Well, like many parents, we have spent the past 15 months taking trips to the doctors surgery for the wee woman to get all her vaccinations. Sometimes I often wondered if we rushed in too quickly in following the normal turn of events and maybe should have done some more research into each vaccination before allowing our daughter to get them. It never really weighed too heavily in my thoughts until the most recent vaccination was given – the MMR. This is the only one Tamar seemed to take a reaction to. High temperature, a spotty rash and generally being unwell and clingy, were symptoms we had never seen in Tamar before, it was terrifying to say the least!

As she started displaying these symptoms 2 days after the vaccination, it seemed logical to us that they were a reaction to the MMR. However, at the onset of the symptoms the doctor concluded it was chicken pox. Assuming the doctor was correct, we took the sensible precautions – keeping her away from other children, washing hands frequently etc This of course did result in disruption to normal family routine ie.One parent cant go to work for a week. A fairly normal sacrifice parents need to anticipate upon having children and we had no problem doing this. However, three days later, with no blisters developing, itchy skin or any other chicken pox symptoms, we concluded it could not possibly have been chicken pox after all. Which brings us back to the MMR. Although we can never be certain, it seems a fairly logical conclusion that a normally very healthy baby who gets sick 2 days after an injection, gets very sick due to the injection.

Despite the distressing sickness for a few days, this was probably quite a mild ‘illness’ in comparison to those Tamar may have had if she didn’t have all her vaccinations, and in many ways, I still agree with our decision to go ahead with them all. My real grievance is the lack of openness concerning the possible side effects these vaccinations have and the eagerness by many medical professionals to pin these symptoms on other illnesses. One suggestion has been made that many doctors wouldn’t admit these kinds of reactions are caused by vaccinations because it would add to the already questionable safety issues surrounding them, especially the MMR. But as parent, I would appreciate the truth that a vaccination causes these symptoms, and be able to deal with them accordingly rather than be panicking over a illness that isn’t really there in the first place.

Anyone else have an opinion or personal experiences they would like to share? Would love to hear from you!