is MMR really related to autism?

Hi ladies,
i am facing a strange dilemma...my son turned one recently&it is time for him to get his next set of vaccines,hepetitis A,chicken pox,MMR&flu shot.now my S-I-L told us that the preservative used in MMR is debated to cause autism(her son is autistic)so she asked us to ask the doc if it can be given as M+M+R,but the doc said it is not possible&that there is no proof that the vaccine may be a cause for autism.my hubby is worried&we are in a fix.do you all have any info about this?should we just go ahead&give him all the vaccines?what about flu shot?some of our friends said flu shot decreases immunity....pls share your info.
vidhya.

Hi,
Even when my son was due for MMR vaccinations i got lot of such info.But we went ahead and did it.Nothing serious happened.My son is normal.U can discuss with u r paediatrician if u r concerned.

dear friend,
i have 3 yrs old son who got his MMR vaccine on prescribed time.he is fine.i hope u will get this assurance from other parents who got their kids vaccinated.
also ,i used to understand that autism is something which kids are born with .it is not something which is caught or induced by some drug or chemical.am i right

Hi vidhukumar
My 4 yr old has had his MMR and hez fine...I think thers no connection bw MMR and autism..Flu shot is also safe..
Cheers
Ramya

Vidhu,

The preservative in MMR vaccines used to be thiomersal(mercury containing) and there was a suspicion abt whether it could be linked to autism. But thiomersal is not used anymore. Occasional reports abt autism links still emerge but large scale studies have failed to find any links between the two So based on current evidence it is a safe vaccine. I personally recommend it to all my patients. To answer Pragati's question we actually dont know whether you are born with autism or whether it is a developmental disorder or an acquired condition since there is no single test by which it is diagnosed. The diagnosis is based on a set of symptoms/characteristics and if a child fits a certain number of those a diagnosis is made. Most of these criteria are based on language/communication skills which a child will acquire only after a certain age, so that makes it very difficult to say when the condition started and whether it was present at birth. As for the flu shot, it does not decrease immunity but it does need to be repeated often as the virus changes form every year.

Vanathi.

hey vanathi&all others,
thanks a lot for all your feed back.vanathi thanks for taking the time to explain it to me.i think i will go ahead&give him all the shots.

I think autism is a genetic disorder and not related to MMR.

Vanathi,
My son is 16 years old, 17 running. One of my friend's told me that he also should be givent he booster shot for MMR now. (girls are given at this age). Is that right? My son is epilaptic under treatment and he is free of seazures now. If yes, I can call up the nuero and ask her.

Hi Varalakshmi,

Boys are usually not given MMR boosters during adoloscence. When did he receive the first dose? The reason why girls are advised an MMR booster in late adoloscence (IF they have received only 1 dose of MMR earlier) is because the 'R' in MMR - rubella (aka as german measles) can cause malformations in a baby if the mother is infected during pregnancy. So girls are given a booster in the years before childbearing. (The vaccine cannot be given to any woman who is at risk of becoming pregnant). Boys have no such risk, but there is no harm in taking a booster if you want to. Epilepsy per se is not a contra-indication to ANY vaccination.

Vanathi.

Dear Vanathi,
thank you, I m always a wee bit more concerned about my son's problems, specially medical. But that only had helped me to comple the doctors to look into his problem and then it has turned out to be a problem and treated. There are many instances like that.
I have given all his vaccinations at the right time though the start was late because of my son's low birth weight. He was given BCG only when he was 2 1/2 months, as he weighed 2 kg only then.
If it is okay to give a booster, I shall consult the paed here or my family doctor and do that.
Thank you once again.