Hooray for Western medicine.
Though many claim that the connection between certain vaccinations and neurological disorders in children are vague at best, I have personal experience with the problem. The DPT shot has been particularly called into question, and it is the DPT shot that my mother believes caused my brother severe neurological harm. He was one of the "rare" cases (funny that I know three children personally who've had similar reactions to the shot) who reacted badly when it was administered: a fever of 103+ degrees, screaming, etc. My mother noticed considerable changes in his behavior as well. When she brought his reaction to the attention of doctors, she was told that it was "nothing to be concerned over" and that she shouldn't worry about taking him back for booster shots. Needless to say, after he had the same extreme reaction the second time around, she refused to take him back to the doctor for any more boosters.
The main problem with the DPT combination vaccination is that it utilizes killed B. pertussis bacteria, the same bacteria that cause whooping cough. In the bacteria are toxins which are responsible for the neurological complications. Especially in a young child (they advise that it be administered as early as two months of age!) this can have disastrous effects upon the system.
More interesting facts...
The state of Washington reported 162 cases of pertussis ten months in 1984; there were no deaths, no cases of brain damage, and 49 percent of the cases aged 3 months to 6 years had been appropriately vaccinated for their age with DPT. In 1993, Cincinnati reported that 40% of children who caught pertussis were vaccinated appropriately for their age.
The only large study ever conducted in the U.S. to determine DPT vaccine reaction rates found that 1 in 875 DPT shots is followed by a convulsion or shock/collapse episode.
Thimerosal, which is used as a preservative in some DPT vaccines, contains mercury and has been suspected of contributing to the dramatic increase of autism. There have been reports of healthy infants who had been progressing normally to suddenly developing severe problems including autism and brain damage after receiving a DPT vaccine.
I believe that these vaccination dangers are minimalized because they are so difficult to trace - young children cannot tell you what they are feeling, fevers can be caused by colds/flus, etc. Most parents are not informed of the risks, and those who choose to wait to vaccinate their children are often demonized or considered negligent. I got into a debate on a message board once regarding the issue, and was raked over the coals for stating that I believed parents should have the choice to withhold vaccinating their children until a less dangerous neurological state of development.
One more thing...my mom is a nurse, and she knew several doctors who waited to vaccinate their children with the pertussis shot until they were older, or opted out completely. When she asked one doctor why he chose to do so, he replied, "Because getting whooping cough is a lot better than permanent brain damage."
The main problem with the DPT combination vaccination is that it utilizes killed B. pertussis bacteria, the same bacteria that cause whooping cough. In the bacteria are toxins which are responsible for the neurological complications. Especially in a young child (they advise that it be administered as early as two months of age!) this can have disastrous effects upon the system.
More interesting facts...
The state of Washington reported 162 cases of pertussis ten months in 1984; there were no deaths, no cases of brain damage, and 49 percent of the cases aged 3 months to 6 years had been appropriately vaccinated for their age with DPT. In 1993, Cincinnati reported that 40% of children who caught pertussis were vaccinated appropriately for their age.
The only large study ever conducted in the U.S. to determine DPT vaccine reaction rates found that 1 in 875 DPT shots is followed by a convulsion or shock/collapse episode.
Thimerosal, which is used as a preservative in some DPT vaccines, contains mercury and has been suspected of contributing to the dramatic increase of autism. There have been reports of healthy infants who had been progressing normally to suddenly developing severe problems including autism and brain damage after receiving a DPT vaccine.
I believe that these vaccination dangers are minimalized because they are so difficult to trace - young children cannot tell you what they are feeling, fevers can be caused by colds/flus, etc. Most parents are not informed of the risks, and those who choose to wait to vaccinate their children are often demonized or considered negligent. I got into a debate on a message board once regarding the issue, and was raked over the coals for stating that I believed parents should have the choice to withhold vaccinating their children until a less dangerous neurological state of development.
One more thing...my mom is a nurse, and she knew several doctors who waited to vaccinate their children with the pertussis shot until they were older, or opted out completely. When she asked one doctor why he chose to do so, he replied, "Because getting whooping cough is a lot better than permanent brain damage."