There’s a nasty bug floating around our humble town, biting child after child and immersing whole families into the hellish weeks full of fever, diarrhea, sneezing, rashes, sleepless nights and nervous breakdowns as a result of all the above.
When my baby’s fever went over 39.0C mark and stayed over there for three days in a row indifferent to all syringe-fulls of Calpol, we grabbed our brave little soldier and rushed her to the hospital.
OK, she seems to be fine. It’s a common viral infection, nothing really to worry about. We were told to brace ourselves and keep giving her Calpol whenever she feels worse.
Calpol is a baby version of acetaminophen, or paracetamol, known in the US and Canada as Tylenol. Pink and laden with chemical preservatives, it has a ghastly taste of strawberries that may seem like a real thing to someone who knew strawberries by book description. Frankly, the taste is so repulsive and plasticky, no wonder our 99.9 percent organic baby spits it out each time I am trying to feed the stuff to her.
After getting home from the hospital I was still reluctant to give more acetaminophen to my baby. After all, her fever wasn’t too bad.
Apparently I did the right thing.
As I learned today, in May 2008, scientists of a University of California San Diego reported that acetaminophen use after measles-mumps-rubella vaccination was associated with autistic disorder.
Let me repeat this once again. “Acetaminophen use after measles-mumps-rubella vaccination was significantly associated with autistic disorder when considering children 5 years of age or less.”
(Source: Acetaminophen (paracetamol) use, measles-mumps-rubella vaccination, and autistic disorder: the results of a parent survey. Schultz ST, Klonoff-Cohen HS, Wingard DL, Akshoomoff NA, Macera CA, Ji M. Autism. 2008 May;12(3):293-307.)
Now, that’s major. Previously health activists blamed the MMR vaccine itself for upping the risk of autism in children. Now it seems that the real culprit got unnoticed for decades.
My baby daughter had her MMR vaccination three weeks ago. Could she be in a risk group? Time will tell. When we left our family doctor, she recommended that I gave my baby paracetamol if she was in pain or developed a fever. This very moment, a good-willing doctor is recommending paracetamol, Tylenol or any other acetaminophen medication, to a post-MMR baby.
Am I freaking out too early? I’d rather err on side of caution. Same study, reported in Autism magazine, found that the use of ibuprophen in babies didn’t up their risk of autism when given shortly after vaccinations. Tomorrow morning I’ll buy a large bottle of baby ibuprophen, just in case.
What really bugs me is that we learn such things too often, too late.
Anyway, medical doctors both side of Atlantics still favor acetaminophen despite the warnings that the stuff is grossly overprescribed and may actually be harmful if taken over long periods of time even in dosages indicated on the bottle.
Paracetamol, a.k.a. acetaminophen, Tylenol, is prescribed for moderate pain and fever for everyone, from preemies to elderly. It can make pain less severe, it can make the fever go away for a couple of hours, and it can actually help the sick baby sleep better. You see, when a baby has a high temperature, it causes headache and general aching all over the body, so by lowering the temperature you help the child feel more comfortable.
However, forward-thinking medical authorities warn that “lowering the child’s temperature is usually not necessary, and it will not help a child get well more quickly.” (Children and Youth Health)
Fever is one of the ways that a body’s immune system works to control infections. Lowering the temperature does not seem to make much, if any, difference in how quickly a child becomes well again. Same time, when too much acetaminophen is given to a child, especially a sick child, for too long, it may harm the child. Especially when we learned that baby versions of acetaminophen were probably incorrectly labeled that led to medication poisonings in small babies.
No matter how often you give it to your baby, Tylenol, paracetamol, acetaminophen, or whatever other fancy name it’s sold under, does not treat the cause of the pain or fever. Any baby or child who is unwell, or in moderate to severe pain should be seen by a doctor to find out what the cause is.
And then act accordingly.
July 10, 2008 at 3:14 am
A lot of autism docs I know would say that the MMR can still trigger autism, and that the tylenol depletes these succeptible kids’ bodies of glutathione at a time when they need it the most – to help process what’s in the vaccine. Glutathione is used by the liver to process out the crud that we put in our bodies, and a lot of kids with autism don’t make glutathione.
Regardless, I’m wary of both the MMR vaccine AND tylenol. We haven’t done tylenol in years because my son doesn’t make glutathione.
It’s an interesting conundrum for sure!
July 10, 2008 at 3:15 am
Oops, I failed to explain that tylenol is processed through the liver. A single dose of tylenol can use up all the glutathione stores the body has.
Ibuprofen/motrin type drugs are processed through the kidneys. Not a great choice either, but sometimes a better choice for kids with autism or kids who are at risk for autism.
July 10, 2008 at 8:00 pm
[...] At least one parent is rethinking what pain relief medication to give a young child in the wake of this study. Tags: asd, asperger, autism, autism blog, disabilities blog, disability, Family, family blog, Health, mercury, motrin, pain, Parenting, pdd-nos, tylenol, VaccinesShare This Related StoriesUK Teenager Dies of MeaslesA bit of satire about the MMR11 CasesA Different Look at the MMR IssueDrinking While Pregnant Linked to Autism [...]
July 11, 2008 at 11:28 am
My concern about your interpretation of the Schultz (2008) study is that there are major problems with the study which are not being considered. The sample was not a random, controlled sample, but one which recruited participants online and relied on the memories of parents of whether or not they administered an over-the-counter drug (acetaminophen), potentially 18 years ago since the sample included children ages 1-18. Also, it was a relatively small sample and no diagnostic criteria was set for those who had developed “autism”. There is also a problem of missing data, particularly among those who reported ibuprofen use. Finally, it is very possible that they Tylenol was administered because of accompanying sequelae and that it was these illness that might have caused the association, not the acetaminophen. The authors themselves conclude that “The findings may be coincidental” and that they are preliminary.
I, too, am quite concerned about my children and causes of autism. I have a three-year-old with sensory problems. Will I give my child acetaminophen after MMR vaccine? No, but I will allow vaccination. As we continue to scare the public into avoiding vaccines, we are causing other problems with increasing rates of MMR. Interestingly, we know that Rubella (the illness, not the vaccine) is also associated with autism – so for every action, there is a reaction.
July 11, 2008 at 11:58 am
Exactly. Excellent point. I am, too, concerned about the formulation of vaccines, especially because most vaccines are preserved using thimerosal, a mercury compound which may too play role in triggering unwanted side effects. But I would rather not take any chances with measles, mumps, rubella, or meningitis. The rates of these diseases have risen significantly after so many parents opted out from the vaccinations. So yes, I meticulously follow the vaccination schedule, and we were lucky to survive them unscathered.
I am well aware that the study I quoted is quite small and statistically insignificant. However, as a parent, I do my best to avoid all risks that can be avoided. If something proves to be potentially devastating for the nervous system of a child even in a “statistically insignificant” study, I would rather avoid the substance in question until science comes up with definite answer.
Who knows what studies will show tomorrow? A year from today? Would any reasonable parent want to wait and see? I doubt that. Especially since alternatives to Tylenol/Calpol/other acetaminophens are readily available.
July 11, 2008 at 5:28 pm
Julie, I don’t know where you are in the vaccine schedule, but about 90-95 percent of kids are immune to MM&R after the first vaccine. They give the second (around 4-6 years old) because it’s cheaper to do that than to test for immunity. There’s a test called a titer that you can do (blood) to see if your child already has the immunity he/she needs. And you may be able to skip the second shot, or only give part of it.
Also, you can split the MMR shot into M, M and R. Far easier on their immune systems, especially when there’s a live virus in play. Overwhelming them with 3 at once can be too much. I suggest to anyone who is concerned about vaccines but wants to get them to split them out.
Just FYI!
May 20, 2009 at 9:58 pm
Interesting web site:D i will come back soon,,
June 2, 2009 at 8:54 pm
Hello bloggers…
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Dr. Bernadine Healy M.D. of U.S. News & World Report
(Health editor)
and the former head of the Am. Red Cross has said that injecting mercury (Thimerosal) into kids is LUNACY.
ALL FLU SHOTS from multi-dose bottles CONTAIN THIS MERCURY BRAIN TOXIN. Mercury IS NOT SAFE for anyone at ANY AMOUNT whatsoever !
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Then why is it STILL USED ?
MONEY !
Multile dose bottles are CHEAPER to use for vaccine pushers. And, with more than one hypo being injected into this bottle, a preservative is needed, the maker of Thimerosal, Eli Lilly Inc., claims.
So, to avoid the liability of admitting MERCURY IS A BRAIN TOXIN, Eli Lilly and vaccine pushers
will DEFEND THE UNDEFENSIBLE, even PAY RESEARCHERS
to FAKE STUDIES to DENY the obvious damage done by
Thimerosal in vaccines(49.6% mercury).
They DENY any link to childhood autism and other neurological disorders proven to MIRROR MERCURY POISONING.
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PROOF—–>
JOURNAL OF AMERICAN PHYSICIANS AND SURGEONS STUDY
http://www.jpands.org/vol8no1/geier.pdf
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ck out—>www.909shot.com
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Don’t believe the media lie that 36,000 Americans DIE yearly from the FLU. The last time that happened was 1968.
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And,”FLU-RELATED” deaths is another LIE.
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FLU VACCINES DEPRESS THE HUMAN IMMUNE SYSTEM
opening up those getting the FLU SHOT to many
opportunistic diseases.
This is why many say they contracted a FLU days after getting a FLU SHOT.
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VITAMIN-C helps the immune system to fight off FLU and other bugs without damned mercury poisoning.
*
God bless us……JIM in Kansas City, KS
October 19, 2009 at 1:02 pm
My son is 15 years old, when he was a baby I gave him tylenol after every shot just like the doctor told me too. My son has autism, so you are telling me that can be the reason why.