Nurses children and vaccinations, how do you feel?

Nurses General Nursing

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I am on another forum that is very anti-vaccinations for children (or anyone for that matter), and it got me thinking how do nurses and other healthcare workers feel about vaccinations and anti-vaxer's. Most of the posters on that forum are very hostile to anyone in healthcare and no matter what a healthcare worker posts it is always wrong or they are spying for "The Man". :uhoh3: They tend to see healthcare workers as uninformed, uneducated, and uncaring. How do you feel about vaccinations for yourself or children? Do you ever have people that are very anti-vaccination and what reasons do they give? And do you think that most people that decline vaccination are informed about or understand the effects of the route they are taking? I am not trying to judge, I am just very curious.

Specializes in Psych, Med/Surg, LTC.
What forum are you on that is so anti-healthcare workers? I've heard plenty of rancor about vaccines, but I wasn't aware that there were people out there who oppose our entire profession on principle.

Mothering.com is like that. Its a Natural Family Living community. They are generally against medications, vax's, circ, clorox, and anything not "natural". Many moms there homebirth, and many never take their children for check-ups. There is a forum for the case against vaccination.

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Specializes in floor to ICU.
Mothering.com is like that. Its a Natural Family Living community. They are generally against medications, vax's, circ, clorox, and anything not "natural". Many moms there homebirth, and many never take their children for check-ups. There is a forum for the case against vaccination.

Sounds like that family on Wife Swap. Anyone see it?

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Specializes in NP / USAFR Flight Nurse.

Im not a nurse, just a nursing student, but I wanted to share my opinion. When my daughter was a baby and getting her vaccinations so often I researched it a little and found a few studies connecting autism and vaccines. I talked with my pediatrician (who I absolutly trust and believe to be competent) that it is being researched that some of the preservatives in the combination vaccines (MMR) might be linked to autism. She believed that they were safe and I gave the drugs. She did, however, say that If if preferred, she could give all the shots seperately. I dont think my daughter would have liked that:madface: Anyways, I have not heard anything to justify the claim and my daughter, now 7 is just fine. I do appreciate those who research and make an informed choice to do otherwise...I just thought the pros outweighed the cons.

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Specializes in NICU.

Gooey, I recognize you from MDC! I see you on the nurses "tribe". MDC is a very interesting place. I feel like the soggiest person on there with my hospital birth and vaccination compliance. Oh well, at least I can participate in the cloth diapering,co-sleeping, BF'ing discussions.

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Specializes in Psych, Med/Surg, LTC.
Gooey, I recognize you from MDC! I see you on the nurses "tribe". MDC is a very interesting place. I feel like the soggiest person on there with my hospital birth and vaccination compliance. Oh well, at least I can participate in the cloth diapering,co-sleeping, BF'ing discussions.

:lol2: I am a bit "soggy" too. We selectively/delay vax. I also had a hospital birth. I am very into the AP part, but the NFL parts I am pretty challanged. :lol2: Its nice to see you over here, too! Its does get me pretty mad sometimes over there, all of the threads about the horrible incompetent doctors and nurses.

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for those of you who say you arent going to get your daughters the gardisil vaccine (for hpv) since you say it is preventable: first of all men cannot be tested for hpv, so there will be no way to know if your partner has it. second of all, you dont have to have sex to get it, hpv is a virus that is shed from the skin. all you need to do is have skin to skin contact, you dont have to go "all the way" to get it, and condoms, while a good barrier for other stds, will not protect you from this. who knows what your child is going to do, who knows what their partner will do. you dont have to be promiscuous to get hpv, most people will come in contact with the virus and have no symptoms, others are not so lucky and will develop warts, or worse precancerous changes in the cervix.

i was just begining to get the series of shots when i found i have the cervical cancer causing hpv type. i am in a long term commited relationship. there is no way to trace where i got it since the incubation period is so long. i had the procedure to remove the portion of my cervix that was affected. now i only wish that i could have been vaccinated before i ever had sex. it is a scary prospect to think about getting cancer or having my chances of having children gone at such a young age. and i am so lucky i went in for my yearly appointment and they caught this in time.

so the introduction of this vaccine makes me hopeful that someday no other girl will have to go through the pain of having this. it is embarrassing to have an std. especially when you arent in a "high risk group". it is an invasive thing to have someone cut out a part of you. and there are so many women out there who end up with much worse than me, i know. so i just really wish this stigma of giving a child a vaccination for an std would wear off, you are vaccinating against cancer. it is not saying it is ok for them to sleep around, there are other consequences to sex besides hpv. it is just trying to protect them.

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I, in general am in agreement with vaccinations. I think it depends on the vaccine. The autism factor has me considering delaying vaccinations but I certainly would do most of the mainstream ones.

A few I have issues with

Chicken pox - natural immunity is superior so I think I would rather my child have chicken pox rather then the vaccine. I know there can be complications from chicken pox but it is rare to have severe complications from them. That being said if my child had not had chicken pox by 12 then I would vaccinate beccause some protection from shingles is better then none.

HPV- there just hasn't been enough study for me to feel comfortable with this.

Hep B- unless you are in a high risk population I don't think this needs to be a routine vaccination.

As far as the flu shot, get one almost every year for 2 reasons. 10 I work in maternity and we really can't have the flu spread around and b) I have asthma and when I do get the flu it makes it so much worse. I realize they don't protect against all strains but I'd rather have it and not need it then not have it and end up in the ER.

I was required to give proof of immunization before getting into nursing school and was required to get the Hep B vaccine before my secod year.

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Specializes in Med-Surg, Wound Care.
you are vaccinating against cancer

I'm sorry you had to go through what you did. This is a vaccine against HPV..not cancer. The amount of protection against HPV is unknown at this time and the study did not go on long enough to determine if even with boosters this vaccine will maintain it's effectivness. Still way to many unknowns on a vaccine.

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Specializes in NICU.

Chicken pox - natural immunity is superior so I think I would rather my child have chicken pox rather then the vaccine. I know there can be complications from chicken pox but it is rare to have severe complications from them. That being said if my child had not had chicken pox by 12 then I would vaccinate beccause some protection from shingles is better then none.

I had really bad chicken pox as a child. It is, very literally, the sickest I have EVER been. I missed a month of school. I have tons of scars, many on my face. Seriously, if I can spare my kids from what I had with CP, you bet your pants I will!!!

About the distrust of the medical profession, whatever. I truly feel like I'm working my bum off to help others and find out that some people hate "me" and what I represent. I guess everyone's entitled to their opinions:(

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I'm sorry you had such a rough time of it. Like I said, I'm pro vax but studies have shown that the natural immunity (to chicken pox anyway) IS better. I have had chicken pox and so did most people I know and while it was unpleasant, the risk of severe complications in pretty low. I don't want to subect them to it but if they get it, I think it would be better in the long run.

I also said that if by a certain age I would get the vaccine so it's not like I wouldn't do it all, it just wouldn't be automatic.

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Specializes in perioperative,IVF,reproductive health/fp.

mostly they are ill informed and some think vaccinations are not properly preserved especially in africa. whats more important is that vaccinations are immunity boosters and should be given it goes a long way to protect especially children,and some are life long protective.

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Specializes in High Risk In Patient OB/GYN.
mostly they are ill informed and some think vaccinations are not properly preserved especially in africa.

What??

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