The Vaccination Dilemna

What is a vaccine?  According to Merriam-Webster dictionary a vaccine is, "a preparation of killed microorganisms, living attenuatedorganisms, or living fully virulent organisms that is administered to produce or artificially increase immunity to a particular disease."

Vaccines are pharmaceutical products that carry risks, which can be greater for some than others.  It is not only the microorganisms in the vaccine, but the adjuvants, or additives in the vaccination can pose risk for adverse reaction for some.  When deciding whether or not to vaccinate, whether it be yourself, or your children, there are some important questions to ask your doctor.  These questions can be found at the National Vaccine Information Center (nvic.org) website.  

If you do vaccinate be sure to keep personal written record of vaccinations that were administered including the vaccination name and lot number.  It is also important to be able to identify an adverse reaction to a vaccination.  Keep a detailed record of any serious health problems that develop following a vaccination and make sure you can easily access these records.  Here is a list of adverse reaction symptoms taken from the National Vaccine Information Center website:

Some vaccine reaction symptoms include: 

• Pronounced swelling, redness, heat or hardness at the site of the injection;
• Body rash or hives;
• Shock/collapse;
• High pitched screaming or persistent crying for hours;
• Extreme sleepiness or long periods of unresponsiveness;
• High fever (over 103 F)
• Twitching or jerking of the body, arm, leg or head;
• Crossing of eyes;
• Weakness or paralysis of any part of the body;
• Loss of eye contact or awareness or social withdrawal;
• Loss of ability to roll over, sit up or stand up;
• Vision or hearing loss;
• Restlessness, hyperactivity or inability to concentrate;
• Sleep disturbances that change wake/sleep pattern;
• Head banging or onset of repetitive movements (flapping, rubbing, rocking, spinning);
• Joint pain;
• Muscle weakness;
• Disabling fatigue;
• Loss of memory;
• Onset of chronic ear or respiratory infections;
• Violent or persistent diarrhea or chronic constipation;
• Breathing problems (asthma);
• Excessive bleeding (thrombocytopenia) or anemia.

If ANY of these symptoms or those included in the manufacturers package insert are experienced they should be reported to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, also commonly known as VAERS (www.vaers.hhs.gov/).  In this website you can find information on reporting such events.  

My main take away for today's post is to EDUCATE YOURSELF!  Be responsible for not only your health, but also the health of your family.  Arming yourself with even a little bit of information in regards to matters such as this can have long-term benefits, or implications, in the future.  

Please feel free to leave your comments below!  Contact me @ delaforestdc@gmail.com with any questions!