Flu Shots and Autism risk?

Question

I took my 8 month to get the first of 2 flu shots and my family is panicked. They told me (after the fact of course) that the flu shot has mercury in it and it is possibly linked to autism. I was wondering what you all know about the subject. I figured to be safe I wouldn't get the second dose next month......

Answer 1

I am currently taking baby basics classes with my husband because we are expecting a child. In one of my baby basics classes, the pediatrician was asked the same question. Another guest asked if the flu shot immunization had a high mercury contact and if it is true that it has been linked to autism. The pediatrician said that the data that had been brought up in the past linking the flu shot to autism was proved to be inaccurate and false. It is very difficult for small children to fight off the flu if they were to ever come in contact with the virus, it is very important to properly immunize your child.

Answer 2

talk to your doctor before you panic or skip the recommended second dose. there's a lot of misinformation on y!, and your doctor can give you statistics on pros and cons considering your child's specific health history and what type of shot your child got. some flu shots do not contain mercury at all. further there is no definitive evidence linking any vaccinations (including flu shot) with autism, though there is some chance some vaccinations may make autism more likely in susceptible kids. of course you need to balance that small risk against the risk that your child could get very severely ill from the flu. Not everyone needs a flu shot, but for some kids it's important. 8-month-olds are generally considered to be in a "high risk" category since if they did get the flu they could get very sick indeed. please talk to your doctor about your concerns before making any major decisions.

Answer 3

Your family is horribly misinformed. The flu shot has no more mercury than any other vaccine. Furthermore, there has never been a determined link between autism and mercury/vaccines. We live in a preservative - free state; there is no mercury in vaccines here. However, there are still kids here who have autism. Go ahead with the flu shot if you want, and don't worry about it.
*EDIT* HA! I'd LOVE to see the "evidence" you have. There is none. Now please stop trying to misinform innocent people, especially by disguising yourself as a doctor. Sorry, "Doc."
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C02E2D6123FF93AA25756C0A9629C8B63

http://www.quackwatch.org/03HealthPromotion/immu/autism.html

Now, would you kindly show us the "evidence" you have? I'm sure the rest of us would LOVE to see it. By the way, autism isn't a disease. If you were really a doctor, you would know that.

Answer 4

There is a lot of controversy on the issue. I researched it high and low when I had my first child.

There a dozens of studies on it and no one has actually proved or disproved the fact.

With that said, there is a higher incidence of autism in kids who have taken vaccines that uses mercury as a preservative, than those in groups that did not.

I asked my Dr. if the regular vaccines he uses do contain it and he said no, but flu vaccine still does.

I have never taken one and both my kids, 4 an d1 have never taken a flu vaccine.

Personally, I do not believe in it and the autism link is only one of the reasons.

Every year some people get together and estimate which strand of the flu will be the most common. They create a vaccine for that strand of the flu. It protects against ONLY the strand you are vaccinated for. There are hundreds, if not thousands mutations of the flu virus. Who's to say which one you may or may not be exposed to?

You have to make the decision for yourself. Read the subject, there is a lot of info on the Internet.

Once the child is 5 she can take an 'spray flu shot' that does not contain mercury. It also goes by the name of thimerosal.

You can start your research here: http://www.fda.gov/cber/vaccine/thimerosal.htm

Answer 5

Your baby does need a second dose of the flu shot to be fully immune because it is his first exposure. The booster is recommended the first year a child under 9 is vaccinated. After this, he will only need one per year (if you choose to continue vaccinating).

Thimerosal is the mercury derivitive in vaccines. Though there has been concern about it, a link between thimerosal and autism has not been established. If you are concerned about which form of the vaccine your baby recieved, here is a website that lists thimerosal content in vaccines. Some flu vaccines are thimerosal free.
http://www.vaccinesafety.edu/thi-table.htm

Answer 6

Your baby is safe, I assure you. :)

There is no link, nothing has been proven.
My kids have been getting the flu shot for a few years now, in addition to all of the other vaccinations.

We totally forgot about the second flu shot (the "booster", so to speak) when my son got his first one years ago, so he's actually getting it in a couple of weeks, after getting the first one this year just a few weeks ago.

Answer 7

Maybe your family is misinformed, but there is a risk with vaccinations. The flu shots for children under 3 generally do not have mercury, but they contain fomaldehyde. They use that to embalm dead bodies, but they willingly inject it into babies. Sick. Also check out the other toxins:
http://www.mercola.com/article/vaccines/references.htm
http://www.informedchoice.info/cocktail.html
http://www.thinktwice.com/
http://www.nvic.org/
http://www.vaclib.org/exemption.htm
http://www.909shot.com/state-site/state-exemptions.htm

Answer 8

Flu shots do contain mercury. but realize that the chances that your child becomes autistic from the shot is probably relatively small.
The measles shot that your child will get at 1yrs old also could be linked to autism. but once again. statistically.. how many kids get that shot every year.. and how many kids are autistic..
dont stress it.. its already too late anyway. hes already gotten the shot!


we are against the flu shot in my house (NOT for mercury reasons though)... we figure whats the point in getting the shot when there are so many mutated strands of the virus out there anyway?! JMO

Answer 9

scares me too. Some people swear it happens. vaccinenation.com has a lot of that side of the spectrum. My kids get flu shots every year... you have to decide the odds for yourself. I do make my doc spread shots out rather than 3 vaccines in one shot, we wait 6 months for #3.
You can scare yourself to death over anything these days. With an 8 month old...welcome to being overcome with
what-ifs for the rest of your life.
Oh yeah, maybe you should look up documentation of flu deaths in infants as a come back. Remember YOU ARE THE PARENT!!
GOOD LUCK!

Answer 10

The flu shot is not connected to autism. What causes Autism is still unknown but what is known is that the flu shot is not connected. You should go to www.cbsnews.com there is information there on autism.