Parents (and anyone else with an opinion) - MMR: individually or not?

weeble

weeble

weeble

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Well, my partner decided to 'miss' my lads appointment recently to get this, and has yet to reschedule another one. Knowing her it'll be at least 2-3 months before she does, and she wants to do them one by one. However, her parents who he resides with in working hours, may sneak off to the doctor, unbeknown to her

Now, I'm aware that the diseases this innoculates against are increasing in the general population (particularly in London where we live). Having done a biological degree I checked up in the British Medical Journal and the Lancet - and the last entry was one about the Norwegians studing 500,000 kids for 10 years, suggesting there wasn't a link with autism.

Just really wondering what other parents views are on this?

And no, it's not medical advice I'm seeking - just views and opinions of people out there.
 
There was a huge thread on this topic in Speakers' Corner a couple of years ago, probably pruned now, that had some very good (and heated) debate on this.

We decided to have both our kids get the MMR after some debate. Asked our GP and various other GPs we knew, including some extended family.

General feeling that autism as a condition was attached to far more circumstances than previously hence the general rise in rates of it.

Fortunately no ill effects.
 
MMR is the way to go. The risk of autism is very low but the risk of the diseases for which the vaccination is intended to protect is high and getting higher as people stop getting their children vaccinated. Apparently, as I saw on the news a few weeks ago, in some areas of the country measel infection rates are starting to rise to a worrying level.

In my experience when dealing with kids, you're best getting them wormed and deloused at the same time. Regular hosing down with cold water from the garden hose is also recommended. :p
 
When I was small mam took me and my sister to get the MMR injection. The doctor said he wouldn't give it to a dog and insisted on getting separate injections.
 
Opinion has changed over the years and MMR is considered to be 'safe' after many investigations. The infections is protects agains can proove very nasty, get it done in one form or another.

MB
 
I had MMR, as did all my friends. Not one of us has turned autistic yet!

Good enough for me :p
 
There is no evidence at all - I mean absolutely zero - linking the MMR to autism.

There is however a strong link between no MMR and getting the measles. There is also a strong link between getting the measles and being very very ill. There is a link between getting the measles and having an increased chance of being dead in infancy. Get it done tbh - you are abusing your kids if you don't.
 
I got a really confusing letter from my GP at the beginning of the year telling me that I need the MMR as they were selecting a section of 19-15 yr olds.

I asked my mum why I never had one when I was a baby and it was because I already had measles.

Due for the second booster next month :( yuk needles!

BB x
 
BrightonBelle said:
I got a really confusing letter from my GP at the beginning of the year telling me that I need the MMR as they were selecting a section of 19-15 yr olds.

I asked my mum why I never had one when I was a baby and it was because I already had measles.

Due for the second booster next month :( yuk needles!

BB x
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I got the TB immunisation a few years ago and still have the ugly scar on my arm where it swelled up. They thought TB was irradicated in Ireland and for a couple of years didn't immunise children/babies against it, meaning years later (when I was 18 I think) I had to get the jab. Fine, except for the ugly scar it can leave!
 
tenchi-fan said:
I got the TB immunisation a few years ago and still have the ugly scar on my arm where it swelled up. They thought TB was irradicated in Ireland and for a couple of years didn't immunise children/babies against it, meaning years later (when I was 18 I think) I had to get the jab. Fine, except for the ugly scar it can leave!
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I thought the TB Immunisation was the BCG, I seem to recall having that when I was in Year 9.
 
MMR is absolutely fine, all the media carp was spouted from carphouses, which are "scientists" paid by drug companies to spout carp to make them more money.
 
rabanthor said:
If you've done a biological degree read all the evidence and you'll realise the concerns are all poppycock.
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I don't have a biology degree, just a wife with one, and even I've picked up enough to realise it's all cobblers. For one thing, there's the fact that MMR is given at the same time as autism starts to show itself, which leads to a huge "post hoc, ergo propter hoc" leap of logic. For another, the main piece of "evidence" used to determine the presence of autism is digestive problems that are often co-morbid with autism, but not always. That's like saying that any black car must be my Ford Fiesta.

There might possibly be a case for saying that MMR can cause certain unpleasant gastroenterital conditions like Crohn's, but that's by no means certain, and even then Crohn's is far and away preferable to death by measles.

Still, once the media got hold of it there was no hope. Damn scaremongering and panic.
 
All four of my kids had the MMR jab and if I was dumb enough to have anymore :p then they would as well.

Personally I think the whole thing was blown out of proportion.

Wikipedia has a good article on it.

The original paper in the Lancet reported on only 12 children and the majority of the authors have subsequently retracted the claim of a link.

Also in Japan, a study of 30,000 children has shown that since they've stopped using the MMR and gone to single vaccines, that the number of autism cases has increased.
 
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Our 4 year old has not had his MMR because when he had his last HIB injection he had an adverse reaction (his leg swelled twice the size and he had a fever) he was rushed to A&E and given antibiotics. On the governments website at the time it said that if children had an adverse reaction children would be offered the single vaccine for Measles, Mumps and Rubella. When my son was due his MMR (single vaccines) the media had hyped the MMR so much and the public were up in arms that the government removed what it had said previous on it's website and no single vaccines were offered on the NHS!
 
I think the MMR jab is by far the best option. There is practically no evidence to link it to autism, even some of the scientists involved in the original research that suggested a link have now said that they believe the research was flawed.

Single jabs have plenty of risks of their own - e.g. vulnerability in the gap between the jabs (and remember, actually getting mumps can be fairly disasterous), and finding somewhere reputable to get it done where you know nothing's been imported from some cheap third-world supplier.
 
I did graduate 10 years ago, so a little rusty. Although I'm of the opinion MMR is fine (having read around and consulted a couple of doctors in the family), and I'm glad the general consensus is similar. I naturally never had MMR, although I did get measles. And those BCG jabs are dam* sore when 'mates' come along and whack your arm!

Naturally I want to immunise my lad asap, as the are currently as many cases of mumps, measles this year as there were throughout the whole of last year, with London being particularly bad (given the larger populations). I didn't realise teenagers were being immunised as well - you learn something new every day.

The only other major hurdle is my partner - who is incredibly paranoid, sceptical and pessimistic! We may have to sneak off, as pretty much every parenting issue is a hurdle with her.
 
I thought that this had gone away, we debated for a very short time with our first sone and he got MMR and our second will too. The long and short of it is that MMR is a lot better than the diseases it protects against!
 
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