No vaccines= Healthy immune system

[stacey05]

My 22 month old has had no vaccinations and is healthier than my other 4 children were at this age. I believe that not vaccinating has helped, but I also know more now than I did when the others were little. I am bf'ing this one longer, know more about good nutrition, don't do well baby visits (so we are not at the dr's office hardly at all), don't do indoor playgrounds (mcdonalds, chuck e cheese, etc). and are better about hand washing.

He hasn't really been sick, but now I am wondering about his immune system. I mean, I have been thinking his immune system has been great but I just read on another thread that he needs to get sick to build his immune system. Gitti wrote that you "use it or lose it". So, my question is should I be concerned that he isn't getting sick? LOL That sounds so silly. Do you know what I mean? He isn't in daycare, I homeschool the older kids, he doesn't go to sunday school or mother's day out. I wonder if there is any danger in NOT being exposed to many people or germs. We don't live in isolation...we have friends and go to church (kids worship with parents), the older kids have friends, etc. It just seems like his contact with germs is very limited...I used to think that was a good thing, but now I am wondering if this can hinder his immune system? Any thoughts?

[Cersha]

I think he should be exposed to things...but, I wouldn't make an effort to. Just live life, you know? And he doesn't HAVE to get sick to build antibodies.

[Delicateflower]

If you're worried that no contact with germs could hinder his immune development, you could vaccinate him, then he'd have some immune response to those antigens.

Also, trips to the library, playground, and the supermarket should expose him to stuff.

[stacey05]

>If you're worried that no contact with germs could hinder his immune development, you could vaccinate him, then he'd have some immune response to those antigens.<

Well, no. I wouldn't mind him getting SOME of the illnesses that there are vaccines for (chicken pox, etc), but I would much prefer him getting those naturally instead of artificially. I think the body knows what to do with those diseases when it enters the body the natural way. I also hate all the other crud in the vaccines, like aluminum, etc. I think not vaccinating as been a big contributor to his health so far and letting his immune system do what it has been made to do without being assaulted artificially. That is just what I believe so far from the researching I have doing. I really wish vaccines were pure and could enter the body the natural way. I think vaccination is a brilliant concept, it just has some flaws and side effects, some of which I think can be devastating to some people.

Anyway, I guess I am not really that worried. I love how healthy he has been so far and I don't make him live in a bubble. Who knows...maybe he has come into contact with LOTS of germs, but his intact immune system has just handled it fantastically and I never even knew he was dealing with it? Just a thought.

[MyBoysBlue]

I have had thoughts along the same line. My unvaxed son has been so healthy that I worry that his immune system isn't being tested as it should. He has had CP but it was such a mild case I wouldn't have noticed except for the rash he wasn't even really sick. He had a bit of a runny nose for 2 days and slept a bit longer for his naps. So I know it's working but I wonder what it will be like when he goes to Playschool next year. DS 1 is in school and he does bring home the occasional cold but DS 2 seems to not pick them up. Or like you said he is just handling things so well that we don't realize they have picked something up.

[tanyalynn]

Your child's probably been exposed to plenty. My son, who used to get sick at the drop of a hat, would always get sick after any trip out in the winter--grocery store, a run to pick up paper towels, any time, every time. Viruses and bacteria are out there, I wouldn't worry about it.

[Gitti]

Originally Posted by stacey05

Gitti wrote that you "use it or lose it". So, my question is should I be concerned that he isn't getting sick?

But I did not say you have to be sick. He is using his immune system every day very efficiently. Believe me. He is coming in contact with all sort of germs from the groceries you bring home to the germs his sibling bring home.

I have learned from Dr. that the super healthy child will use his immune system by building immunity and yet never show symptoms. Sickness is not a must to gain immunity.

On the other hand, if a child is sick, it also means he is building immunity. That child is doing it in a different way. We are each individuals.

I believe a child builds immunity all the time.

I happen to have two grandsons (brothers) who are total opposites in the way they build immunity. One will be sick maybe 2 hours, run a very mild fever or none and that's it. He is fine from then on. The other one gets sick quite a bit longer and more often. Last time he was sick for 7 days with a fever between 102-105 almost the entire time. (I was sweating that one.*) But when he got over his sickness (some flu) he was perfectly alright. He gained his strength back and was beating up on his older brother within a few days.

Both boys are using their immune system but in their own way. They are different persons. Both are very healthy kids though.

I wonder if there is any danger in NOT being exposed to many people or germs. We don't live in isolation...we have friends and go to church (kids worship with parents), the older kids have friends, etc.

By that description it sounds to me like he encounters plenty of germs. Believe me. He is just a super healthy kid. But please don't be shocked if one day he comes down with a high fever for a change. No matter what, he is using his immune system.

Kids who are vaccinated can't build their immune system in a natural way since it has been messed with. It turns on them sometimes. That is why so many kids have allergies, asthma, cancer, diabetes, MS, and what not.

That will not happen to your child.



*From that infection his mom and I learned so much about how he deals with viruses and how he acts when he is building his immunity. Next time we won't worry at all. He mostly slept and fasted through it. We have seen him very sick and very healthy soon afterwards.

[Gitti]

Originally Posted by TanyaLopez

Your child's probably been exposed to plenty. My son, who used to get sick at the drop of a hat, would always get sick after any trip out in the winter--grocery store, a run to pick up paper towels, any time, every time. Viruses and bacteria are out there, I wouldn't worry about it.

Right!

Again from Dr. Loibner: A child who gets sick a lot will have encounted most everything in the first 7-10 years of his life and will mostly be building silent immunity for the rest of his life.

A child that does not show symptoms in those years has already started to building silent immunity although he could surprise his parents from time to time.

Either way. Kids will do what "their nature" has entended for them. By age 10 they will most likely be immune to the same degree. (Unless they are literally being kept in a bubble.)

[japonica]

Stacey,

I think it might be a case like you said that you are encountering bacteria and viruses but that his immune system is such that it just deals with them effectively and efficiently without symptoms.

My DD, 4.5 years old now, is completely unvaxed. The times she was ill between birth and when she started preschool, well, it was maybe 2-3x a year, if that. She has always been very healthy and seemed to avoid getting some of the pesky problems that a lot of her peers had. She never had a single ear infection until age 4. She had one episode of diarrhea in her whole life. She was only on antibiotics once (and that was in the early days of my parenting when I dragged her in to see the ped for one of those rare "bugs" and he prescribed them...I know a lot better since then and we haven't needed any subsequent abx for her at all). When she did get sick, which was a rare occurrence, she'd spike a fever for one day and then be fine by the next morning. Over the years, my husband would bring home illnesses from work and he'd be sick, but she'd never catch them. Same thing with the noro (norwalk) virus we had a couple of years back...my husband and I were sick as dogs for days, but she vomited twice, felt a bit off for maybe half a day and recovered so quickly it was amazing. Then she got to watch us in misery...LOL. We also did other things to help her stay healthy...adequate nutrition and rest, and she was an EBFer and self-weaned at 3.5 years old.

We've also flown overseas (to Europe and to Australia via Asia) as well with no problems.

It was a whole other ball game when she started preschool. She's bring home a cold/URI every 4-6 weeks or so. But they'd be gone after the usual 7 days and never turned into secondary infections or chronic coughs like her classmates had. It seemed like a lot of kids in her class were constantly sick and on antibiotics for something or other, but she did just fine. So, expect him to pick up the "bugs" at school, but his immune system should be in great shape to deal with them.

I think some kids just develop immunity without contracting full-blown infections...everyone is different and responds in their own way. Another reason why the "one size fits all" approach of vaxing is problematic.

[Yulia_R]

What is wrong with indoor playgroups??? You NEED to expose immune system to germs in order for it to get stronger. In case you are using anti-bacterial soaps, they make immune system weaker and even worse help to breed superbugs.

[M2Mgirls]

:Hello, I would not worry about his immunity at all. I also have a 2 y.o DD who is vax-free and she had no illness at all untill my oldest 4.3 y.o DD have been complet with her BF( she is partly vaxed). Then they cought rubella in the playground(local shoping centre).
ANd it is only because I was so adwansed about it, and I took them both to the GP to see if it was what I thought it was. Anyway the moral of the story is - it is only seemes that immune system is sleeping, however on the cell level it is very very busy!
Take care

Rene

[Gitti]

Originally Posted by M2Mgirls

it is only seemes that immune system is sleeping, however on the cell level it is very very busy!

Right!

Welcome to the forum Rene.

[mkmoro311]

We don't vax our 18 mo old and she is in daycare and is sick more often than not! She breastfeeds and eats very healty so it makes me mad and nervous that she is sick as often as she is! I can only hope that with each illness she is only strengthening her immune system from with whatever illness she just had!

[xmasbaby7]

Originally Posted by mkmoro311

We don't vax our 18 mo old and she is in daycare and is sick more often than not! She breastfeeds and eats very healty so it makes me mad and nervous that she is sick as often as she is! I can only hope that with each illness she is only strengthening her immune system from with whatever illness she just had!

Maybe some probiotics would be a good addition? Has she been on antibiotics and did you receive them during her birth? Maybe just ore a gut flora boost?

To the original poster:

I was in the same boat. It wasn't until dd weaned after she started preschool that she started getting colds or viruses occasionally.

In due time! I think the nursing has a huge impact.

There have been several instances where dd would go to bed fine, spike a HUGE fever over 101 after falling asleep but wake up totally fine. I only know she was fighting something in her sleep because she's in bed with me. If not, I would have never known. It is actually very rare for her to have a fever awake, which I also wonder about an intact immune system. Her body knows to fight while it is sleeping. Anyone else notice this?

[luminesce]

I've worried about this too 'cause we're homebodies. It isn't intentional. We just don't go out much; DH always picks groceries up on his way home from work because we don't have a good healthy food store nearby. We have a big yard to play in, etc. DS has only been sick twice and it was so mild I wasn't even really sure he was sick. I don't think he's ever had rotavirus, RSV, etc. He did have a brief half a day of diahrrea with one spit-up; we think it was due to eggs but then again, who knows for sure? Germs are probably brought into the home w/o us really even knowing it.

We'll probably naturally start going more places when DS is older for educational purposes and fun so I'm sure he'll have plenty of time to be 'challenged' more heavily.

One study on RSV actually showed it was best if kids do not get this before age 2, as it increases risk of asthma, allergies... and skewed the immune system response in the wrong direction. So getting sick at an early age might not always be best especially since the immune system isn't really fully formed for a few years.

I have a suspicion that it is just as good that kids are challenged by bacteria in their environment for the first few years of life even if they don't get obvious viruses/illnesses.

Our immune systems are amazing things; I don't think we really need to be sick all the time with viruses for it to know how to do what it is intended to do.

[ZoeyZoo]

My dd is the same... unvaxed and has never been sick. I'm not worried about the not getting sick part. She's been exposed to all sorts of stuff. You build a tolerance/immune response even though you don't actually get sick. For example people build up a tolerance to the germs in their home so they don't usually get sick from them.

[serenbat]

also along these line- the use of air conditioners and how they are removing much of the needed "germs" / and pollen, that young children need in the first few years of life, thus (some feel) this may contribute to asthma and other respiratory infections.

[Marnica]

Originally Posted by mkmoro311

We don't vax our 18 mo old and she is in daycare and is sick more often than not! She breastfeeds and eats very healty so it makes me mad and nervous that she is sick as often as she is! I can only hope that with each illness she is only strengthening her immune system from with whatever illness she just had!

I'm in the same boat. 13.5 month old unvaxed DS is in daycare and seems to be constantly sick. He is breastfed as well. Makes me crazy!

[mkmoro311]

Originally Posted by Marnica

I'm in the same boat. 13.5 month old unvaxed DS is in daycare and seems to be constantly sick. He is breastfed as well. Makes me crazy!

She gets probiotics when she gets sick as well as homeopathics! She was born in a birthing tub @ home with out drugs and I didn't take any drugs during the pregnancy or birth.

I just thought her immune system would be stronger!

[xmasbaby7]

Originally Posted by mkmoro311

She gets probiotics when she gets sick as well as homeopathics! She was born in a birthing tub @ home with out drugs and I didn't take any drugs during the pregnancy or birth.

I just thought her immune system would be stronger!

I agree with you, too! Since she hasn't had anything happen to jeopardize her flora, perhaps it is diet based, like an intolerance to something. What about yeast? Do you have yeast issues?

I don't think there is any harm in getting sick, but my own views of the body and health make me want to understand why. I don't believe the body acts randomly, you know?

Do you have the option of seeing an ND near you to see if this approach might work?

I am sure you will figure this out!