Should I Vaccinate My Baby?

Disclaimer: this blog does not constitute medical advice. Please contact your doctor for advice. The names of the patient and mother have been changed.


One afternoon, on a busy winter day, I saw a patient in my partners practice. She was a 15 month old healthy toddler named Emma. Kate, Emma's mother, tearfully explained to me that Emma had had a raging fever of 103, for 3 days. Kate was upset because the fever would not go away, and now Emma was developing a rash which was worsening. Emma was becoming more irritable and miserable.

Emma was so uncomfortable, that she would barely let me examine her. 15 minutes and all of my energy later, (and all of poor Emma's too), I was able to coax her into a quick check. I discovered that Emma had chickenpox.

Kate, proceeded to explain to me that Emma had 2 other siblings at home, a 10 and 13 year old. Kate had chosen not to vaccinate them hoping they would get the chickenpox "naturally". Kate assumed chicken pox was harmless and could not develop into a severe illness. After seeing Emma miserable and suffering, Kate tearfully regretted her choice not to vaccinate her kids.

Because of Kate's decision not to vaccinate, Emma was ill. Although severe complications of chickenpox are rare, they do occur and include neurologic and skin infections.

Given the option to prevent the possibility of these complications Kate now felt that her own reasons for choosing not to vaccinate her children were unclear even to her.

This is a common scenario in the office. Parents choose for one reason or another, not to vaccinate their child. Sometimes, it is the mythical link between autism and vaccines, which has been repeatedly been dis proven by science, and now by the courts. However, these myths plant the seeds of fear into the minds of many concerned parents. And like all myths, the voice of one misinformed parent can cause panic and replace actual facts for many other parents.

So when parents and friends come to me for my advice on the subject I talk to them about the disease in the pictures below. These diseases are real, and sadly do still occur in other parts of the world.

I talk to them about how they feel about the picture below: a young child with tetanus

or this: Two young boys with polio:

or what little Emma could have been facing: A complication of Chickenpox (varicella)

Many of us are fortunate enough that our kids have access to vaccines. We are lucky, we have a choice. A choice which allows us to prevent the spread of these types of debilitating diseases. Many kids in the developing world have no choice. They are faced with the possibility of these illnesses daily.

It is important for parents to remember that these are the diseases that vaccines prevent. Many children and parent don't have a choice. We do.

Choose facts, not fear.

For more information, talk to your child's doctor. Please check out the links below.

Websites:

www.aap.org

www.vaccineinformation.org

www.vaccinesafety.org

www.cdc.org