Comments on Stop. Think. Autism.: Whooping Cough, Again...

Anonymous, you just reconfirmed why I don't trust ...

2009-02-25T14:27:00.000-08:00

Anonymous, you just reconfirmed why I don't trust doctors. I could have diagnosed you in a day using WebMD. Whooping cough is horrible and I am very sorry you had to go through that and continue to deal with the lasting effects.
To the other Anonymous, thank you for your insight. The vaccine ingredients are horrifying to the point I would feel better if my kid smoked cigarettes.

To the author, I'm sure you're very nice. My suggestion is that you never gamble using real money. You don't understand how to play the odds. I am not a parent, but I look at all of these autistic children and see $$$. Autism will most likely be a lifelong issue costing lots of money. Measles, mumps, rubella have been around forever and can be cured in most cases.

Regardless, hard choice as a parent either way.

I'm afraid there's no such thing as a simple shot!...

2008-12-30T18:12:00.000-08:00

I'm afraid there's no such thing as a simple shot!

I don't honestly think the severity of the disease...

2008-08-24T11:15:00.000-07:00

I don't honestly think the severity of the disease has really hit home for any of you. When I was vaccinated against whooping cough, I had an allergic reaction to the shot. Yes, I acknowledge that at this point, my mother feared for my life, as I was very young, and it was a traumatic experience for her. HOWEVER, when I was 9, I contracted pertussis. I began to feel sick around the last week of October, and could not return to school until the following April. THIS DISEASE IS NOT A GAME. After losing my ability to eat, as the coughing spells were triggered by any movement I made at all, I lost 20 lbs. which is an incredible amount of weight for a 9 year old to lose (given that yes, I was overweight when I contracted the disease). When first hospitalized, They told me I was simply being dramatic, and the sickness would fade when my want to be sick did as well. Now here I have to stop and say that the fault is not simply on the parents. Many doctors do not even know what to look for with this disease, as in my case, and even though I was clearly not vaccinated, they did not test me for the disease for several months. WE NEED TO EDUCATE EVERYONE. After several weeks in the ICU, they finally diagnosed me with pertussis (after a terrible encounter with a wire Q-tip and the back of my nasal passage) and began a course on introvenus antibiotics. I was better in a few weeks. Now, however, AT 19 YEARS OLD, I STILL EXPERIENCE SIDE EFFECTS TODAY. There are words my mind will simply not hold, I have a slight tick in my left eye, and yes, when I become ill with a respiratory infection or ailment, I STILL WHOOP. It actually hurts, to "whoop" as they call it, and suprisingly I have never heard mention of this when the subject is being addressed. It is in my opinion that it is the painful whooping that causes the tearing and drooling associated with the disease.
NOW STOP.THINK. Do you really want your child to have to go through this, when it could have been prevented by a simple shot?

I find it interesting that you have all those stat...

2008-08-22T00:17:00.000-07:00

I find it interesting that you have all those statistics about death or long-term damage as a result of whooping cough. Where are your statistics about the documented side effects of vaccination? Death and permanent brain damage are included in possible vaccine side effects. Have you heard of Dr. Sears, a well-respected pediatrician and author of numerous books? Even he has concerns about the recommended vaccination schedule and offers an alternative one in his "The Vaccine Book". Have you bothered to research the ingredients of what is injected into tiny little babies as early as the first or second day of their life? (the Hep B vaccine - mostly transmitted through needle sharing and sexual intercourse - a real danger among infants) Aluminum is a major ingredient of concern - there has not been a single study about the safety (or danger) of aluminum in vaccines. Never mind the formaldehyde - do you know what the safe level of formaldehyde is? Oh yeah, it isn't safe at ANY level.

I'm amazed that as a parent of an autistic child you can exclude vaccinations as a cause with such conviction. I highly recommend "The Vaccine Book" to any parent or parent-to-be. It isn't an anti-vaccination rant. In fact he recommends most vaccinations, but he actually lists all ingredients in all vaccines which is information that is hard to come by because it would make people think twice about vaccinating. It's enough to make you cringe. It actually reaffirmed my decision NOT to vaccinate my daughter. I'm not excluding the possibility of selective vaccination in the future, but for now she has not been touched by the needle. She will be 19 months next week and actually has the whooping cough at this moment. It is definitely a scary disease and I don't wish it on any child, but she is strong and healthy otherwise and we're already well on our way to recovery.

I understand why people vaccinate their children, but I also understand why some choose not to. What I don't understand is blind faith in the medical and pharmaceutical community where it's all about profit. Don't get me wrong, they come up with some good stuff, but certainly not all of it.

Well, I have more to say, but it's bedtime...

Have at me!

Oh, yeah, I'm posting anonymous because I don't feel like taking the time to open an account now...

Ms. Clark:OMG--I had totally forgotten about the "...

2008-06-07T00:25:00.000-07:00

Ms. Clark:
OMG--I had totally forgotten about the "chicken pox" parties until I read your comment. Oh, yes, what great fun. It still amazes me how many ignorant parents exist in this world. Very sad.

Joe:
Thanks for those links. I had never heard of these schools or their belief system until this story came up. Unbelievable...

It's not surprising that a Waldorf school was impl...

2008-06-06T15:14:00.000-07:00

It's not surprising that a Waldorf school was implicated in this. Steiner (whose teachings serve as the basis of the Waldorf schools) was very anti-vaccination.

There have been whooping cough outbreaks connected to the Waldorf school in Boulder, as well as measles outbreaks connected to a Waldorf school in Germany.

Joe

I think we all ought to have pertussis parties, do...

2008-06-06T13:55:00.000-07:00

I think we all ought to have pertussis parties, don't you? :-(