Give me some pros/cons, please?

[SquishyBuggles]

I am just starting to research vacs so I really don't have a lot of info yet. My first 2 dds have had all vacs on time. We are thinking about having a 3rd child so I'm researching this now. I've been scared NOT to vax because I live literally 5 miles from Mexico, where lots of scary diseases that don't exist in the US are rampant. Which vaccines do you not give your children, and why?

[carriebft]

I think first thing would be to look at the diseases because I think maybe you are getting some wrong information. The only vaccine preventable disease I can think of that is pretty big in Mexico (which, even then, isn't a whole lot of cases) might be Hep A or mumps.

http://www.who.int/vaccines/globalsu...fm?C=%27MEX%27


I think we might even have more measles cases this year than they did.

[SquishyBuggles]

Originally Posted by carriebft

I think first thing would be to look at the diseases because I think maybe you are getting some wrong information. The only vaccine preventable disease I can think of that is pretty big (which, even then, isn't a whole lot of cases) might be Hep A or mumps.

http://www.who.int/vaccines/globalsu...fm?C=%27MEX%27


I think we might even have more measles cases this year than they did.

Thank you for that, I will check it out!

[Arduinna]

huh? I've taken unvaxed dd to Mexico many times and we have never gotten anything. But I agree with PPs there is tons of info posted in the stickies for you to peruse. oh and no we don't stay in those big resort hotels where you might as well be in the US. We stay at local hotels and eat at local restaurants and taco stands.

[PassionateWriter]

Originally Posted by SquishyBuggles

I am just starting to research vacs so I really don't have a lot of info yet. My first 2 dds have had all vacs on time. We are thinking about having a 3rd child so I'm researching this now. I've been scared NOT to vax because I live literally 5 miles from Mexico, where lots of scary diseases that don't exist in the US are rampant. Which vaccines do you not give your children, and why?

what are all the scary diseases?

[Full Heart]

What diseases that don't exist in the US? Cause if its things like Malaria or Typhoid you aren't going to be getting vaxed for those anyway.

Mexico's vaccination rate is around 96% too.

[Pandme]

If these scary diseases do not exist in the US, I don't see why the US vaccinations would be much protection anyway.

Are you talking about Polio? Diphtheria?

[SquishyBuggles]

I didn't mean that they don't exist at all in the US but I was under the assumption that there are diseases that are more prevalent in Mexico than the US. Hepatitis? Measles/mumps? Like I said, I'm not very well informed and that's why I am looking for info.

[PaigeC]

I would think that if anything is more prevalent in Mexico it would be diseases linked to hygiene and proper care such as tetanus. I used to live in El Paso, TX right across the river from Juarez, a pretty rough town. Children there live in corrugated shack huts and have no running water not to mention proper nutrition (I've seen it first had because I was in an AmeriCorps Literacty program). So, of course these children can't fight off disease as easily. There is no reason to believe that there are actually *more* viruses in Mexico.

For me, the decision not to vax came not just from research into the effects of the vaccines but that these diseases are not the "deadly" monsters we've been led to believe. Did you know polio is a very mild illness 95% of the time? I didn't, I thought it was a ticket to paralyzation! The "establishment" (aka the pharma companies and CDC) have really pulled the wool over our eyes.

How great that you are taking the time to learn about your options! Kudos!

[SquishyBuggles]

Thanks very much, Paige, for your reply! I admit I have had the wool pulled over my eyes for awhile but I am more than willing to learn about other options out there!

I am going to check out all of the stickies. Thanks again.

[alegna]

Originally Posted by SquishyBuggles

I didn't mean that they don't exist at all in the US but I was under the assumption that there are diseases that are more prevalent in Mexico than the US. Hepatitis? Measles/mumps? Like I said, I'm not very well informed and that's why I am looking for info.

Nope. Mexico has a higher vax rate than the US.

-Angela

[brightonwoman]

I think hepatitis B is a really scary vax--the risk group is very clear and very small (sexually promiscuous, homosexual, in jail, and IV drug users, with some risk for those in law enforcement and medical professions). It is bloodborne, so requires intimate contact to transfer it...if you are not in those circles, you don't need the vax. I figure if my kids decide to become cops or doctors, they can get it later, but I won't give it to my kids.
All the others I'm willing to do (some I am more comfortable with than others) but Hep B I think is just utterly pointless (and dangerous) to give to a child.
I WOULD get hepatitis A I think--that's the one that you can get if an infected person is preparing your food or something like that. If you're concerned about the discrepencies of medical care on either side of teh border, Hep A is the one that I actually see as potentially (possibly) being an issue.

I have done a bunch of research on the risks of the diseases compared with the risks of the vaxes, and I'd be happy to share more with you if you'd like to PM me. i don't know specifics about infection rates, and my research has been USA specific, but hopefully that will be soemwhat helpful for you...

[Marnica]

I researched all the diseases vs all the vaxes and found absolutely NO circumstances where I felt the benefit of ANY of the vaccines outweighed the risks hence my son is 100% unvaccinated and will remain that way. I echo what PaigeC has said. What we are told and led to believe from the CDC, FDA, Big Phamra and MD's is misinformation and lies. The real deal you have to dig around and find out for yourself.

I WOULD get hepatitis A I think--that's the one that you can get if an infected person is preparing your food or something like that. If you're concerned about the discrepencies of medical care on either side of teh border, Hep A is the one that I actually see as potentially (possibly) being an issue.

About Hep A :Hepatitis A is an acute liver disease caused by the hepatitis A virus (HAV), lasting from a few weeks to several months. It does not lead to chronic infection. From The CDC:

In children aged <6 years, 70% of infections are asymptomatic; if illness does occur, it is typically not accompanied by jaundice. Among older children and adults, infection is typically symptomatic, with jaundice occurring in >70% of patients.

So 70% of the time if a child were to get Hep A they wouldn't even be sick or have symptoms at all and if they do, it resembles a tummy bug with vomiting and diarrhea and a lor grade fever.

Also from CDC :

Having had the disease produces lifelong immunity from future hepatitis A infection.

IMO definitly not one I even considered when i was doing my reasecrh. Even if I lived in a country where it was prevlent I wouldn't consider it because as the WHO even says:

“In countries where hepatitis A is highly endemic, exposure to HAV is almost universal before the age of 10 years. In such countries clinical hepatitis A is usually a minor public health problem, and large-scale immunization efforts against this disease should not be undertaken.

The Hep A vaxes out there contain aluminum,formaldehyde, thimerosol antibiotics and aborted fetal cells. Not all contain all of them but most contain 1 or more. The only Aluminum free Hep A is Epaxal http://www.angelini.it/public/schedepharma/epaxal.htm

Good for you for doing your reasearch though.

[Full Heart]

Hep A is not thing I would fear. Its not a chronic disease. Infection offers lifetime immunity and death and severe side effects are rare. Most people don't even know they have it. Hep B is transmitted sexually and through iv drug use etc. Most children will never come into contact with it. There are no vaxes for the other 3 types of hep. Measles is less prevalent in mexico than in the us. Not sure on the mumps.

I would start with identifying the diseases and the vaxes for them.

[knucklehead]

Originally Posted by alegna

Nope. Mexico has a higher vax rate than the US.

-Angela

Do you have a link to documention for this. I told a friend of mine this recently and she didn't believe me.

[buttercupmama]

I can't speak for the validity of these figures, but this is what I found on Mexico.
http://www.vaccinationnews.com/Daily...xicoMore22.htm

[Full Heart]

Originally Posted by knucklehead

Do you have a link to documention for this. I told a friend of mine this recently and she didn't believe me.

If you google it you will find lots of info. Also border states like AZ, CA, NM and TX their health dept will have info. Besides I know lots of mexicans and I know its true (I live in az).