Letters To VAN UK

Letters are posted with permission from enquirers. Any letters to us are confidential unless you give us permission to share your experiences with others.

'I am a mother of five children and my youngest is 7 months. I have always had an issue with vaccinations since my mum died in 1983 after having a hayfever injection. Nobody gave any answers to her death and the whole thing was swept under the carpet and reports of her death disappeared from record!!!

I had my first and second child vaccinated because I didn't know any better. They had typical reactions- being unwell, temperature.
My third child became very distressed after his 2nd jab and was unconsolable to the point where i went to a neighbour for help.

We eventually settled him to sleep and lay him down while we had a cup of tea. After ten minutes or so my friend went over to see him and shouted he'd gone a funny colour. He looked deathly pale and his lips were a bluish colour. His breathing was strange almost like a gasp. I panicked and instinctively grabbed him and he took a massive breath and started crying again. He was very unsettled for a few days and cried for hours with a high pitched scream.

I didn't take him to the doctors or call for help which was stupid but I thought no one would be believe me and as the doctors surgery was aware of my family history I was constantly told that my fears were unfounded and that just because my mother had died after having a vaccination did not mean my children would.

My fourth child had his vaccinations and was unwell for weeks after having them but as not as much as my previous child. My fourth child was on the catch up scheme for the PCV immunisation and I questioned this vaccine only to be told don't worry and that it had been rigoursly tested. I let him have it and with in hours he was so poorly. High pitched crying and stopped feeding. I rang the doctors who told me not to worry and give him calpol which I had already done. Days later I began to notice he wasn't himself in many ways. He wasn't eating , he stopped sleeping, he wasn't interested in playing and just lay or sat where ever i put him. I rang the doctors again and they told me to see how he went. Everyone that saw him commented on the fact that he'd stopped smiling and his grandparents informed me recently that they thought something had gone terribly wrong and that he was permantly damaged.

I continued to call my health visitors and went to see them saying that something was wrong with my baby. They had no time for me. After 3 months he went for his routine assessment and when he was weighed he had not put on any more weight in 3 months. Now the Health visitors showed some concern and said 'oh, he's not been putting on any weight... has he been eating?' I could of screamed.
I did not allow him to continue with this vaccination and he has not had his hib booster. My latest child had pneumonia in the first few weeks and was hospitalised. I was frowned upon because I was questioning whether to have the vaccinations done and at 4 months he had his first immunisation and his second 5 weeks later. His first one went ok but was alittle unsettled. After is second he seemed ok but the next morning he was so unsettled. He cried constantly, had diaohrea and was sick. Everytime he ate something he was sick and had diahorea. I rang the nurse who said this was normal. He was so unwell for days and it was at least three weeks before he seemed himself again. '

From C.

VAN UK'S Reply:

I am sorry to hear about your mum and your children.

Before I begin I must say I am not a medical professional so I cannot give you medical advice.

The high pitched cry you describe is called the 'cri encephalique' and is neurological irritation. It is caused by the brain swelling which in turn causes a very painful headache that makes the baby cry in a high pitched way. It is well documented in medical literature. Some times this irritation is temporary and the child makes a full recovery and other times it can be so severe it is fatal. Either way it is a serious reaction. Any sort of encephalitis and high pitched or prolonged crying is a contraindication to further vaccines (see the Merck Manual page for details) so personally if that was my child and I had that type of family history I would not give anymore vaccines.

While pneumonia is sometimes serious - the majority of cases can be treated successfully with antibiotics. Vaccines have been known to cause pneumonia (the rotavirus vaccine in the States has been documented to cause pneumonia) and the prevnar pneumonia jab can cause superbug ear infections (see the prevnar page for details).

Whatever you decide I would continue to breast feed for as long as possible (I am still breast feeding my 17 month old and intend to until he is about 4 years old because it is so important for his defences). Take high dose vitamin C yourself so that this will cross the breast milk and give your baby a bit of a boost. You might also consider a homeopathic antidote to the shots he has had. These are called nosodes and might help clear his system. I'm not a homeopath but if you contact the Society of Homeopaths they can put you in touch with someone who can help you. If you do decide to continue then the vitamin C is vital for a vaccinated child.

Vaccination Of Sick Children

I have a 3-year-old daughter, a 15-month-old daughter, and I'm currently pregnant with my third child (who won't receive any vaccines, thank you!). Early this December, my 3-year-old had her normal, scheduled DTaP, HIB, and Flu inhaler vaccines.

I knew nothing about vaccines at the time, and was just following instructions from her pediatrician. She reacted. Her entire leg swole up, turned hard and hot and had bright red circles. She was sick, with a fever, wouldn't eat, wouldn't sleep. We went back to the doctor. They told us she was fine and normal and go home.

I begun researching. What I've found has devastated me and wracked me with guilt over allowing toxins to be injected into my children for 3 years now!

Monday, my 15-month-old daughter Maya had a wellchild checkup. She is extremely sick with a very nasty bout of a respiratory infection and ear infection. Both of my daughters are currently quite sick, thanks to germs from their baby cousin at a Christmas gathering. I told the doctor that she is very sick, isn't eating, has a higher temperature than normal, among all the usual respiratory infection symptoms. They brought in the papers for the vaccines anyway. She was scheduled to receive a Polio, injectable Flu vaccine, and MMR! While SICK! I asked why they would vaccinate her while sick and was told that "some vaccines are okay to give to sick kids, because they... er... don't have live things in them." Seriously, I was told that! I, of course, told them that not only would she not be receiving any vaccines today, she would also not be receiving any more vaccines period.

Her doctor got all snobby and heated with me, calling my information "bullshit" and telling me he wanted to see what my sources were. Ha! I don't have enough printer paper to print out all my sources! I signed a refusal form saying she wouldn't be getting vaccines today, and was treated like a leper.

My question for you is... can I report this pediatrician for vaccinating sick children? It's common knowledge and information among the handouts given with the vaccines that you don't vaccinate a sick child! He could be potentially injuring and killing many children by doing this while their immune systems are clearly busy elsewhere! I feel compelled to act to try to avoid any heartbreak for other parents who haven't researched and are as I was this time last month, completely clueless about the dangers. Any information you can give me would be greatly appreciated!

From K. Banks.

VAN UK'S REPLY:

Congratulations on your forthcoming new baby. I take it you're in the States? You are right in that fever and active infection are contraindications to vaccines (see the Merck Manual on the subject - a page of which is on our site). Your child's doctor is wrong about the vaccines not having 'live things' in them as the MMR has three live viruses.

Who is the doctor's employer? Is he governed by the American Academy of Pediatrics? Because you could approach them and find out what the complaints procedure is. The clinic where you took your child should also have a complaints procedure. His use of language, ie. 'bullshit' etc is not an acceptable way to speak to a client even if he disagrees with you. You are the customer and if you choose not to accept a product you should not be sworn at. He should also be deferring vaccines in children with symptoms such as yours.

Another option is to make a report with VAERS (Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System). I regularly read reports from VAERS and I have noticed they also report malpractice in addition to vaccine injuries, for instance, when someone injects the wrong vaccine or gives two doses by accident or administers it incorrectly. You could make a report of the doctor attempting to vaccinate while your child has fever and infection and attempting to use the MMR live vaccines while she is ill. You could also report your child's previous reaction, as it isn't just about severe reactions. They allow reports of less severe reactions too.

It is common that when a child is experiencing side-effects, doctors will say this is normal and not offer any help other than to say give him tylenol, which studies have shown is counter-productive. I am sorry this has happened to you.

Stay strong and perhaps think about not attending well baby visits. The purpose of well baby visits is to vaccinate and some more enlightened pediatricians will tell you not to attend them if you're not having shots. Some mothers like to go anyway to weigh the child and listen to her heart etc just as reassurance that she is healthy, and others like myself only go to the doctor when the child is sick.