the same visit, the parents were able to save money on doctor visits.  (Depending on your state, there are laws in effect about a child’s ability to attend daycare and schools regarding vaccinations.  You need to know your state’s law before you decide how to handle vaccinations.  There are always exceptions but getting by on an exception is getting harder and harder.  The three main exceptions are medical, philosophical and religious.  In the state of Missouri, you cannot use philosophical as an exception.  For Missouri law, you can check out this link.)  So the vaccine recommendation list was established and it went in effect for all children. 

If you decide to get your child vaccinated below are some helpful questions to ask yourself and the doctor.

Before Getting the Vaccine

1. Make sure your child does not have a fever.  A fever can cause a very bad reaction to the medication.
2. Request a copy of the Vaccine Information Statement from your child’s pediatrician.  This will explain the benefits and risk of the vaccine.
3. Tell the pediatrican if anyone in your family has been sick recently.  Your child may have picked up the illness and hasn’t shown signs yet.  A weaker immune system will cause side effects to the vaccine.
4. Ask to see the package of the vaccine before it is administered to make sure it is correct.
5. Ask for the Lot Number of the vaccine just in case your child has a reaction. 
6. Ask about giving your child Vitamin C before the shot to help protect your child from getting a reaction.
7. Ask if your child can get a single dose over a multiple dose.
8. If the only option is a multiple dose, make sure the doctor shakes the bottle first so the vaccines are more evenly distributed (DID NOT KNOW THIS!!!)

Specific Questions to Ask The Doctor Before Getting a Particular Vaccine

1. What are the symptoms of a reaction to this vaccine?
2. How long does it take for symptoms to appear?
3. Can I get mercury-free vaccines?
4. Can I get thimerosal-free vaccines? (Just as important as mercury free.)
5. Which polio vaccine are you using? 
6. Will my child get the new DTaP vaccine?  (This vaccination has been changed so many times that the word “new” is really not relevant.  But it is still good to ask since there have been so many different modifications.  You want to make sure your child is getting the latest version.)

Questions to Ask Yourself

1. Is my child feeling well today?  If your child is having an off day, do not get the vaccinations.  
2. Does my child have any allergies to medicines or foods? 
3. Has my child ever had a reaction to a vaccine before? 
4. Has my child taken cortisone, prednisone, or other steroids, or anticancer drugs or undergone X-Ray treatments in the last three months?
5. Has anyone who has taken care of my child had any of the above symptoms or taken the above medication?
6. Does my child or any other person who lives or takes care of my child have cancer, AIDS, leukemia or other immune system disorders?
7. Has my child ever had  seizure or brain problem?
8. Has my child received blood or plasma transfusion, or given globulin in the past year?

If you answer yes to any of the above questions then you should not have your child vaccinated at that time.  Your child is at a higher risk for getting a reaction from the vaccine.

So get all the shots the first year while you are at wellness visits anyways, right?  Not so fast.  In the next post, I will talk about the different types of vaccines, what age group that particular illness effects and when the vaccine is supposed to be given.

This entry was posted on Monday, February 1st, 2010 at 8:04 am and is filed under Vaccines. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.