The study asked 209 Washington State pediatricians about their overall willingness and “comfort” to use an alternative immunization schedule, something I believe in myself. The results were fairly surprising, at least for me. Almost two out of three (61 percent) of the doctors surveyed said they would be comfortable using an alternative schedule if parents specifically requested one. That’s welcome news, and news that should be out there: It’s okay to question or delay vaccines as long as you know the risks and benefits upfront.

I have three problems with the current vaccine schedule. First, kids are given a lot of vaccines starting at a very young age — birth for most. Second, most of the vaccines that doctors stick into kids are not required by law for entry into school. Finally, I think we’re vaccinating against diseases that — for those with healthy immune systems — aren’t going to hurt kids should they get them. In fact, I believe that kids should get sick sometimes. It’s good for the immune system.

As to the first issue: How is it that a minutes-old baby needs a Hepatitis B shot if its mother does not have the disease? Sure, I know doctors will say that the mother could have contracted the disease between the beginning of her pregnancy when she is tested for Hep B and the time she gives birth, but how likely is it really? The next set of recommended shots — and I do mean “set” since it’s FIVE shots — comes at two-months-old. At that time, doctors can give, based on the AAP’s recommendation, shots for rotavirus, haemophilus influenzae type b vaccine (Hib), pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV), polio, and a combined shot of diphtheria, tetanus and acellular pertussis vaccine (DTaP). So basically seven different shots at one time. For a two-month-old. Two months later you get the same shots again. At six months, you’re looking at another rotavirus shot, another Hep B shot, DTaP, Hib, PVC, polio, and possibly a flu vaccine. All told, the kid’s had 19 shots and a cocktail of more than nine diseases injected into his or her system before they can barely sit up. And here’s the rub: Many of those shots are not required for school, and the AAP’s schedule calls for 15 more vaccines before the age of 6.

Here in New York kids need three doses of diphtheria, three doses of tetanus, three doses of polio, two dose of measles, one each of mumps and rubella, three doses of Hep B, and one dose of chicken pox. (No Hib or PCV, I might add!) By kindergarten. Kindergarten. Not by six-months-old. By kindergarten. Here’s the link to the AAP’s recommendations and the link to New York State’s requirements so you can check out the disparities.

This makes me ask the question: why? Why so many vaccines so young for kids with healthy immune systems? Of course, I am not a doctor. I’m just an educated, concerned parent who makes my own decisions. From my research I know that there are plenty of parents out there who are making their own decisions, too. Parents who say no to Hep B shots for babies. Parents who decide to wait six months between shots and keep the number of shots given in a single day to one or two. Parents who skip the shots that aren’t required by law. There are even people who choose not to vaccinate at all.

So what’s your take on this? I have a final FYI for those considering delaying: If you do delay, you might be interested to know that the AAP study also found that the doctors surveyed said there were three shots that they would not delay: Hib, PCV, and DTaP. My girls never got Hib or PCV, and I do not regret my decision.

Vaccines are a tough and loaded topic these days, so I will ask both sides of the debate and those who are in the middle to please speak respectfully to each other if you do choose to post here. Thanks.

We went back and forth to the doctor about 10 times including twice to the after-hours facility. A virus, they told us. A cold. Allergies. Until finally my doctor proclaimed that she thought Big Girl had pertussis or whooping cough, as it is more commonly known as. The doctor swabbed Big Girl’s nose, and told us to sit back and wait. In the meantime, the doctor said she should get started on a course of HARSH antibiotics. They couldn’t halt the cough, she said, but would absolutely make sure she couldn’t pass it along to anyone else. (People with pertussis cough because the bacteria release a toxin, which paralyzes the cilia — the little hairs that sweep out bad stuff — in the trachea. They cough once the mucus and junk gets so thick that even paralyzed, the body knows it needs to get it out.) She took that medication for ten days twice a day along with a yogurt smoothie to keep her intestinal tract healthy. After the semi-diagnosis, she stayed in the house for five days until we knew she was clear. And I prayed every day that she hadn’t previously exposed someone who had an infant at home, since even vaccinated people aren’t safe from pertussis. The shot is only 60 percent effective. (See stories here and here that show the majority of people who get pertussis during an outbreak are vaccinated.)

When the baby developed a little cough that sounded “whoopy,” I medicated her, too. And my husband also got drugs when he started coughing. Interestingly, I never got the cough, which was weird because I was pregnant, and I picked up every little thing when I was pregnant with Little Girl. Anyway, Big Girl’s results come back negative for pertussis. Little Girl’s results (I had her swabbed, too) got lost at the lab. (Don’t even ask. I cried at the Long Island Children’s Museum when they told me that.) My husband’s swab was negative, too. However, my doctor and I, well, we still think it was pertussis, especially since I truly believe I was spared because I had a really, really bad case of pertussis as a child. I have what doctors call natural immunity.

The worst of the cough is over, but, as I expected, she is still coughing on and off, par for the course with pertussis. (If it was pertussis, she should cough until mid-October since it lasts up to three months.) I feel so bad for her when she coughs. Drugs — even if I was a medication type of person — don’t do anything. However, some recent research shows that there might be a fix for her cough. For anyone’s cough, really, and it’s more effective than any medication out there: a spoonful of honey.

The study was out of the Pennsylvania State University and compared the effectiveness of honey with drug dextromethorphan, found in over-the-counter cough medicine. There was a third study group that got nothing at all. The researchers made the dextromethorphan taste like honey so kids and parents couldn’t tell if they were getting the drugs or the actual honey. The study measured, “Cough frequency, cough severity, bothersome nature of cough, and child and parent sleep quality.” The results were pretty astounding.

“In a comparison of honey, [the drug treatment], and no treatment, parents rated honey most favorably for symptomatic relief of their child’s nocturnal cough and sleep difficulty due to upper respiratory tract infection. Honey may be a preferable treatment for the cough and sleep difficulty associated with childhood upper respiratory tract infection.”

Last night, hoping to ease her cough, which happens mostly at bedtime, I broke out a brand new jar of local honey that I picked up at Whole Foods. Big Girl, however, was not inclined to take it. I suffered through about five minutes of blech, ugh, grrr, nooos before giving up. We’ll try again tonight, and I’ll let you know how it goes.

This post is how I am participating in this week’s Real Food Wednesday and Fight Back Friday, two awesome blog carnivals dedicated to promoting the use and consumption of — what else? — real food.

This girl, who gave her son — now two — a regular flu shot last year but declined the H1N1, doesn’t know what she’s going to do this year. She doesn’t want to give her son the H1N1, and she was fairly distraught. She even called other pediatricians to see if they had a version without the H1N1. They didn’t. And, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, there’s a reason: Every single flu shot also contains the H1N1. They explain it on a Flu.gov website.

After reading more about it, I am glad she asked me, because there’s more to this than just the H1N1 being included, there’s a mercury issue, too.

I think it’s fairly egregious that the media hasn’t picked up and reported on either the fact that the flu virus has the H1N1. Not surprised, though, since plenty of people I know took the regular flu shot last year, but refused the H1N1. They don’t want to scare people out of getting the vaccine. But more important is the fact that no one is talking about the way this vaccine is being dolled out. Here’s the gist of it:

There are essentially three versions of the vaccine. (Thanks to Rhresh Living for pointing this out to me and everyone else.)

1) A 0.25 mL single-dose, pre-filled syringe. This version may or may not contain preservatives like Thimerosol.
2) A set of three 0.5 mL single-dose, pre-filled syringes. Again, some of the options do not include Thimerosol.
3) A bulk option, which is five mL or ten to 20 doses. This version absolutely, positively contains Thimerosol because doctors keep drawing from what is essentially an open container so they need something to keep it from spoiling.

So now, not only are you getting the virus that people were scared of, (remember? Even Dr. Oz’s kids didn’t get the H1N1 last year) you’re most likely going to get a nice, big fat dose of mercury since Thimerosol is just that — mercury.

Dr. Sears has a good rundown of which vaccines, specifically, have which formulations. If you’re going to take the flu shot go armed with this information and ASK to see the pamphlet so you know what you and your child are actually getting. If your doctor refuses to show you, walk out.

This is my biggest pet peeve. WE are CUSTOMERS as far as doctors are concerned. They work for US not the other way around. No one should be afraid to ask for information or demand that our doctors and nurses do their jobs with our complete and total consent. I love doctors, but I want to be the one in charge of my care. Dr. Sears agrees:

“The debate over whether or not mercury in the flu shot is enough to cause harm continues to rage on, with no clear resolution yet. I believe it is prudent in the mean time to avoid giving any full-dose mercury shots to children under 3 and to pregnant women. What should you do if all you can find is a full-dose version? Just say no, and tell your doctor why. Maybe if enough patients do this, doctors will order and demand more of the mercury-free version for next year. For kids 2 years and older, get the nasal spray instead (this can’t be given to pregnant women).”

Personally, I never take the flu vaccine. And my kids don’t, either. It’s not mandated for school. It’s not 100 percent effective. In fact, many years the three or so viruses they pick are completely wrong. (The way a flu vaccine works: Scientists try to guess which of the many, many viruses out there will be prevalent. A lot of times they guess wrong.) However, if you’re going to take it or give it to your kids, please, please, please be careful. Take the time to ask questions. Get the shot that doesn’t have mercury. It’s worth the hassle of going to another doctor or waiting until your doctor orders the “right” one. It really is.

Did you get the H1N1 last year? Will you get the flu shot this year? Did you know the flu shot had the H1N1 in it?

New York State vaccine requirements for school admission.

Full disclosure: I did not see PBS’s The Vaccine War. I was asleep by the time it came on, a rarity for me. But I did read many of the blog posts about its production and editing.

The producers went out and interviewed two doctors — M.D.s — who aren’t necessarily for or against vaccines. Dr. Robert Sears and Dr. Jay Gordon. Both doctors are pro-vaccines but against the current vaccination schedule. Their take on it: Children are given too many vaccines given in too short of a time frame and too many vaccines at once. Both doctors have publicly questioned if the constant assault of vaccines is contributing to the rise of allergies, autoimmune diseases, ADHD, ADD, and autism. They spoke about those concerns during the interviews they graciously granted the PBS folks. These are not rebel physicians calling for the abolishment of vaccines. They simply want more spacing and fewer unnecessary shots. Oh, and maybe waiting until a child is more than five minutes old to give them that first shot.

People who watched the show, though, didn’t get to hear any of that thoughtful, research-based opinion or knowledge because PBS left both doctors on the editing room floor. Dr. Gordon wrote and posted a letter to the show’s producer expressing his distaste for their decision. Instead of a balanced, smart piece the “documentary” pits parents against parents. “Smart” caring parents who vaccinate versus “evil” parents who delay, space or choose not to vaccinate at all. Just what we need. More reasons to hate each other. More reasons to fight among ourselves. More reasons to distrust one another.

I don’t know why they did that. I also don’t know why none of the traditional media companies — aside from The Huffington Post — have even addressed the unbalanced coverage of the topic. You’d think someone somewhere, whether they are pro-vaccine, anti-vaccine, or completely objective, would take PBS to task over this lapse of judgement. I will say that I agree with Dr. Sears and Dr. Gordon. Vaccines, at least some of them, are all about money. A vaccine visit is a quick visit. A quick ka-ching for a doctor. And a big ka-ching for drug companies. And before you stop reading, take note. First, look at the image above. Click on it if you can’t read it. It’s the vaccine schedule for New York State. Those are the vaccines you need — unless you have a medical or religious exemption — to get into school. The total: 17 vaccines. Now look at this schedule:

American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) suggests a lot of vaccines. A lot.

That’s more than 30 vaccines for kids under the age of six. The AAP’s vaccine schedule for kids over six is tough, too. Okay, so if the AAP thinks all those vaccines are so important, why aren’t they mandated for school? Do I really need a vaccine for rotavirus? Or an ear infection? I don’t think so. What ever happened to letting kids get sick once in a while? When we don’t get sick, our immune system doesn’t do its job. And, some researchers think that’s why it turns on itself and we end up with all these autoimmune diseases. Not to mention the fact that we’re hammering our babies with chemicals like aluminum, formaldehyde, antibiotics, hydrochloric acid and preservatives, among other things. Don’t take my word for it. Look at the ingredients list that the Centers for Disease Control puts out there.

I could go on and on, but I won’t. What I will say is that vaccines have saved lives. Vaccines do work. But that doesn’t mean we need to add more and more of them into the mix. Sometimes too much of a good thing can hurt us.

Where do you stand on the vaccine question? Have you ever thought about it? Did you know you, as a parent, can determine and control your child’s vaccine schedule? Did you know you can say no to multiple shots at once or vaccines that aren’t on the school admission list. Or no to any shots?

The mean sheep that butted Little Girl.

We all make choices for our kids. We try and make the right ones. Sometimes the choices work out okay. Sometimes they suck. I am just back from the emergency room because of a few choices I made. I am sad and upset.

We went away to Woodloch Pines this past weekend. We had been looking forward to it for a while. A vacation with some of our closest friends and their kids. We almost didn’t make it because of a huge snowstorm, but we finally got up there. We had a nice weekend until the last hours of the last day. There was a petting zoo. Little Girl, who is animal-crazy, got to ride a pony, see some cute bunnies, and pet a goat. With horns. She was just standing there when the goat head-butted her in the cheek. She instantly started crying. Little Girl has my tolerance for pain. The kid can take tumbles that would make even the most stoic kid cry and not say a word, so the fact that she was crying made me realize how bad it was. The goat got her cheek, thank goodness, instead of her eye. He hit her hard enough to make a small scrape. Woodloch’s EMT checked her out. She checked her for signs of a concussion. Then she washed the area on her cheek, put antibiotic cream on it, and bandaged her up. A little while later, Little Girl went back to her usual cheery self.

When we got home, however, Little Girl refused to go to sleep. She kept crying and screaming. We must have gone in about a dozen times between 8 and 11 p.m. I got nervous thinking “head injury” and called my pediatrician. She called me right back. She wasn’t worried about the not sleeping thing. She was probably just upset to be in her crib and alone when she had been in a pack-and-play with Big Girl in the bed to her right and Mommy and Daddy in the bed to her left. She was, however, worried about tetanus. Little Girl hasn’t had that shot. She was going to call me back, she said, after consulting with an infectious disease specialist. She did. She had some bad news. Little Girl would need a shot of tetanus antibodies — human antibodies to the disease. One of the main causes of tetanus is animal feces. The sheep, no doubt, had been rubbing his head in the dirt, which probably contained a little animal poop.

So today we spent five hours in the pediatric E.R. trying to figure out if we would go with medical advice or go with our guts, which said it was overkill. We felt pretty good after the attending physician said she thought it was overkill. But then she spoke to that same infectious diseases guy who said that we were both wrong. She needed that injection, and she needed it quickly, he said.

We had to decide, so I asked a lot of questions. I even got the drug insert that came with the injectible. I read it several times. (“This contains no preservatives.”) My husband read it. We agonized over the decision. In the end she got the prescribed treatment. She didn’t say a peep when they gave her the shot in her upper arm. She was actually jazzed that she got a bandage. And now we’re home.

I question three of my decisions after this happened. First, my vaccination stance. Second, the bright idea to take her to see the animals. And third, the decision to give her the antibodies shot. I don’t know if I made all the right choices. I only know I made the choices that I did based on the information I had at my disposal. I do know that we will be avoiding petting zoos from now on. Stupid sheep.

My state legislator, Assemblyman Joseph Saladino called this morning and left me a message. I had asked him for more information about the bill to remove parental consent regarding the HPV vaccine. Here’s what he said: “The bill in question is A778. It is sponsored by Amy Paulin. Right now we have been told that it’s not coming before us any time soon, and they are not able to give us any update of where it is going right now. It’s in a holding zone.” (Note to anyone who lives in Scarsdale, Eastchester, Tuckahoe, Bronxville, Pelham, Pelham Manor, New Rochelle or White Plains: Maybe it’s time to make a few phone calls to your local representative?)

However, after doing a little more research it does appear that the bill did move recently, being transferred to the Health committee. Just because the bill isn’t being voted on today doesn’t mean we can sit back and ignore the fact that this bill is real, it’s on the table, and it’s something that can be put into effect on someone’s whim. We can’t let this slide. It’s time to make it known how you feel. If you live in New York State, make some calls, people.

Okay, so on to my husband’s butt again. Since he responded to my last post, I can explain a little more. He had a fistula. He went for a full fistulaectomy yesterday. When the doctor got in there he found it was very deep and very long. He did a partial repair. We’ll keep our fingers crossed this will fix it. Which brings me to one of the reasons I am so late writing this.

Today I had to get Big Girl off to school by myself. Usually, we divide and conquer. I take the downstairs part. Chris handles the upstairs part. I make her lunch, get breakfast out, do her hair, make sure she’s got everything, and get her on the bus. Chris picks out her clothes and makes sure she gets out of bed and gets dressed. (I shower her the night before.) But he’s in a lot of pain and loopy on meds, so it’s all me for a few days. Okay, so this morning I go in. Big Girl, who isn’t a morning person, and is experiencing a bout of six-year-old independence, is just plain nasty to me. Whining and telling me I am not allowed to pick her clothing. It escalated, but she’s finally dressed. I spot her clean undies on the floor. “Do you have underwear on,” I ask. I check and she does, but they are from yesterday. I tell her to go downstairs so we can get her out of the house. She starts yelling at me that she wants to change them first. I just want to get her fed and get her out of the house so she’s not too late for school. We get downstairs and the screaming continues.

I’m mad. She’s mad. We’re both sniping at each other. It gets so bad that Chris, in his post-operation, medicated fog comes downstairs. We continue going back and forth. She’s whining up a storm. As an adult, I should have controlled myself, but I must admit it bothers me that she is an angel for Chris. Doesn’t say a peep in the morning. But any time I get involved with her morning routine, I get crap. So there we are. She’s saying how mean I am. How I am “poopy.” And I feel like I am going to cry. I said that I knew Big Girl loved me, but it didn’t feel like she likes me very much. Then Chris goes, “She doesn’t give me a problem in the morning.” And I lost it. “Fine, then I will take care of Little Girl from now on and you can take care of Big Girl.” Poor Big Girl. Hearing that, her face crumbled. Chris flew at me, telling me to get out of the kitchen. He was so angry. And disappointed. He brought her into the den and consoled her. I stood there still seething, but now angry at myself, too. The drama continued for about ten more minutes. It ended with me hugging Big Girl for a long time, both of us apologizing, and me saying that I said what I said because I was so upset and hurt. Ten minutes later I was driving Big Girl to school. She was happy and holding her sister’s hand. But I worry about the damage that I inflicted today.

This parenting thing is very hard to do. It takes courage, patience, perseverance, love, the ability to overlook things. It takes time and insight and introspection. I made a huge error today. I used none of the required skills. I acted like a child. I added another “issue” to the litany of issues Big Girl will complain about someday. Heck, she might complain about them today when she gets home. The only thing I can do is start again, right? There are no do-overs in parenting. No out-of-bounds. I made a mistake. A big one. I’m so sorry about it. What else can I say?

What’s the biggest parenting mistake you’ve made? How did you bounce back from it? I need some advice — that’s for sure.

The subject line: URGENT ACTION NEEDED- GARDASIL BILL

The rest of the email explained how, here in New York State, lawmakers would be voting on a bill that would allow “STD shots (Hep-B and Gardasil) to be given to minors without the consent or knowledge of Mom and Dad.” (Except all in CAPS.) There was more. About how “even five-year-olds could nod their heads” and that would in effect be consent. It also explained how the state legislature wants to add Gardasil to the list of vaccines required for school enrollment.

I did a Google search and nothing came up. I went to the official New York State legislative Web site and searched for the bill numbers. Nada. So then I decided to call my State Legislator, Assemblyman Joseph Saladino. The woman answering the phone said she would have him give me a call. After we spoke, I can say that at it’s core, the email was true. There are two bills that are coming up for vote. And yes, our assembly members and senators are trying to not only remove consent from the parents, but also make this relatively new vaccine mandatory for all little girls entering 6th grade. Disgusting.

My assemblyman was understandably concerned that this bill will take control from the hands of the parents and place it into the hands of children, who can’t really make informed decisions.

Here’s a verbatim quote from my discussion with Assemblyman Saladino: “I’m all for protecting minors from all kinds of situations, but there are ways that are more fit and unfortunately there seems to be too much of a pattern of bills that don’t take parents’ views into account, and don’t respect parents abilities to understand what’s best for their children. I want to make my position clear that I am all in favor of efforts to protect children from all sorts of situations. But the way we do it, the nuances involved and the structure of the bill and the structure of the way these programs are implemented really needs to be more fully vetted and really need to protect and respect the views of parents.”

Amen, Congressman. What’s the point of a bill that would remove parental consent? Why should a 12-year-old be able to direct her own medical care? Even more important: Why should New York State tell me that my 12-year-old daughter needs a shot to protect her from a sexually transmitted disease? I’m the parent. I should be able to make that choice. You want to mandate something that you can get through airborne particles such as the measles or the mumps? I get it. I’m not thrilled, but I get it. You want me to let you mandate the same level of care for a disease that I’m hoping my little girl won’t be exposed to until she is much, much older? I don’t think so.

And I haven’t even discussed the fact that Gardasil is a relatively new vaccine with plenty of question marks when it comes to safety. When you Google Gardasil side effects the second link you get a link to Merck’s own side effects page. They are staggering. Fainting and “shaking or stiffening or other seizure-like activities.” Really? I’m not really surprised. The more I read, the more concerned I am. Women have died. Women have become confined to wheelchairs. Research is still coming out about its side effects and safety. For example, two new studies just came out in August. They were published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. I’m not going to post them here. You can read an excellent post on the U.S. News and World Report Web site about the side effects as well as the issues documented with the safety and monitoring effectiveness. But the bottom line: there clearly needs to be more examination and research done before we make every little girl put their arm out and get the shot.

I very rarely ask people to retweet or repost my work. However, I am asking today. Please make my post your Facebook status. Get the word out. We need people calling their assembly person. You can find the correct phone number here. We need more national newspapers and news-gathering outlets to pick up this torch. We need to affect grassroots change. WE the people, remember? WE elect people. We have the power to dictate our own laws.

Please let me know how you feel about this post and this topic. I’d like to hear about it.