Flange Desire wrote,
***Fears that immunisations can cause brain damage and seizures in healthy children have been quashed in a landmark study by Melbourne researchers.***
The author of the article you linked to might want to rephrase her summation, and you might want to reconsider quoting it as the summation of your comments on the issue.
The study deals with a very specific condition, namely, to quote, “a severe form of childhood epilepsy called Dravet's syndrome”.
Any true critical thinker will realize immediately that the focus of this particular study does not encompass any and all forms of “brain damage and seizures in healthy children”, caused by vaccines or not, so the blanket declaration issued by the author (and quoted by you) is highly inaccurate and potentially misleading (for those lacking critical thinking and/or reading comprehension skills and/or the attention span required to read past the headline or opening paragraph, at least.)
I’m rather disappointed that so few here have raised (noticed?) this obvious point, but instead opted to ignore it and ridicule others for their supposed ignorance, bias, and lack of critical thinking. JMHO. It remains to be seen if I will be banished/attacked for expressing a “discordant” perspective, as a few have suggested occurs elsewhere, among the so-called “nutters”
Certain vaccines are known to have the potential to rarely cause seizures and/or brain damage in healthy children, including children with no known genetic predisposition to or subsequent manifestation of such activity.
Pertussis (“whooping cough“) containing vaccines are the best documented in this respect, and while the currently used acellular pertussis component of the DTaP vaccine is far LESS likely to be associated with such reactions (by an estimated ratio of 10 to 1) compared to the notorious whole cell pertussis used in the DPT, non-febrile seizures and other neurological effects remain recognized adverse events in the literature.
Anecdotally, my own son, following his DPT (and Hib and oral polio) at age 2 mths., experienced several hours of non-febrile convulsions (he never ran a fever with his reaction or before it. Ran his first fever a few mths later with an ear infection) and other neurological symptoms lasting over 9 hours, including prolonged “inconsolable crying“, “high-pitched screaming”, and, finally, a 12 hour “unrousable episode“, all of which were and are recognized “moderately severe to severe” adverse reactions to pertussis vaccine and considered to indicate probable “nervous system involvement“.
By “following”, I mean that his reaction began with inconsolable crying and a severe local reaction within 15 minutes of the injection and within an hour had progressed to screaming and in another hour or so to seizures as well, just to clarify the time frame.
His seizures were of a type long associated with pertussis vaccine, called in the literature and product inserts “stiffening and staring seizures”. I have seen febrile and epileptic seizures, as well, and his were of a very distinct clinical nature, well described by the name given, as was his screaming, also known colloquially by some researchers as “the encephalitic cry” due to its clinically identical nature to the screaming associated with that condition.
He was born full-term almost to the day, with no complications or interventions (incl. drugs during labor), breast-fed, perfectly healthy as far as could be determined. We have no known family history of neurological or seizure disorders, and at age 14 yrs, he has yet to experience another seizure or neurological event of any kind. No indications of any such condition or propensity whatsoever as of his last check-up a few mths ago. However, FTR, we never vaccinated him again after much research and careful consideration, which may have something to do with his failure to manifest further symptoms.
Another anecdotal account (but one likewise backed up by more than mere anecdotal opinion):
I personally know of a young lady about my son’s age who was rendered profoundly retarded and a paraplegic immediately following her 6 mth. DPT shot. She had reacted to the previous 2 doses with symptoms similar to those my son experienced. (and should not, according to the manufacturer and most authorities, have ever gotten that 3rd dose, but it is often difficult to convince certain Drs of the existence and/or severity of vaccine reactions, even when they are well documented, and her mother’s concerns were dismissed)
No fewer than 12 Doctors of Medicine who examined and worked with her afterwards concurred as to causation, and she received a settlement from VAERS.
Again, no known family history of any such problems and a clean bill of health prior to age 6 mths.
Finally, I would just like to comment on the use of the word “fear”, as it is so often used to disparage legitimate concerns re’ vaccines. I vaccinated my son out of “fear”, truth be told, fear which was carefully ingrained and reinforced by the mainstream media in all its forms, fear of rare and/or rarely harmful illnesses which, I was assured, were more likely than not to maim or kill him should I neglect his routine immunizations.
I opted to not vaccinate him again after educating myself on the facts according to the best available science, not “fear”. There is a huge difference between a fully informed decision and blind, unreasoning “fear”.
But the term is so effective at eliciting an image of some primitive, ignorant, irrational, emotional response to something not understood that it comes in handy when the goal is to dismiss legitimate concerns re’ complicated issues as quickly as possible.
All in all, I find it offensive and condescending, since it is so often used in such a manner.
Raven
