Autism, Vaccines and Immune Deficiency First of all, let me go on the record as stating that I am NOT anti-vaccine...at all. However, something occurred to me this morning and has got me concerned. I'm concerned for a very specific reasons. Emmett and Elliott are both scheduled for vaccines on Thursday afternoon....well...they* were* scheduled for vaccines this Thursday but not now.
My goal here is not to turn this into a heated debate but rather share my concerns as they relate to my, personal family situation. I'm hoping to gain some insight from the community here.
Something occurred to me this morning. Gavin has most likely been Immunol deficient his entire life. Without knowing this, we vaccinated him as recommended by his pediatrician. No one had any idea that Gavin's immune system was compromised until last Wednesday.
As a rule of thumb, our pediatrician will not vaccinate any of his patients when they are sick or *may* be getting sick because their immune system may be compromised. So my question is,* what happens when a child with an immune deficiency receives a vaccine...especially a live vaccine? *We would never knowingly do this but if it accidentally occurred what could happen? In the case of a live vaccine, I would think that the child would be at a much greater risk of becoming infected by the virus or viruses in the vaccine itself. I'm not an expert and that's why I'm posing the question.
Vaccinating a child with an Immunol deficiency
As horrible as it sounds, we can't undo whatever, if anything, that happened to Gavin as a result of vaccinating him while his immune system was compromised. However, now that we are aware of the problem and there is a very real potential that Emmett and Elliott both may have the same or similar Immunol deficiencies, we have to look at everything differently.
I spoke with the pediatrician's office this morning at length about this concern. The nurse I spoke to shared our concerns with the doctor.
While I was waiting for the immunologist to call back, I heard back from the pediatrician. He said that if there is a chance that they have compromised immune systems, he does not want them to have any live vaccines. That put the brakes on tomorrow's scheduled appointment for vaccination's.
We are waiting for Elliott to be seen by the immunologist as well as awaiting the results of Emmett's blood panel.
So how do you handle a situation such as this? I don't believe vaccines cause Autism. However, how much of what Gavin is going through could be related to receiving vaccines with a compromised immune system? I haven't been able to speak to the doctor about this yet but I thought I would pose the question.
Does anyone out there have any experience in this area? Immunol deficiency is a completely new area for me and so I feel like I'm starting from scratch. Any suggestions, advice or experience would be greatly appreciated.
