[LMB] [OT} Vaccinations

[Suzette Petty]

Based on what I know about how vaccines work, if you get the chickenpox vaccine (and introduce the virus to your immune system), shouldn't you still have some risk for shingles later in life?  
 
My children are vaccinated for all the older vaccinations (in other words, not chickenpox, HPV or the meningitis vaccine).  I tend to find myself reluctant to do the new ones because of the same reasons mentioned for not breastfeeding while on medication: I'm not sure of their safety.  When my older kids were babies, their pediatrician was going to give the oral polio vaccine to my children, but did not because someone in the family had a compromised immune system (cancer chemotherapy).  When I had my younger children, I asked about it, and was told that it was no longer an option, as children had contracted polio from it.   Therefore, I tend to give the newer vaccinations a waiting period before I get them for my children, especially since a relative's child had a horrible reaction to his vaccinations (seizures, swelling, etc.).  I know his reaction was atypical, but it was a nightmare for his mother. 
 
And my children were breastfed.  While I believe there are benefits to it, I don't believe it's a substitute for vaccinations.  When I got sick, my babies got sick too. They weren't quite as sick, but it certainly wasn't immunity either, and my son had awful chest infections when he was about four.  The immune system is a wonderful thing; my son's been extremely healthy ever since then.  I guess after the chest infections, little stuff like colds are no problem for his immune system.
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