I feel terrible today. I felt pretty bad yesterday, but today is really not good. I’m bored, but I don’t have the energy to do anything. I want to be cuddled and I want to be left alone. I’m ravenous yet can’t face eating.
The worst thing of it is that I suspect it could have been avoided; Mummy took me to the nasty ladies in the blue dresses that stab me in the leg last week, and I think this is a side effect.
She promises me that I don’t feeling nearly as bad as if I got Measles, Mumps or Rubella, but I’m not so sure. I am feeling pretty sorry for myself! She assures me that it is better for me in the long run, and it’s no good trying to cast her as Bad Cop to Daddy’s Good Cop, because he was in on it as well!
Mummy and Daddy were confident that the injection was the right thing to do, but I gather that not all parents are so sure because all of the media coverage in recent years.
Here’s the deal (according to me). Measles, Mumps and Rubella are all pretty nasty if you get them. People sometimes worry about the combined immunisation because of fears of an alleged link with autism, though that was a long time ago now and extensive research since suggests no link.
Some countries used separate single injections, but they saw no decrease in the rate of autism. When it comes to jabs in the leg, one is better than three in my view!
The big noise these days is the risks you run in catching one of the diseases through not having the immunisation;
· Measles is pretty serious anyway with fever and rashes, but can lead to chest infections, fits, even brain damage. People forget that it can be fatal. Rarely, but it can be fatal.
· Mumps causes swelling around the neck and jaws, and can lead to viral meningitis or deafness.
· Rubella (sometimes called German Measles) starts off with a rash or sore throat, but can cause birth defects in contracted by a woman in the first term of pregnancy.
I don’t mean to scare people! Weighing it all up, I think I’ll get over the holes in my legs (which I can’t even see, if I’m honest!) if it means that I’m protected against those three nasties!
The chance of a post-MMR complication is tiny, compared to the risks of the diseases themselves, which are potentially life-threatening. Most babies now across Europe and the US are vaccinated with the combined dose.
CB
