Love Rachy's comment.

Note too that the original UK research looking for precipitating factors just found measles virus in the intestinal lining of some autistic children. That they came from vaccination is mere hypothesis. They may as well hv arrived naturally and hung around because the child was vulnerable to start with!

The other related scare of mercury is now a non-issue in tge US. It's not a component any more.

MMR also has bad press from the older formulation that caused a reaction in those with egg allergy. Again, problem now solved.

Think reviewing vaccine info online is a minefield not only due to bias (autism symptoms even in unvaccinated children show up around the age vaccines are given) but also because statements are made with an agenda beyond the facts on every side. Brcause they are trying to counter fear that leads parents not to vaccinate, even doctors or policy makers elide important caveats: possibke reactions and after effects like your sons, that they (like most meds) do not work 100% of the time---some kids still get the disease but milder versions... result unfortunately is that people hear absolutes (vax child never falls sick or T least with given disease) and find exceptions (so they think) and then decide they are being lied to through and through.

I have not read the other responses yet.

There is no proven link between immunizations and autism. Immunizations happen at certain ages, and the onset of diagnosable autism behavior also happens at those ages. But it is not causal, just developmental.

If you have concerns about immunizations or your baby's reactions to them, ask your doctor - I've found my pediatricians very helpful and knowledgable and not at all keen to push medications and treatments "just because."

Just dashing back in to say that the "vaccines may cause death" thing is because they have to say that. When you test a vaccine or a new medicine, *any* physical symptoms someone exhibits has to be listed as a possibility, even if there is no way it is caused by the drug. For example, if someone gets the stomach flu during an skin-only acne drug test, the approved drug information *has* to say it *may* cause vomiting and fever, because someone had vomiting and fever during the test. The two aren't linked, but there you are. So, take that "death" text with a grain of salt.

Vaccines overwhelmingly save lives. You don't want your child (or anyone else's!) getting measles, mumps, or rubella, or meningitis, or anything else horrible. These are diseases that once killed or damaged many, many children. The odds that vaccinations cause autism are tiny, despite the loud presence of many online. The odds that shots will give your child immunity to a life-threatening disease, however, are extremely high. I know which way I bet.

Rae - I'm glad Isis, IK, and others chimed in. There is NO PROVEN LINK between autism and vaccinations. The doctor who made the claim has done a great disservice to the world, as measles is now making a comeback, when we thought at one time that we'd gotten rid of it, thanks to scared parents who haven't gotten their children vaccinated. But, to reiterate what Isis said, everything that he has claimed has been proven fraudulent. My sister-in-law is an epidemiologist who works on measles, and you should just hear her go on about Wakefield (or maybe you shouldn't!).

My son had a measles-type rash all over his torso and a fever after his first MMR - it's totally normal.

Not to worry!

I would just add to the discussion that the Dr. Sears book on vaccinations seems pretty rational and up to date. I found it to be a helpful perspective.

I haven't read any of the other responses yet, but you need to read "The Panic Virus" by Seth Mnookin. He provides a great explanation of the history of vaccines, the autism/vaccine controversy, and why research has proved that there is no credible link between vaccines and autism. It's a very easy read. Mnookin doesn't dumb down the science, but he's very good at explaining to lay people who have 0 medical training and explaining why scientists are horrible on tv.

One of the things he goes into is the doctor who most people believe started the rumor had had his license revoked for abuse of ethics and he had a competing vaccine he wanted people to use (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Wakefield)! One of the big things with the paper he put out is that no one could replicate his work and get the same results. In my opinion, very few others have done as much to hurt modern medicine as this guy.

Unfortunately, autism is disease that no one still understands why or how it happens. Lots of people want to jump on one this and say this is the cause, but unlike a bacterial infection, we can't point out 1 thing and say that this caused it. Its that way with a lot of sciences, unfortunately.

I'm sorry your baby doesn't feel well, though!

I also don't think autism is caused by vaccines.

My DD, my first child, had terrible reactions to all her immunizations in her first year (rash, fever, hours of screaming, swollen needle site) Today she is 16, getting her drivers license, and applying to uni in December, no signs of any long term effects,,,,,except eye rolling at everything I say

Wow, I'd never heard autism could cause reactions to vaccines. I know little about autism (probably nobody knows much), but I always thought it had to do with one's mind (from what I studied, the guessing pointed to a disability in the linguistic spectrum, not understanding that we are all individuals with individual thoughts and thus having difficulties when communicating). Unless, of course, a patient has other medical issues as well, which happens more often than we would like.

No idea why your son reacted to the vaccine, but maybe he just did just because he is sensitive to vaccines (aside from having autism).

My sister also has medical issues (both mental and physical) but if she happened to be allergic to pollen, I wouldn't think it was because of her main illness. Just that, well, she was allergic to pollen too.

No clue whether he should take another shot, maybe you should wait for a while, but I'm no doctor.

ETA: Also, could it be possible that children with autism are more prone to vaccine sensitivity because they don't understand what is going on, can't communicate their fears, and this causes them stress and thus unwanted reactions? Just taking a guess here and trying to understand where the relationship autism-vaccine comes from...

Irene, the widely disputed research indicated the MMR vaccine could trigger or cause autism in previously healthy children and because parents would never wish for their child to suffer a percentage avoided vaccinations altogether, the effects of which we are only starting to see.

It's heartrending for parents with autistic kids to try to look back at all the decisions they made pre-diagnosis and find some way to blame themselves as if they could have prevented the brain from wiring up autistically.

On the other hand, there have been huge outbreaks of measles in Utah because a isolated segment of the population, known for their extreme religious beliefs, has issues with vaccinations. We know that their and other kids will suffer and some will die needlessly because they just aren't as isolated a population as they'd like to think.

We have a friend, a childhood polio victim and now wheelchair user. I have no doubt he would have chosen a vaccination with its risks over paralysis.

Raisin, in the unlikely event your kid ends up with autism, it won't be your fault. Sounds like you are attentive and engaged and have a good partnership with you pediatrician. Most kids should be so lucky.