vaccination

Do you need a flu jab?

More than half of Doctors think the main reason at-risk patients do not take up flu vaccination is because they are concerned the vaccine itself could give them flu-like symptoms, according to results of a recent survey.

53 per cent of professionals polled rated this as the top reason why they think at-risk patients – including over 65s, pregnant women and those with weakened immune systems because of other diseases – miss out on vaccination. It ranked in the top five reasons among 94 per cent of respondents.

The next biggest concern for HCPs was that patients who have not previously had flu do not consider themselves at risk, with 86 per cent placing this in the top five reasons patients miss the jab. And 76 per cent said patients being unaware of the increased risk of complications from flu were among the top five reasons.

Flu is an infectious viral illness spread by coughs and sneezes. It is different from the common cold because it is caused by different viruses and tends to result in more severe and long-lasting symptoms. Flu can be prevented through good hygiene, vaccination and, in some cases, antiviral medication.

During the last flu season, uptake of the flu vaccine varied in at risk groups with just around 40% of pregnant women and 73% of over 65s being immunised across England.

To find out more we contacted an interview with Dr Jonathan Pittard, a UK based family doctor.

PATENTTALK.ORG: Thanks for taking time to talk us Dr Pittard, can you start by telling us what influenza is?

DR PITTARD: Well influenza is a viral illness of several different strengths but you only get one at a time. Essentially it gives you a very high fever, and a very bad headache and a very bad muscle ache. So essentially for 4 or 5 days you are sneezing and snuffling a bit, you can hardly stand up, you can get to the bathroom and back to your bed and you feel pretty dreadful. It is a bit like having malaria so it is way worse than a cold.

PATENTTALK.ORG: And, what are the different types of flu and how do they infect people?

DR PITTARD: There are two classifications; there is A influenza and B influenza. B has by reputation to be slightly more severe. The most recent A one that people will be familiar with would be swine flu, which came out in 2009-10. We vaccinated a lot of pregnant women then because it was worst in pregnancy. The actual illness I had in April of that year and happily it was just for the Friday, Saturday, Sunday so I didn’t miss any work but the current vaccine has a 2009 strain in and two from 2012. One of A vaccine and one of B virus and they were identified in the States. In the case of Swine flu it came up from Mexico from pigs to humans and that’s how it has picked up. So the World Health Organisation keeps an eye out for this like Sherlock Holmes and spots what the trends would be; the virus strains that we haven’t had in Europe and it will put the manufacturers on advice to make the vaccine to anticipate the ones we haven’t had.

PATENTTALK.ORG: Could you just tell us a little bit about the particular danger posed by the different strains of flu, such as bird flu.

DR PITTARD: Well the biology of it seems that these viruses, similar with the Ebola virus, they seem to get into animal systems and seem to mutate there. And then there are places in China in case of bird flu there are a lot of poorer Chinese who will live with chickens in their house and because chickens are kind of valuable they keep them under their beds, you can well imagine if you stay with a chicken long enough it may share one of its viruses with you, and when the jump is made from avian bird flu to a human often the human system reacts very badly to it, and there have been one or two deaths. So it is quite interesting biology. In the case of the Ebola virus, it was bush meat and people were eating these animals and getting these animal viruses.

PATENTTALK.ORG: Can you just briefly outline how the flu jab works?

DR PITTARD: What happens is the myth that the survey shows, people object to the flu vaccine on the one ground is maybe that they think it will give them the flu. Some viruses are actively vaccinated into us. Polio used like that – it was audited in a way that it didn’t make you ill but it gave you immunity for life. With the flu vaccine they extract the infectious part and they just give you the virus ‘skin’, to give it to you in simpler terms and it then prompts your immune system to look out for that virus when you meet it live in the future. So after about ten days you meet the live virus your immune system won’t take a hold because it will recognise the skin, the armour if you like, and will destroy it before it starts with the Interferon that is the body’s anti-viral. So it is a dead vaccine, it won’t give you the flu.

PATENTTALK.ORG: So is it a myth, then – that you may develop symptoms of flu by having the jab?

DR PITTARD: Yes, I think what happens is when people go to the doctors they pick up a virus in winter, they are incubating it they get hit in the waiting room or the supermarket on the way home, and it coincides with the flu vaccine and for a few patients they say “Oh, well that is what has given me the flu, I should not have had the flu vaccine”, and so they become adverse to it. Most of our patients don’t subscribe to that but that is what the survey, Ipsos Moray GSK Survey showed. And so we are really keen to expose that as a myth.

PATENTTALK.ORG: Are there any possible complications from having the flu vaccine?

DR PITTARD: Well the headline objection that’s very rare is that if a patient has true intolerance to eggs, and you might not like eggs, you might not like egg soufflé or egg fried rice or omelettes but that is not an allergy an allergy is where your tongue swells up, your eyes close, you need adrenalin, and you get very asthmatic I mean that is very rare to eggs it is probably as rare as being allergic to milk but because the vaccine is prepared using live hens eggs which is un-purified there is a theoretical objection to that, but that is the only headline issue. If for example you are very allergic to rare ingredients in the flu vaccine, the preservatives in the other vaccines you have had a reaction to tetanus, you have had a reaction to pneumonia vaccine, then possibly your doctor will know that. These are very rare 1 in 10,000 or 1 in 1,000,000 cases. For the bulk of us, none of that applies. If you can tolerate eggs, you can tolerate the flu vaccine.

PATENTTALK.ORG: Who is particularly at risk from believing in these myths?

DR PITTARD: The best way to answer that is the “at risk” population. Most GPs are concerned with the over 65’s because you tolerate flu worse and worse as you get older. The rest of your biology is compromised by aging; heart, lungs and so on. You are more likely to get pneumonia and you are less likely to be able to look after yourself. Younger patients that battle on are a bit stronger I guess. So the national policy is to vaccinate the over 65’s and also vaccinate people with pneumonia and bronchitis risks, diabetic risks, heart disease risks and one of the two groups like care workers and ambulance drivers. These are the people that need the vaccine and they are the ones that are likely to object for grounds of getting the flu from the flu vaccine, which is not true. The other objections that the survey showed is they thought that they never got the flu so they didn’t need it. Of course eventually, it is like Russian roulette, they will get it.

PATENTTALK.ORG: Final question, what is your advice to anyone who might be worried about getting the flu?

DR PITTARD: Well, the national policy which had thousands of patients seeing their GP’s in October / November and the GP’s keep the flu vaccine in their surgery, their special clinics, and kept in touch with their practice, if you have moved area just talk to the reception staff and they will make it very easy for you to get your vaccine. If you are concerned that you may have a particular risk then you can have a consultation with your GP by phone for example, and they can often phone you back, book an appointment to talk about it or if you are outside of the risk group that the NHS will vaccinate you then you can still go to pharmacy chains and buy the vaccine for about £10, maybe less, and have it yourself. There are very few contraindications of having this, it is a very safe procedure.

Autism Awareness

The debate about vaccinations and autism has been raging for over a decade now. It is a highly contentious issue with very strong feelings on both sides.

We would like to take a “snapshot” of the current views of our readers on the subject. To this end we have created a poll which we would ask you to take – which you can find at the end of this post.

If you wish you can use the comments section to expand on your views and thinking in more detail. That being said we do ask that you treat the views of others with respect and be charitable to comments that you may not agree with.

Many thanks in advance

SpeaksAspergian	I was diagnosed with Asperger’s/autism when I was 58 years old. I am a geneticist and a conservation biologist. I would love to say more about myself, but I come to this conversation not even knowing what phrases are acceptable. I come to a community that I wish would accept my differences, because I honestly do not understand the politics of how we are supposed to talk about autism. ALL that being said, I would like to write a wee bit about the genetics, so that we are clear on what is known, which is far from enough. I apologize in advance if my phraseology is politically incorrect, but my limitation is this: I try to be pc, but I am hardwired to communicate in my way. There are clearly, and understandably, misunderstandings in genetics which I have noticed in the comments. Here is some big picture stuff: Autism falls into the category of “quantitative” genetics. This means that there are many, many genes involved, each with a small effect, each with a small contribution to the whole “phenotype” that we call autism. (I use the neutral scientific term “phenotype” instead of disease or syndrome, even though I believe that these other terms may be used correctly in appropriate context.) What this means is that autism is NOT like cystic fibrosis or sickle cell anemia, which are human diseases caused by a mutation in a single gene. Autism is literally based on a spectrum of genes, many, many genes. I cannot stress enough that many genes are involved and that we need much more scientific research. According to statistics, autism has a substantial genetic basis AND is influenced by environment. Both are important. Here’s a personal example: I was conceived in a little house beside a golf course in the 1950’s (read: pesticides without modern controls). Because I am the first person in my family “with autism” (sorry to those who dislike the “with” phrase), and because biological development is altered in autism, I have asked, could those chemical toxins that my mother may have breathed over 9 months TIPPED my genetic cart (the genes that were there already in me) in such a way that I developed Asperger’s? Maybe and maybe not. This question cannot yet be answered. We don’t know because it is possible that my Asperger’s (may I speak it this way?) would have developed anyway! Many little genes of small effects can together make a big effect. What about vaccines? I have not read the actual clinical trials, but I accept the reported result that there is not a statistical link. This does not mean that I don’t think there is something else in our environment TIPPING THE CART for many people. We are all carrying genes that matter in autism. I say this because of the very sophisticated “genetic architecture” of autism. Autism as a phenotype may be a modern syndrome, but its genetics have evolved in our human population over a very, very long period of time. We need research as well as _______(the pc word for treatment … anybody?). My hope is to help bring the science of autism genetics to the people. This is certainly not an easy task, not only because to render that science accessible will take much work, but because I am not wired to be politically correct. My hope is that the controversies, protests and boycotts will give way to a unified research front going forward. My hope is that readers will accept my limitation in how I use language, and let me write about genetics for the general public without criticizing my Aspie inability (am I wrong to use ‘inability’?) to use language phrases that are not my own. Thanks to all who read and accommodate my language. Thanks to my Creator, that I can write, for my identity is in my soul, not my “autism”.
MarkAllen2	EliCabelly amandapowell1 klhembree diseases are coming back because the vaccines contain LIVE viruses that …….. wait for it………SHED……….thats why the outbreak in canada last year was directly linked back to a vaxed kid………..herd immunity???? what about china……they have almost 100% and they are still getting outbreaks???? you are one to talk calling people uneducated……….you should realise that when you point the finger at someone there are 3 fingers pointing at you 😉
MarkAllen2	EliCabelly klhembree once again no citation for your dribble eli
MarkAllen2	EliCabelly GinaGeer you keep bleeting the same talking point eli…….put up some evidence for your content or shut up…..ffs what are you a big pharma or govt troll??? you know how i know your full of crap???? because courts in the US and Italy have RULED that there is a connection but the govenments have sealed the cases so the public cannot get the damn evidence in the public domain ………. vaccines are neither safe nor effective and i bet you can’t find us a study to disprove that statement 😉
MarkAllen2	HeatherSaggers please do the history…….these so called deadly (media fearmongering) diseases were already in decline of 80-90% BEFORE their various vaccines even came into play…….something the media and establishment always forget to mention……also in the US…….whats doing more harm to our children……measles or the mmr vaccine??? in the last 10 years how many measles deaths??? compare that the mmr vaccine related deaths over the same period???? the tv (a.k.a propaganda box) does not always give you the truth………..enough said 😉
MarkAllen2	MissyAvey it does if they are directly exposed to the toxics in their environment……swallowing paint might do it, or even a tube of fluoride toothpaste or mercury from a broken power saving lightbulb, pesticides/round-up…..theres tonnes of crap in our childrens environments now – a lot more than 50+ years ago…….before the fda and epa started rubber stamping everything……..do you actually think parents watch their kids brush their teeth 100% of the time? what does it say on the toothpaste packaging if swallowed in the US??? Contact the POISON CENTER and lets keep in mind and in perspective………how many unvaxed kids have autism? maybe 1 in 25,000 compared to the 1 in 50 in the vaxed lot? dont take mine or anyone elses opinions as gospel – but do keep an open mind and dont buy into the medical establishment……they don’t profit of healthy people do they?
MarkAllen2	Donna Loveless totally agree donna…….the spectrum is so broad now that it has become near impossible to pin point a direct cause…… what i don’t buy into is the government (new zealand) saying that the majority of autism is genetical…….this is a straight out lie, genetics at most only accounts for no more than 30%, the birthing process between 5& & 15% ……. that means that anywhere between 55% & 65% is environmental!!! Vaccines can and has caused autism, this has been verified in both US and Italian Courts where the Judges have ruled just that – the fact that the government then seals the case so the public cannot get access to the evidence, to me, is their submission of the FACT! However, like i said before, the spectrum is now so broad – and basically each case and child is different/unique – to me the environmental factors explains the rest………..toxics/poisons such as pesticides, herbicides, fluoridated water, lead, mercury, aluminium. round-up, lead, arsenic, etc etc the list goes on and on which to me, at least, accounts for the wide variety of symptoms that fall on the spectrum……….my personal experince with one of my boys (and only 1, the middle of 5) tells me that it was his vaccine that triggered/caused his autism……i have home video of him 3-4 months before his shot………..alert, verbal, responsive……..i even have a plunket nurse report stating that she had ZERO concerns about is ‘development’ just 1 month prior to his shot…………it was a very slow regression for my son, being with him everyday i wasnt the one to notice and raise the alarm bells…..rather it was my mother who visits every school holiday, every 3 months that noticed……the rest is history and the only benefit for my family is that this woke me the f%$k up and i now question EVERYTHING and if my question dont get answered i simply do not CONSENT to ANY medical/government/authority and NEVER WILL! My family – My choice
chellerae77	Both of my daughters were vaccinated. Same doctor. Same clinic. Same vaccines. One daughter, no problems. My other daughter, diagnosed with Autism. I’ve done so much reading on the vaccine/autism debate. However in my opinion, I have proof right in front of me of no link. Autism is not a disease to be “cured”. It a developmental/personality disorder that occurs in utero. Yeah I think genetics plays a big part in it too. Lots of Autism diagnosis in my family. Maternal and paternal. My daughter knows the diagnosis doesn’t change a thing about her. She knows she’s perfect who she is. I just don’t see any legitimate proof to the link. But I do not ever claim to be an expert. This is all just MY opinion.
thisHillfamilyisAusome	Shelly you have been misinformed! You should read up on blood born pathogens. Hep B can survive on most surfaces for at least 7 days. Anytime a person/child comes in contact with infected blood the risk is present. Yes, sex and sharing needles…….. Also sharing razors, toothbrushes, open sores, pricks from infected needles, instruments ect.
escentiallife	amandapowell1 yes finally you got it right …. You are GUESSING I could see why the idea came about because of when you notice the autism but you can’t go around deciding reality by guess. my nephew was claimed to have come down with the autism after his 4-6 month shots but I told them at birth he was autistic duh! not our fault no one can see it.
escentiallife	amandapowell1 no vaccines in my ancestors or myself, so why do most of us have autism? my children were vaccinated but not at birth and that is when the autism was obvious to their autistic mother (diagnosed at age2) My grandchildren got all the nasty crap like HepB and they are past age 3 with NO SIGNS of autism. anecdotes are not science but I will never believe the damage done by the vaccines is autism. there could a link because autistics tend to be more sensitive to and unable to detoxify as well as the allistic. I am for spacing out the vaccines for autistics and a couple I am against but it has nothing to do with autism. that is ridiculous!
escentiallife	amandapowell1 apparently …. according to you! I CAN’T BE METPMSL
patienttalk	ShelleyTzorfas Sorry I don’t quite understand what you are saying. Could you explain please?
ShelleyTzorfas	WE watched in horror as towns that never had Autism before had a child or 2 suddenly Autistic because the US passed a law blocking Your right to sue a vaccine maker in regular court and kids went from a few vaccines to more than 80. 1991 hit hard -it was the year they began vaccinating NEWBORNS for a disease they could not get-Hep B, a mad science experiment as it is spread by sex or IV drug (Sharing) use. This controversy among the pharma/med industry did NOT begin a decade ago- It began in 1991-some say the 1980’s. In the meantime if you really want kids to recover;http://www.amazon.com/Recovering-Autism-ADHD-Special-Needs/dp/0988853108
LowellHubbs	EliCabelly Donna Loveless The toxins were removed from vaccinations over a decade ago? Have you ever read the vaccine ingredients list? Was the only toxin you know of, Thimerosal, (mercury)? I think you need to start doing some actual and independent research. What about aluminum adjuvants and vaccine contamination? Vaccine Ingredients http://novaccine.com/vaccine-ingredients/ Vaccine dangers: Bombshell admissions from CDC’s 1999 Epidemiologist There is absolute confirmation of the following health anomalies that have been plaguing U.S. and global population children’s health before the age of six, now and for the last two decades. Degenerative and developmental disorders Renal disorders Elevated risks for disorders such as: Autism, sleep disorders, and speech disorders The unfortunate truth finally has been revealed that the U.S. CDC and others knew about mercury in vaccines causing Autism back in 1999 and have been misleading us scientifically ever since! It does not get any more criminal than that: conspiracy! And, that’s not on the part of ‘conspiracy theorists’ either; it’s on the non-deniable, self-stated, admission of a U.S. government health agency, the CDC. Sadly, the same is still going on regarding vaccines. Currently, it’s repugnant, and no one is doing anything responsible to rectify it. Read more: http://www.sott.net/article/268185-Vaccine-dangers-Bombshell-admissions-from-CDCs-1999-Epidemiologist Facts, regarding the misleading claim that mercury, (Thimerosal), has been removed from vaccines. http://www.vacfacts.info/facts-regarding-the-misleading-claim-that-mercury-thimerosal-has-been-removed-from-vaccines.html Glutathione, Tylenol, Vaccine Adverse Reactions, and ASD http://www.vacfacts.info/glutathione-tylenol-vaccine-adverse-reactions-and-asd.html Vaccine aluminum adjuvant causation of neuroglial activation and neuroinflammation in the brain of patients with autism http://www.vacfacts.info/vaccine-aluminum-adjuvant-causation-of-neuroglial-activation-and-neuroinflammation-in-the-brain-of-patients-with-autism.html Callous Disregard Research http://www.callous-disregard.com/research.htm Do Vaccines Cause Autism? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6S1-LgYyjQg
LowellHubbs	The science speaks for itself, right here. Vaccine DO cause autism. Learn what the real, unbiased, and independent science that the CDC ignores and continues to ignore, is showing us. Clearly a situation with potentially more harm than good being done by vaccines. Vaccine aluminum adjuvant causation of neuroglial activation and neuroinflammation in the brain of patients with autism. (Numerous independent studies) http://www.vacfacts.info/vaccine-aluminum-adjuvant-causation-of-neuroglial-activation-and-neuroinflammation-in-the-brain-of-patients-with-autism.html Vaccination toxicity: The Zeta phase of MASS and “blood sludging”. http://www.vacfacts.info/vaccination-toxicity-the-zeta-phase-of-mass-and-ldquoblood-sludgingrdquo.html The Mechanisms of Vaccine Injury and Via Cytokine Stormhttp://www.vacfacts.info/the-mechanisms-of-vaccine-injury-and-via-cytokine-storm.html Vaccine Production With – Human Diploid Cells (aborted fetal cell tissue) http://www.vacfacts.info/vaccine-production-with—human-diploid-cells-aborted-fetal-cell—tissue.html Autism Spectrum Disorders Common Sense about Autism Spectrum Disorders.Autism has a number of causes – which means you can do something to help reverse it and improve the life of your child. http://www.health-reports.com/autism.html?engine=overture%21801&keyword=autism+resourceThe CDC Claimed To Epidemiological Safety Studies – Verses – The Independent Physiological Vaccine Safety Science http://www.vacfacts.info/the-cdc-claimed-to-epidemiological-safety-studies-ndash-verses-ndash-the-independent-physiological-vaccine-safety-science.html
EliCabelly	amandapowell1 kb7rkyHend200How mature and educated of you. I guess name calling is an accepted debate tactic for you.
EliCabelly	amandapowell1 EliCabellyklhembreeDiseases are coming back because people aren’t vaccinating their children. You fail at metaphor.
EliCabelly	GinaGeer There is no connection between autism and vaccines.
EliCabelly	amandapowell1 EliCabellyAutism is a genetic condition, with initial onset before birth. Everything you see after birth, with the social disorders and everything else, is secondary symptoms.
EliCabelly	AngelaGoodbody There is no link between autism and vaccines. You need to help him learn coping skills to deal with all the increased perceptions he’s trying to deal with.
EliCabelly	amandapowell1 kb7rkyAutism starts before birth. Autism is genetic, not from toxins or vaccines.
EliCabelly	amandapowell1 rachie79 Autism has no link to vaccines or toxins.
EliCabelly	unam You’re right, that is all you know. Autism has no link to vaccines.
EliCabelly	amandapowell1 HeatherSaggersAutism is genetic. That’s why it’s more prevalent in boys than in girls.
EliCabelly	amandapowell1 The toxins in vaccines do not contribute to autism at all. The actual onset of autism is before birth. What you saw at 12 months were secondary symptoms.
EliCabelly	Donna Loveless Autism starts in utero. Autism doesn’t match any other illness based on toxic exposure. The toxins were removed from vaccinations over a decade ago, and the incidence of autism hasn’t decreased. Autism isn’t related to vaccinations.
Donna Loveless	If I told you my child was neurologically damaged or brain injured by exposure to lead based paint, I would not be challenged, yet thousands of parents testify that they saw their children regress into “autism” (neurological injury) after vaccinations, and everyone is skeptical. Why? Political? Egos? Money? Parents of autistic children have proven that their children have high amounts of mercury, aluminum and other toxins (which are in the vaccines) in their blood. Many have been able to detox and reverse the autistic like symptoms. But still no one believes. Until real studies are done comparing vaccinated vs. unvaccinated we will never have a true perspective. What is everyone afraid of? Yes, I believe it’s possible there are different causes of autism… But if 1 out of 25,000 unvaccinated have autism and 1 out of 25 vaccinated have autism, we can see the problem. The autism “epidemic” we have today did not start until the vaccination schedule increased in 1990. The more vaccines, the higher the rates of autism. It’s really not so hard to figure out…… But somebody doesn’t WANT it figured out. Hmmmm.
ConcernedMom1	amandapowell1It’s such a toxic world we live in. Sadly, the chemicals in our mattresses don’t help either. They are most toxic…and contribute hugely to Crib death annually. Seems more is against our raising healthy children than is for…see this: http://www.thecauseofsids.org/Cause_of_SIDS_found_by_Jane_Sheppard.htm
amandapowell1	kb7rky I relied on my doctors and my child did not have autism until after her 1 year flu shot. I educated myself then and found vaccines are just a useless money making ploy. They don’t prevent disease. never have and never will…
amandapowell1	kb7rky Hend200 you are mean Kb. and uneducated
amandapowell1	EliCabelly Hend200 she said that because you were talking about herd immunity, a very uneducated thought
amandapowell1	EliCabelly klhembree So I guess if I don’t bathe then you are dirty and stink EliCabelly? or if I don’t take my birth control pills you will get pregnant? Herd immunity is just heard immunity and nothing more. Vaccines don’t even prevent disease. Read up on the history of vaccines. Diseases were leaving society when the vaccines would be made. The diseases that never got a vaccine made for them left society just as quickly as the ones with a vaccine made for them and they didn’t return like the ones with a vaccine
amandapowell1	EliCabelly Autism is not just developmental delay. It is a social disorder and my child did not have this at all until 1 year old.
amandapowell1	rachie79 Actually there are cures for autism that work for most kids if tried. One is getting the toxins out of their bodies. Guess where the toxins came from? You guessed it… their parent’s vaccines or their own. Sometimes other places
amandapowell1	HeatherSaggers Ask your husband if he was vaccinated. What about his dad? there you go. Your family is definitely sensitive to the vaccines and they did cause the autism in your family.
amandapowell1	The toxins in vaccines are a large contributor to autism. I don’t think they caused my daughter’s autism all by themselves, but I also don’t think she’d have it today without them. Autism didn’t come until her 12 month shots. You will not ever meet an autistic individual who never had vaccines and who’s parents and grandparents never had vaccines. Unfortunately heavy metal and other toxins to pass on from both parents to the fetus so they harm the baby. That is why some kids are “born with autism”. They did not have it from conception. the toxins damaged them throughout the 9 months they were in the womb. This also explains why some kids aren’t vaccinated and still get autism. The toxins damage their stomachs, leading to brain problems since the gut and brain are connected.
MissyAvey	ConcernedMom1 MissyAvey I wouldn’t doubt it. Almost everything has GMO and chemicals in it nowadays.
ConcernedMom1	MissyAvey It could be GMO foods that are turning our children into what they are. Just a thought.
MissyAvey	rachie79 Yes. We need to focus on helping those with Autism thrive!
rachie79	I look at it as we can not change autism once diagnosed there is no cure all that we can do is accept love and support people living with Autism and research ways we can teach them to help them thrive in life and achieve there potential.I personally would not be looking for the answer of what causes Autism as no one knows and probably never will
MissyAvey	It doesn’t explain the unvaccinated children who have Autism.
unam	All I know is very typical grandson was on 3 bouts of antibiotics for ear infection then on well check day given 7 immunization s to catch him up and 2 weeks was silent and stemming in him own little world. He now lives we us.
Walkingforadam	For anyone interested, when I was trying to work out what I thought about this issue, I wrote two blog posts which you can find here: http://www.walkingforadam.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/why-i-am-choosing-to-vaccinate-adam.html and here: http://www.walkingforadam.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/what-i-have-learned-about-mmr.html
HeatherSaggers	Both my sons have autism, one is ‘worse’ than the other. I say worse, but he is more obvious than my other son. My husband is autistic and i am pretty sure his dad is also autistic. For me that says it is in the genes somewhere. But one thing i will always say is, that i would rather give my child a vaccination than let them catch a preventable disease and potentially die from it. The thing about online access is if you believe something then the online world will give you the answers your looking for. For me i recently was in pain, i looked on the internet and everything i pulled up told me i had cancer. It made me worry, the symptoms fit. Yet it ended up being a pulled muscle. If you want to find that vaccines cause autism that’s what you will find online. But you only see what you have decided. I firmly believe vaccines do not CAUSE autism
kb7rky	Well, of course they do! I mean, really…what do health care professionals with their CENTURIES of experience in things like this really know? I mean, after all, we all know that uneducated, vapid, moronic celebrities know far more about dangerous and deadly diseases than your doctor ever will! And, we all know, too, that just Googling your symptoms will lead to a 100% diagnosis every time! …damn it was hard typing that with a straight face… Too bad most of the idiots here on this board don’t bother to do real research into vaccines, but instead rely on public opinion and their own ignorance to facts to decide they’re right, and everyone else is wrong…right, Hend 200? Yeah, I’m talking to you, you ignorant jackass…simply because most, if not all, of your idiotic comments can be easily destroyed. Never have I seen such a case of cognitive dissonance as yours. Wow. How you manage to get yourself out of bed every morning should be making headlines over on Faux Noise.
kb7rky	Hend200 You’re outclassed and outnumbered, troll. Begone with thee.
EliCabelly	Hend200 I’m not afraid of non vaccinate children. Why would you make such an idiotic assumption? Again, you need to learn the difference between actual science and quackery.
EliCabelly	Hend200 I see you haven’t learned how to determine the difference between actual science and quackery. Maybe you should learn how to do that with your next 5 months in bed. Good luck with that though. It took me years to figure that out.

Patient Talk

Patient Talk

Are you at risk from the ‘flu this winter? Read our interview with Dr Jonathan Pittard

Improving eye contact in children diagnosed with autism – A guest post from Dr. Sonya Doherty

Autism and vaccinations! Could autism be caused by vaccines? Have your say at our poll! And check on the discussion!