Whether the mercury in vaccines in an additive called thimerosol caused autism or not may never be known 100%. However, the good news is that vaccine companies have removed this additive from their vaccines just in case. There have been studies that show mercury may be linked to autism. Then, there are studies that show it is not. This is obviously quite confusing for parents wanting to do what is best for their children. When you add this information to all of the misinformation on the Internet and you get a lot of confused parents who do not know whether thimerosol might cause autism or not, nor do they care it is no longer in vaccines, they just want to take care of their child and avoid vaccines altogether. This might seem like the safest approach since the US does not have too many episodes of infectious disease. However, if everyone takes this stance it could put everyone at risk for diseases that have been eradicated or at bay for decades.

One interesting study in Denmark does show that perhaps thimerosal is not the culprit for rising autism rates worldwide. Of course, vaccines could still be part of the problem, but Denmark removed thimerosal from their vaccines in 1992. Since then, Denmark has still seen a rise in autism cases. The number would have declined if thimerosal had something to do with the cases.
There was one US study that showed a potential link between neurodevelopment problems and thimerosal, but autism has never been linked to this mercury additive in a study. Another reason for the rise in autism may not be the number of children getting vaccines, but the fact that detection is better and the definition of autism now includes autism spectrum disorders, which has a very wide definition.

As a parent, we want to protect our children and giving them vaccines that are questionable, whether there is any reason to question them, is very difficult for parents. It can cause high levels of anxiety and feelings of guilt if the child does develop an illness later in life.
What is most important is that parents protect their children. If a parent is sure that vaccines will help protect their child then having the vaccines is the right decision. However, if you are unsure about vaccines then there is no need to give them to your child unless the threat of a disease outweighs the risk of the vaccine.

Posted in Health and Well-Being

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